Food trucks roll in La Crosse under new fire inspection regulations

Food truck season starting in La Crosse.

Once something rarely seen in the city, the ‘meal from a truck’ concept has taken hold.

Maria Norberg’s Apothik food truck is among the most recognizable.

Norberg’s Apothik was fresh off a night serving hundreds at Copeland Park for a La Crosse SOUP event.

It’s the fourth summer for the Apothik food truck and Norberg is more than happy to keep going — the public seems increasingly receptive, as well.

“I think people are looking for a little bit different experience, particularly in the midwest — those days when it’s sunny, beautiful and you can be outside,” Norberg said. “People live for those days.”

Growth in the food truck market has led to new inspection rules from the city this year — a process Norberg recently went through.

“I think it’s great,” she said. “We’ve already gone through the process. The fire inspections guys are wonderful and they’ve been great to work with in terms of any questions that we’ve had on what our requirements are.”

“This permitting process is not as big and scary as it seems. For us and many other food trucks that go to festivals, we’re already going through that process.”

The Apothik food truck can be seen outside Grounded Specialty Coffee at Third and Main streets downtown most afternoons, as well as at the Cameron Park Farmer’s Market, which opens its season May 4.