Old Long Beach dealership lot turns into rotating food truck park

An old car dealership lot has been given a breath of new life in Long Beach, now featuring a dedicated food truck park with rotating options that offer a community gathering place with delicious options and entertainment. 

"This is a dedicated food truck park here five days a week," said Priscilla Jaramillo, one of the organizers of the PCH Food Park. 

Jaramillo said that the entire thing came together with the help of a Craigslist ad. 

"The ad was for a location where I could park my food truck on a regular basis," she said. 

She only received one response, however, from the owner of the empty lot. 

"I said, I want to do a food court, like we have back home, you know, a lot of restaurants," said Hossein Farshidfard. "Persian fountain in the middle, and a lot of plants and people are gathering together — family."

Farshidfard, a Long Beach State alum, says he's wanted to give back to the community that gave him so much since moving to the area. Now, he's helped establish Los Angeles County's first dedicated spot for food trucks, in one of the city's busiest corridors at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Orizaba Avenue in the Signal Hill area.

"It gave me the happiness I was looking for," he said. 

On top of providing a space where food trucks can park regularly, it also gives them a chance to build connections with other vendors and customers. 

"You kind of build up your audience, you build up your customer base in one spot and they know exactly where to find you," said Anthony Plascentia, with Mariscos Los Corchos, one of the food trucks in the lot on Friday night. 

The food trucks featured are rotated weekly, and any vendor with a Long Beach health permit can apply for a spot. 

"We're here for you and we are ready to serve you. We're excited to see where this goes in the future," Jaramilllo said.