by Tim Froberg
Food trucks are basically restaurants on wheels.
These mobile, kitchen-equipped, culinary service vehicles date back to the 1860s in Texas with the invention of the chuck wagon to feed hungry cowboys.
The mobile food industry grew slowly over the years with the advent of lunch wagons on city streets and motorized ice cream trucks that first appeared following World War II.
However, the modern culinary food truck explosion basically started in the Los Angeles area around 2008 during the Great Recession, from 2007 to 2009, when a downturn in the economy left many skilled chefs out of work and prompted restaurants to close, forcing culinary professionals to find cheaper, mobile alternatives.
The explosion of social media has been a significant factor in the food truck boom, allowing trucks to communicate their menus, daily specials, routes and locations online, which customers can easily access from laptops and smartphones.
There are more than 92,000 registered food trucks across the U.S., supporting a global industry estimated at roughly $5.42 billion.
Summer is prime time for food trucks. While some Wisconsin food trucks offer their services year-round, many operate from May through October, when warmer weather makes their businesses more mobile and productive.
GLOBAL EATS HAS A FAMILY FEEL TO IT
Balancing work with family time can be a tricky tightrope to navigate.
Matt Luangla merged the two to create Global Eats LLC.
Global Eats is one of the many food trucks that serve the Fox Cities. It specializes in crispy Katsu chicken sandwiches and was nominated for “Best Food Truck” in The Post-Crescent’s Best of the Valley Community Choice Awards. Winners will be announced July 14.
Luangla is a skilled chef with a strong culinary background. He is the executive chef at Ascension NE Wisconsin-St. Elizabeth Hospital and previously worked as a traveling chef for Guckenheimer, a prominent corporate dining and food service management company, and at prestigious Green Bay-area restaurants such as The Black and Tan.
Luangla opened Global Eats just over a year ago and has had a busy first season. Shrimp, chicken, and Korean-style steak tacos along with crab rangoon empanadas are additional menu highlights.
Global Eats’ motto is “where global street food meets Midwest comfort,” and the business is known for its big flavor and bold sauces. Everything is made from scratch, including the pickles that are put on the Katsu chicken sandwiches.
“When I thought about starting a truck, I didn’t want to do a burger or barbecue truck,” said Luangla. “I wanted to do food that resonates globally. Everything we do is homemade and fresh, and we try and put a different twist on what we do. For instance, if I’m at a brewery, I’ll make tempura-beer battered chicken with some of the beer at the brewery.”
Global Eats is a family business, and that’s one of the main reasons why Luangla decided to open a food truck in addition to holding down a full-time job at the hospital, where he has been executive chef for the past 11 years. His two teenage sons, Maddox, 17, and Mason, 15, work part-time with Luangla at Global Eats along with various nieces and nephews. Luangla’s daughter, Mya, lends a hand at the food truck when she’s not attending college, while Matt’s wife, My See, who works full-time as a nurse practitioner for Ascension Wisconsin, washes the food truck’s dishes at the end of the day.
Several additional food trucks in the Appleton area have similar family themes.
“My kids are in high school and it’s fun getting to hang out with them and cook together,” Luangla said. “The food truck has allowed us to be together more — instead of them being on their phones. That’s one of the reasons why I started. We’re definitely a family business. It’s also been really fun meeting new people and building good relationships with other people in the food truck industry.”
The food truck gives Luangla an opportunity to continue his growth as a chef and try different techniques and recipes.
“I’m a little more limited at the hospital in what I can do, especially with it being a big corporation and food costs and all,” Luangla said. “The food truck definitely allows me to be more creative. I can do what I want.”
Above all, it allows Luangla to do what he does best: cook.
“It takes a lot of time and there are a lot of late nights, but I love it,” he said. “I love cooking. I love fostering people.”
Global Eats offers its services four days a week at various events and locations. It often participates in food truck rallies on Wednesdays and Fridays at Area 509, 1025 N. Badger Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m. through October.
Other food trucks often featured at the rallies include Caribbean Taste (the owners of Area 509), Busted Spud, Big Axe Chops, Mile High BBQ, Locally Sauced, Yum, Yum Eggrolls, and Bowlicious Eats.
Follow Global Eats and Area 509 on Facebook and Instagram for weekly schedules.
FOX VALLEY FOOD TRUCK ASSOCIATION
Kyle Fritz, the president of the Fox Valley Food Truck Association, has operated a food truck since 2009. His business, On The Fritz Concessions, specializes in comfort food like burgers, brats, chili cheese dogs, and its award-winning beer-battered, deep-fried cheese curds.
“When I started my food truck, there were literally just a handful of mobile food vendors in the greater Fox Cities area,” said Fritz. “This area has just boomed. I’m not exaggerating when I say there are well over 100 food trucks within 35 to 45 miles of Appleton.
“It’s insane how many mobile food vendors there are in the Fox Cities area. There’s a core group of food trucks that have established themselves and you can count on seeing them at multiple events throughout the year. But others come and go because it’s a very competitive industry.”
The Appleton food truck scene is both delicious and diverse, offering everything from burgers, barbecue, cheese curds, shaved ice, pizza, and ice cream to authentic ethnic cuisine such as Haitian, Caribbean, Hmong, and Mexican dishes.
“We have quite a following for our deep-fried cheese curds — we’ve often been told by customers that they’re the best they’ve ever had,” said Fritz. “We pride ourselves in our customer service, fair pricing, and quality of food. And we’ve spent a lot of time, effort and money on making our 30-foot concession trailer really stand out from the crowd.”
IT’S RALLY TIME
On the Fritz Concessions is one of the FVFTA members that participate in regular food truck rallies around the Fox Cities in the summer months. Food truck rallies usually feature 10 to 15 trucks that offer different tastes and products from across the country and world.
“There is something for everyone at food truck rallies,” Fritz said. “It’s kind of a one-stop shop for families with a wide variety of food items available. We try and make our rallies really family focused. We had a petting zoo at one of our May rallies and families really loved that.”
FVTA rallies are being held at different venues this summer:
• Poplar Hall – July 22
• City Park – July 22, Children’s Parade
• Pierce Park – July 23-24
A total of 17 FVTA events are planned for this summer. The 2026 schedule can be found at facebook.com/FoxValleyFoodTruckAssociation, or foxvalleyfoodtruckrally.com.
“We only had a handful of trucks when we started the rallies and then we went to weekly rallies,” said Fritz. “We’ve really progressed throughout the years. As an organization, we’ve really focused on our community partnerships as well as our contracting services. Our mission has always been to foster relationships between local food vendors and the communities that we serve.”
A good example of the FVFTA’s community partnership efforts came in May when it partnered with the Appleton Area School District in a food truck rally at Janet Berry Elementary School. The FVFTA donated proceeds from entry fees to raise money for inclusive playground equipment.
In addition to the rallies, food trucks are available for a variety of corporate and social events, including lunches, weddings, birthdays, parties, city celebrations, rallies, school fairs and different community events. The food truck rally experience has a vibrant, festival feel to it — often with live music — rather than a quiet evening at a restaurant.
FVFTA MEMBERS IN OUR AREA
Fox Valley Food Truck Association members along with their owner-operators are as follows:
- 4 Schmidts and Giggles BBQ (Tina and Steve Schmidt)
- Alpha Dogs (Isaac Schroeder and Justin Sosnoski)
- AmberLulu’s Boba Truck (Fannie Xie)
- American Pie Pizza & Shaved Ice (Valeri and Mike Donnelly)
- Asian Haven Co. (Virginia Moua)
- Beverly Ann’s Cookie Truck (Jon and Katie Dietzen)
- Bistro Bites (Sony Meyer)
- Bite the Farm (Miranda Hottenroth)
- Caribbean Cruiser (Wesley Damys)
- Diablos Taco Truck (Alejandro Morales)
- Doughlicious (Chloe and Kathy Schumann)
- Flips Mini Donuts (Nick Westphal)
- Frozen Beaker (Michael and Sarah Fitzgerald)
- Ice Cold Emergency (Ken Tomsyck)
- Kona Ice (Jon and Katie Dietzen)
- La Tacoyota (Juan Contreras)
- Legendairy Cookies N’ Creamery (Jeremy Mattson)
- Luigis Pizza on the Go (Moe Jaber)
- On the Fritz Concessions (Erin and Kyle Fritz)
- Ong’s (Ong Thao)
- Osorio’s Latin Fusion (Kimberly Finnell and Liborio Osorio)
- Papa Johns (Mary Ziola-Vega)
- Puckered Up Lemon Shake-Ups (Nicole Hambly)
- Rusty’s Smokin’ Hot BBQ (Darin Saari)
- Say Cheese Curd Company (Doug Mathison)
- The Dandelion (Heidi and Jason Schmidt)
- Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Fox Cities (Jon and Katie Dietzen)
- Who’s the Man BBQ (Alex Casey)
foxvalleyfoodtruckrally.com | 920-475-2102
Menus and locations can also be found on the businesses’ various Facebook pages and Instagram sites.
ALSO SERVING THE FOX CITIES
Among the many food trucks serving the area are ABC Pig Roast, Antojitos Mexicanos, Genuine Deli Company, Hawg Tyed BBQ, Hot Biddys, Inferno Subs, Legendary Gyros, Mai’s Deli, and Tropical Sno.
This article was originally published in the July 2026 issue of Appleton Monthly Magazine.
