A vacant warehouse is now a new place for people to enjoy food, beer and have a good time. Syracuse’s first food truck park and beer hall is named after the city’s first mayor, Harvey Baldwin. Harvey’s Garden owner Michael Greene said his work as a Syracuse Common Council member inspired the creation of the spot.
“I worked with a lot of the food trucks and come to understand a little bit about their struggles to find a location where they can operate full-time," Greene said. "So, in my travels, I visited other cities that have a similar venue like this, where it’s an old warehouse that got converted into a food truck park. So, just as someone who lives in the community, I was looking to bring something like that to Syracuse.”
In addition to creating a space for food trucks to operate full-time, the venue also includes a self-pour beer wall. Customers pay per ounce for beer. Greene said the beer on tap highlights what local breweries have to offer.
“We also have different canned options, wine and full cocktail menus," Greene said. "That’s our drinks. And then, from a food perspective, we can have up to three food trucks at a time. They rotate through. They’re all different food trucks from the Food Truck Association.”
Harvey’s Garden also has a backup kitchen with a menu of grilled cheese sandwiches and soups. Greene hopes Harvey’s Garden can serve as "the backyard of the community," a space where people can discover what the region has to offer.
“We view ourselves as a venue to be able to showcase what small businesses in Central New York are doing," Greene said. "So, it’s the breweries, the distilleries and then the food trucks themselves to be able to give people a venue, to be able to check out all the good work that other businesses are doing.”
Harvey’s Garden will have its grand opening celebration party on Jan. 7 starting at noon.
