Owner Pam Dwyer serves a customer at The Lady Bug Lunch Box food truck on East Fayette Street next to Firefighters Park in downtown Syracuse. Dwyer is ending her 23-year run and putting the rig and her business up for sale. (Don Cazentre | dcazentre@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — Pam Dwyer started pulling her bright red trailer, festooned with cartoon lady bugs and equipped with a small but fully capable kitchen, through the streets of Syracuse in 2001. Gas Rotary Oven
“People thought I was a little crazy,” she said. “They may have been right. But I battled on.”
Lady Bug Lunch Box was the first regular “food truck” in the Syracuse area. Now Dwyer is ending her run after 23 years.
Dwyer said she’s “heartbroken” to give up her business. She cited a few health issues, including a bad left arm, for her decision. “I really just can’t do it anymore,” she said.
She has put the recently refurbished trailer, the Chevy van that pulls it, plus all its equipment, branding, logos etc. up for sale. She’s asking $75,000. She is also offering her “commissary” location on Kirkpatrick Street, where she does meal prep, for rent.
As part of the deal, Dwyer is even willing to provide about three months of training, including tips on how to navigate the often complex issues of licensing and location selection.
During her run, Dwyer pulled the Lady Bug rig around to corporate events, festivals, parties and more.
On summer days when she wasn’t booked at an event, her trailer could be found parked on the Fayette Street side of the city’s Firefighters Memorial Park.
“I have so many regulars there,” Dwyer said. “So many familiar faces over the years.”
Her menu included traditional favorites like hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage sandwiches, plenty of sides and occasional specials..
The Lady Bug Lunch Box food truck parked at its spot on East Fayette Street next to Firefighters Park in downtown Syracuse. (Don Cazentre | dcazentre@syracuse.com)
Dwyer started the mobile food concept after spending six years operating the Lady Bug Lunch Box as a “brick and mortar” cafe at 338 S. Salina St. across from the Landmark Theatre.
She already had a sidewalk hot dog cart at the time. In those days, sidewalk carts were common in Syracuse but food trucks were not.
“I really don’t remember how I got the idea,” she said. “And then I had to battle with the city over getting the space and everything. It was all so new. Food trucks were not revered as anything special.”
Dwyer cited several city officials for stepping up to help her over the years, including former mayor (and common councilor) Stephanie Miner, former councilor Michael Greene, and city business development director Eric Ennis.
Dwyer watched as food trucks became more popular in the city. At one point, there were enough applicants for licenses that the city held a lottery for spots, as it had done for years with the sidewalk carts.
Recently, the number of both food trucks and sidewalk carts taking regular spots downtown has dwindled.
But, Dwyer said, the real money in the food truck business today is the special events and parties.
“I really have only been downtown when I’m not booked somewhere else,” she said.
Greene, who left the council last year and now runs the Harvey’s Garden bar and food truck park on Water Street east of downtown, said Dwyer’s decision “is a loss for the city.”
“She filled an important role in the city and certainly for downtown,” Greene said. “It’s really a shame that we’ve lost so many of the trucks over time. Other cities have seen an uptick, but we haven’t.”
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/18/2024), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 12/31/2023).
Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information
© 2024 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
Conveyor Oven Tunnel YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.