Hundreds of people came to Civic Center park on Tuesday to enjoy Denver’s sunshine, rising temperatures and the return of dozens of food trucks.
“We’ve never been here before — I just moved here from Dallas — but it’s amazing,” said Kathreen Batayon. “We got overwhelmed actually, but it’s exciting.”
Batayon’s dilemma is real. This year, the 11th annual Civic Center EATS . The lineup includes 79 diverse food vendors — barbecue, falafel, burgers and more.
And for the first time the usual schedule of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays will expand to include Wednesdays too.
Cody Dermon, the employee running the Aiko Pop cart — gourmet, handmade popsicles featuring flavors like lavender lemonade — says he’s not going to be out on Wednesdays, but said business has been excellent in the past when the event was two days a week.
“What we get through this is a whole lot of visibility,” Dermon said. “On days when it’s warm and sunny, I’ll do a lot of business, but even when I don’t, it’s worth it just for the advertising.”
The proceeds from the event also help support Civic Center revitalization efforts and other outdoor events.
For Batayon, it’s about enjoying the weather and good food.
“We’re planning to come back on Thursday to try some of the other trucks we saw,” Batayon said.
“The fact that they do this every week might be a problem — a good one.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or @yeseniarobles
