Something sweet will roll into downtown Huntsville at noon on Friday.
, which , has leased an undeveloped gravel lot on 225 Holmes Ave. N.E.,across from the old Times building and Below the Radar Brewing Company.
AndrewJudge, who operates the food truck with his wife, Lee, said Sugar Belle'sinitial operating hours at the new location will be noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdaythrough Saturday. The first 50 visitors to the food truck Friday willreceive a free cupcake.
"Wehad been thinking for a while that we'd like to find one regular location, andwe worked with Chad (Emerson, CEO of Downtown Huntsville, Inc.) before on thestreet food events this summer and figured he'd have some ideas," Judge said.
Thelot, which is owned by Chapman Sisson Architects, was previously used as anextra parking area for Below the Radar customers, Judge said.
Sincethe in most commercial areas throughout the city, includingdowntown, John Hunt Park and Jetplex Industrial Park near the HuntsvilleInternational Airport, Judge said it was a natural fit for Sugar Belle to locate a spot where cupcake lovers can always find them.
"Being mobile is fun, but a lot of Huntsville is still slow to getting the foodtruck idea," he said. "It also makes pick-ups for custom orders a lot easierfor customers. They don't have to track us down now."Judge said Sugar Belle's goal was to be more centrally located andgive their food truck -- a 28-year-old former Army vehicle -- a break from theconstant driving.TheJudges plan to use the Holmes Avenue parking lot as a permanent home baseand pick up a second truck in a few months. Eventually, they will hire additional staff to help run the burgeoning young business.
"We've made the mistake before overbooking on private events,"Judge said. "It's difficult to cover all of them with two people and one truck.Truck No. 2 also lets us continue showing love to cupcake-hungry folks inMadison and elsewhere."
Emerson, who worked with Sugar Belle to locate the property, said thefood truck's move fills a gap in downtown Huntsville.
He added that Sugar Belle's move and the passage of theordinance governing food trucks allows more flexibility for similar projects in the downtown area.
"I think it shows an increasing number of businesses arerealizing that downtown is a great location," he said. "I think it will likelybring visitors to downtown who are already a fan of the cupcake truck."
The couple, who each maintained day jobs when theyopened Sugar Belle last year, are now fully dedicated to the business. "This is a full-time operation for us now," Judge said.
Judge said cupcakes and food trucks are delicate trends, buthe and his wife have bigger plans beyond the cupcake truck. The couple is tightlipped at the moment on what that means for the future of Sugar Belle.
"We've grown and learned a lot," he said. "It's funnythinking a year ago how excited we were to sell just a few dozen cupcakes aday."
Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.