Holyoke Hummus Company Unveils The Great Garbanzo Food Truck

 In Client Press Releases

Ribbon-cutting event set for May 19 at Nuestras Raices in Holyoke

HOLYOKE—The owners of Holyoke Hummus Company will unveil their new food truck, dubbed The Great Garbanzo, on May 19 at Nuestras Raices on the corner of Cabot and Main streets. Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the ribbon cutting will take place at noon; festivities will continue with a deejay, free hummus snacks and sweets from 5 to 7 p.m.

Owners John Grossman and Dawn Cordeiro of Holyoke have been nurturing the concept of a food truck for four years, selling their signature falafel out of a food cart in summer months and a pop-up café dubbed No Cook Thursdays at various locations around Holyoke.

They will also celebrate their second anniversary in business as Holyoke Hummus Company by taking their food truck, funded by a loan from Common Capital, Inc. of Holyoke (www.common-capital.org), to the Great Holyoke Brick Race on Saturday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We want to do good work in Holyoke and export the good name of Holyoke,” Grossman said. “We want people to know that there’s a growing diversity of food choices in the city. We’re excited about bringing falafel to the people.”

Grossman and Cordeiro moved to Holyoke 12 years ago; their interest in food was born about four years ago, when residents of Holyoke began to set up what they called BYOR—or Bring Your Own Restaurant—pot luck gatherings at various venues in the city, from alongside the canal to an abandoned gas station.

At the Great Holyoke Brick Race four years ago, when the food truck that had been reserved didn’t show up, Grossman got the idea to start a food truck of his own, from which he could sell falafel, a food he ate much of growing up in the Boston area and visiting his grandparents in New York.

Grossman developed an Indiegogo campaign to fundraise for a truck at that time, and raised about $4,000 of the $20,000 he needed, so he established the Holyoke Hummus Company with a food cart he has since operated at fairs and other events in the city.

Grossman said he focused on Middle Eastern food and falafel as a staple product, because, “It’s a common street food I’ve always enjoyed. It’s vegetarian, healthy, tasty and a comfort food for a lot of people.”

After a second Indiegogo campaign that ended in 2015, Grossman and Cordeiro found a funding partner in March in Common Capital, which offered the loan with which the couple bought their 1988 Chevy step van, which was already outfitted as a food truck; they customized it, adding other equipment, Grossman said.

The truck is currently being hand-painted by artist Amy Johnquest, The Banner Queen, (www.bannerqueen.com) , of Holyoke.

After the ribbon cutting, Holyoke Hummus Company will take No Cook Thursdays on the road with The Great Garbanzo. On May 26, they will be at the Holyoke YMCA from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at the Wauregan Building at 420 Dwight St. from 4 to 7 p.m. They will publish the whereabouts of The Great Garbanzo at holyokehummuscompany.com, through email, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information, or to schedule The Great Garbanzo for an event, contact Grossman at 413-225-1755 or visit www.holyokehummuscompany.com.

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