You might have thought that drive-thru was just about traditional fast food, but on Saturday a whole new one-day-only venture could have you leaving your afternoon runs to Mickey D’s and Taco Bell in the review mirror.
On Saturday, fans of the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival, which had to cancel their 2020 event in June due to COVID-19, are in for a real treat with a truly delicious new event that hopefully will tide you over (or at least your appetite for street food) until they return to downtown in 2021.
Debuting on Saturday at Riverside Park, the city’s largest park situated along the Grand River, comes the first-ever
Asian Street Food Drive-Thru event presented by the
Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 18.
This event will feature food truck service but with a noted twist (that is hinted at right in the title of the event) as the food is only available via your vehicle.
Part of the menu for this special event includes many festival favorites from local vendors that include Café Boba, B and N Sandwiches, Brunch ‘n Rice, Mama Nguyen’s, and Adobo Boy GR.
There will also be a wide range of menu items ranging from $3 to $10 and feature traditional, authentic street food dishes, drinks and desserts like boba smoothies, iced milk tea, khao poon (spicy rice noodle soup), gua buns (steam buns), dakkochi (chicken skewer), leche flan (brown sugar, boba ice cream bars), among other culinary delights from a festival that is attracting more and more community members with each passing year.
As to why they wanted to ramp up this taste of the festival for our community now, Ace Marasigan, founder and CEO of the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival, says, “We want to help local small businesses attract new customers and promote their food. The drive-thru event model allows everyone to safely socially distance while still experiencing a sense of togetherness.”
In an attempt to innovate a way to safely host this new event, they are asking guests to please honor all social distancing guidelines and to exit the park (at Guild Street entrance) before consuming their food. No walk-up orders will be permitted and this event sponsored by Steelcase is cash-only.
This event mirrors the mission of our local Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival which embraces the rich traditions of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans with various community events created to inspire, educate, and connect individuals to one another while centering on our many community members of Asian heritage.
Oh, and be sure to buy extra because with COVID-19 still rising around the country, who knows if we will get a window to celebrate and indulge in such a manner anytime soon.