The food truck event that brought crowds of people back to downtown New Kensington last year.
“Friday at Five” will be back on Friday on – you guessed it – Fifth Avenue. It will run from five to nine in the evening between the ninth and eleventh streets.
This will be the first full year for the monthly event, which was an unexpected success at its inception in July of last year. Four of them were detained, the last of them in October.
Six of them are scheduled to be held in 2022 on the fourth Friday of every month through September.
Nicole Vigilant, a volunteer with the New Kensington Entertainment Committee and owner of Trovo Co. , a home décor store on Fifth Avenue, said the organizers have decided not to hold one in October since the Halloween holiday, and the weather could be inhospitable.
Friday on Fifth was created to showcase new and existing businesses in downtown New Kensington. In addition to the food trucks lining the street, businesses in town are encouraged to stay open later that night.
Vigilante’s organization said it was excited about how Friday’s fifth in its first year had gone.
“It was a huge hit and people were really supportive and excited to have something fun to do locally,” she said. “We want to continue to showcase businesses downtown and the downtown business district. We want to continue to support growth and revitalization in the city. It is a fun way to bring people downtown.”
The brewery’s operations manager, Michelle Thom, said co-sponsor Voodoo Brewery will perform music again from 6 to 9 p.m., outside weather permitting. The Hoffman Road Band is scheduled to perform this month.
Performers scheduled for this season are Mojo The Band on May 27; Gaetano Letizia Jazz and Blues on June 24; Julie & the 2nd Offenders on July 22; No More Daisies on August 26th; and The Shiners on September 23.
The Guardian said 10 food trucks are expected on Friday. There will be some new companies including Hibachi Lou, Revival Chili, Pittsburgh Crepes, Knapp-Kins and Little C’s Concessions.
Among the returnees is Jose Tiquanhio, who will pick up his Taqueria El Pastorcito truck on Fifth Avenue on Friday. On Sunday, he is set to open a storefront restaurant on Fourth Avenue in a space that was recently a sausage shop.
“They really loved the environment and are choosing to invest in the community by opening their first restaurant here in New Kensington,” said Vigilante.
Del Vecchio’s Sausage & Fries and Hot Ash Wood Fired Pizza are also back.
Tommy Skanga, owner of Del Vecchio, of Vandergrift, said he has nothing but good things to say about New Kensington.
“They have done everything for us perfectly so far,” he said. “It’s a nice crowd, they treat the sellers well and we love our customers. It couldn’t be better, it couldn’t be better. They flipped so many things. I’ve never seen a community come together like I do there.”
Stephen Potuka has been a volunteer firefighter for 30 years. He started a wood-fired pizza truck six years ago. He has worked in New Kensington for 25 years and is the plant manager at UniFirst.
“It’s the best I’ve seen there in the last two years,” he said. “These guys are doing a lot and making a lot of changes. I am happy to be a part of it. We are happy to be a part of it.”
Potuka said he was grateful to the organizers for inviting him to return.
“It’s an amazing event, it really is,” he said.
Brian C. Rittmer is a writer for the Tribune Review. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, [email protected] or via Twitter .
