2 min read
Ole Miss Dining lucked out with beautiful weather for its first-ever food truck festival in the Grove on Thursday. Taylor Grocery, Wiggly’s, Jake’s BBQ, Hot Box Hibachi, Blenz Bowls and Oxsicles served hundreds of hungry customers from 11-4 p.m. on campus.
The food trucks parked on University Avenue next to the Grove stage, each one with a line of students and Oxford residents stretching across the Grove throughout the entire duration of the festival. Many patrons brought their dogs, blankets and chairs to picnic, frisbees and family members to celebrate the community, nature and good food.
4 min read
Blenz Bowls, a Miami-inspired smoothie bowl food truck and cafe concept founded at the University of Alabama, rolled on to the University of Mississippi campus this semester, the first of many proposed Southeastern Conference expansions for the business.
The smoothie spot, which was founded by Alabama graduates Riley Voce and Zach Rogers in 2018, has its sights set on a complex market: on-campus dining.
“We identified pretty early on that college campuses are our market,” Voce said. “It’s very untapped. There’s a huge barrier to entry; it’s hard to get on campus.”
Aramark, a multinational food contractor that supplies food to a variety of education, healthcare, business and carceral clients including the Mississippi Department of Corrections holds exclusive power over dining options at the university, making it difficult for independent vendors to break onto the on-campus roster.