Annex Food Truck Decamps To Meriden

After selling 500 hot dogs in three months while being parked near the Annex Little League baseball park this summer, former firefighter Julio Padilla plans to move his new food truck from New Haven to Meriden in search of steadier business year-round.

Padilla opened his food truck, Julio’s Kitchen, in late April, and was parked outside the Annex Little League park in the East Shore through late June.

In a Wednesday interview with the Independent, Padilla, who lives in the Annex, said he chose that location because his nephews played at the park. When he reached out to the Little League, they were eager to have his truck there.

Padilla, who has his truck’s name tattooed on his left hand, said his favorite part of the location was watching the kids play baseball when he wasn’t selling food.

There were, however, challenges with that spot. There was rain on and off for two weeks, he said, and he struggled with business during little league away games. Padilla said that his only form of advertising was word of mouth, and most of his customer base consisted of parents of children playing at the baseball park.

These challenges, coupled with competition from the large amount of food vendors in New Haven, have led Padilla to reconsider his truck’s location in the future. In a couple weeks, he hopes to secure a spot in Meriden, as he said there is ​“a vacancy for good food in Meriden.”

The food truck’s most popular items are carne frita and tostones. The latter is made by peeling a plantain, cutting it, frying it, cutting again, smashing it, then frying it for a final time. ​“There’s nothing but love in it,” he said about what makes his food truck’s tostones so popular. 

Julio’s Kitchen uses local ingredients, such as Mike Dahnke’s barbeque sauce, which is called ​“Dank Ass BBQ Sauce.” He said he incorporates that sauce into some of the sandwiches he sells. He also said that all of his menu items are made fresh from scratch — except the chicken tenders, which are frozen. ​“I’d never lie to a customer about how I handle my food,” he said. 

Padilla added that he couldn’t have run his food truck without the help of friend Russell Rivera Jr., who allowed him to use his kitchen at JR’s Place in West Haven to prepare some of Padilla’s menu items.

Padilla started working in a kitchen at the age of 13, when he helped clean his father’s business, Lindley’s Food Service. After that, Padilla became a New Haven firefighter for over 20 years, and would often cook for his crew. That experience taught Padilla how to cook for large groups of people. 

“As long as you love what you do, it’s never work.” he said regarding cooking.

Besides moving to a permanent location in Meriden, Padilla plans to have his truck attend events in New Haven like the Puerto Rican Festival, which will take place on Aug. 9 on the New Haven Green. His truck can also be found at Gouveia Vineyards in Wallingford this summer.