FYI Philly

Soul D'Lysh, Tica's Tacos, 2 Street Sammies food truck owners forced to reroute due to COVID-19

ByTimothy Walton WPVI logo

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Philly food truck owners forced to reroute due to COVID-19

The pandemic has taken a toll on food trucks. With college campuses quiet, festivals canceled and concert season postponed the mobile vendors have had to find new ways to operate.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The pandemic has taken a huge toll on the local food truck industry.

With college campuses quiet, festivals canceled, and concert season postponed, mobile vendors have had to find new ways to operate. We checked out how three Philly favorites are pivoting in their trucks.

Soul D'Lysh hit the road in 2017 after founder/chef Allysha Holmes turned to cooking following a life-threatening car accident. Her soul food was part of the healing process and a lesson for her daughter about following dreams.

She started serving at Temple University and has grown to offer catering for special events.

Tica's Tacos has been serving concert venues around the country since 2014. Chef Mario Sabillon features dishes based on his Honduran heritage. Since the pandemic canceled all of his planned events, he turned to meal delivery, preparing his signature dishes family style. He is the chef and the delivery man making sure his food is delivered for Taco Tuesday.

2 Street Sammies was born out of Nathan Baynes' passion for sandwiches. His elevated sammies hit the streets in 2017 and his success led to a bigger cart just before the pandemic hit.

He is just getting back to vending with locations around Philadelphia, but he has also turned to meal prep, turning some of his sandwiches into meals that will serve a family.