WASHINGTON DC – Four years ago, as President-elect Barack Obama prepared to take the oath of office, just one of the 100-plus food trucks that exist today was patrolling the frozen tundra known as Washington D.C. You could say the Fojol Bros. were invested in the hope and change that the new president had promised to the American public during the campaign.

2009 inauguration crowd

“I think Barack Obama was an inspirational person to many in this city,” says Fojol co-founder Justin Vitarello. “And I think we have been inspirational to a lot of people.”

Fast forward to 2013, and the Fojol Bros. have three trucks themselves, two of which have gone dormant for the winter season (leaving only Volathai to roam the streets, hawking its brand of Thai food to hungry office workers).

“It was Inauguration Day four years ago when D.C.’s first food truck — Fojol Bros. — first hit the streets,” e-mails Che Ruddell-Tabisola, executive director of the DC Food Truck Association, “so it marks not only their birthday, but the beginning of the industry in D.C.”

  • Fojol Bros Benethiopia
  • Fojol Bros Merlindia
  • Curbside Cupcakes
  • Cirque Cuisine
  • Big Cheese
  • Carnivore BBQ
  • Capital Chicken & Waffles
  • Borinquen Lunch Box
  • Surfside
  • Sweetbites
  • Goodies Frozen Custard
  • Pepe
  • Goodies Frozen Custard
  • Doug the Food Dude
  • Make My Cake

 

DCRA hopes the smaller public turnout for this inauguration, expected between 600,000 and 800,000, will allow the police to crack down on these illegal vendors.