This new Boise food truck lot opened in June. Now empty, where are the trucks?
When State St. Food Truck Lot opened in mid-June, customers tossed cornhole bags, lounged at shaded picnic tables, and scarfed down carne asada burritos, pizza and Nepalese-style momos.
A month or so later?
Boise’s newest food truck hub sits empty.
After debuting with music cranking in a small lot at 3508 W. State St. — near the busy intersection of State and 36th streets — the party has gone silent.
State St. Food Truck Lot is seeking tenants. At the moment, though, things are stuck in low gear, if not park. No trucks are currently scheduled. Talks are ongoing with potential clients, said Tim Rogan, president of the Idaho Food Truck Association.
One of the main challenges? “Most trucks are booked for the summer,” said Suzanne Hanrahan, owner of State St. Food Truck Lot, “and I am wanting to find trucks that will commit to a month — versus a day or two.”
The price of a monthly slot has been cut from $800 to $650 at the lot, which has space for up to four trucks.
Additional infrastructure investment might help, Hanrahan said. Adding city water and a dump station “would make a big difference for the trucks,” she explained in a message. But that would be costly, she added.
Without constant food truck presence, Hanrahan said she was told the lot wasn’t drawing significant foot traffic during its initial run — “only neighborhood folks.”
A planned 18-hole disc golf course across the street at Veterans Memorial Park could lure more hungry Boiseans to the area. But that’s not on pace to open until early 2026, according to Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway. “It’s coming!” he promised.
In the meantime? State St. Food Truck Lot isn’t closed. It’s just not revved up — not yet.
One other possibility? Rogan said they’re “exploring opening it up for folks to do events/fundraisers and utilize the space to gather and have food trucks cater for their events.”
The city’s larger, more established food truck destination, Green Acres Food Truck Park, is open daily at 1401 W. Shoreline Drive.
But State St. Food Truck Lot, despite its potential, remains a work in progress.
“Hopefully by fall it will pick up,” Hanrahan said. “... I believe if there’s always a truck there, and people can rely on that — it will be OK.
“Definitely gonna take some time.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 4:00 AM.