image description — A line forms quickly when Brian Cole pulls his new mobile restaurant to the side of the Spring Street.

Williamstown Mobile Taco Truck Gains Fanfare

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
06:17PM / Wednesday, August 17, 2011Print Story | Email Story

The taco and burrito truck has caused quite a bit of excitement in Williamstown.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Mexican restaurant on wheels has generated a lot of excitement around Spring Street.

Williams College graduate Brian Cole recently began operating a taco truck he dubbed El Conejo Corredor, which translates to 'The Running Rabbit.' Cole transformed a van into a mobile food vendor and selling burritos and other Mexican goodies around town. Even without the Williams students on campus yet, he has already gained fanfare.

"It seems there has been a huge amount of excitement here," Cole said on Wednesday while he rushed to set up the truck in front of a quickly forming line of hungry patrons. "It brings people to the streets. It makes Williamstown more exciting."

The idea came to him last year and he spent this last summer working toward opening a restaurant for his fellow students. He looked at the real estate market and, since he is not currently in the position for a long-term investment, decided on the truck. He rents the kitchen at Hobson's Choice to prepare the food and then pulls the truck to the side of Spring Street to sell it.

"A truck made the most sense for what I was looking to do," Cole said. "I hope to focus on Spring Street area because that is where the people are."

For now, the truck operates during lunch hours and dinner on Friday and Saturday nights but when the students return to the campus, he plans to have late-night hours but isn't sure he'll continue during the winter.

While Cole has fielded questions of concern about the sanitation and health codes, the response from the community has been strong and if the lines that have already been forming are any indication of what is to come, it will be a busy semester.

"I'm selling burritos for $5, so I'm not getting rich yet," Cole said.

Tags: food, vendors,

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SOME HOW THE STATE WILL SHUT HIM DOWN BECAUSE HE DOSN'T HAVE SOME KIND OF PERMIT. HE WILL NEED A CARPENTERS LICENSE TO SERVE FOOD
from: BRIAN	on: 08-17-2011 07:06PM I Agree (10) - I Disagree (19)
Editor: He is fully permitted by the town. This has nothing to do with the state.
I Agree (14) - I Disagree (0)

Good luck to him. Innovative and yummy I am sure! I am eager to try it out.
from: K	on: 08-17-2011 07:56PM I Agree (26) - I Disagree (0)

Tough business. Good luck. Once the charm wears off and weather gets cold, the lines will be a lot shorter. Quality and consistency are the key.
from: Good luck	on: 08-18-2011 01:24PM I Agree (13) - I Disagree (1)

Brian bring your truck to North Adams once a week, maybe Taco Tuesday? Great idea...good luck.
from: Hungry	on: 08-18-2011 03:18PM I Agree (8) - I Disagree (0)

the caption under the photo reads ".... a line forms quickly..." but the picture is that of 11 people: 3 have their arms folded in boredom, 1 is texting, 1 is barely controlling a dog, 2 appear to be sleeping and the remaining people are far from the truck. The one thing they all have in common is that NONE of them are anywhere near forming a line. great job with the captioning. And if this guy thinks its his truck bringing more excitement to Willamstown, then he is clearly a greenhorn in the food biz.
from: jonny reed-deeper	on: 08-18-2011 07:11PM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (15)
Editor: I was there when he pulled up. Those people flocked to the truck and were waiting for him to set up when the photo was taken. - Andy McKeever.
I Agree (8) - I Disagree (0)

Thank you to the bloggers who have offered positive comments and words of encouragement to this young entrepreneur. America needs this can-do spirit, and Williamstown craves a spirit of adventure and diversity in our business community. And please do share your tacos with North Adams on Tuesdays - or any other day!
from: Peter Fohlin	on: 08-18-2011 08:30PM I Agree (19) - I Disagree (0)

I am amazed Williamstown allows this. A restaurant wouldn't be allowed to have a sign the size and look of his truck. Of course he will pick Spring St. That's where all the tax paying, staff hiring businesses are. How big of a line will he get on White Oaks Road?
from: Dosey	on: 08-18-2011 10:43PM I Agree (4) - I Disagree (7)

To: Dosey, I guess that's why he has the business...you bring the truck where the people are...not to White Oaks Rd. where the squirrels are.
from: Hungry	on: 08-19-2011 09:16AM I Agree (12) - I Disagree (0)

"That's where all the tax paying, staff hiring businesses are. How big of a line will he get on White Oaks Road" "And if this guy thinks its his truck bringing more excitement to Willamstown, then he is clearly a greenhorn in the food biz." Why is it that these types of comments are on every Berkshires online site? Do you people WANT local businesses to fail? Can't we applaud entrepreneurs who give it a shot? But to be specific for a minute. Why would he want to park his truck on White Oaks Road? What sense would that make? Every business owner thinks about potential site traffic so of course he's going to park on Spring Street. If he went out to White Oaks Road and no one came would that actually mean anything? I don't think so. As to the truck bringing "excitement" to Williamstown . . . well, it certainly is to everyone I speak with. But perhaps we're the "hope to see new business in town and support those we like" crowd. I think the North Adams for a day thing is a great idea but I'm sure there are different regulations and requirements that need to be met to do that.
from: Mister Cilantro	on: 08-19-2011 09:39AM I Agree (15) - I Disagree (1)

heck yes!
from: matt	on: 08-20-2011 09:29PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

When I see people making a living from a truck in town, I wonder how fair that is to the people who run a business and pay rent and utilities or buy there store property. I know those that do business from there truck have expenses but not the financial outlay and taxes that stores have and don't pay real estate taxes. Some how those selling from a truck seem like gypsies in the night.
from: Arthur	on: 08-21-2011 09:56PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (13)

The negative comments on this board regarding the taco truck are so typical of the boring, snobby attitudes in Williamstown. This town needs something new and hip. Get with it! Mobile trucks are all the rage in cities around the country. Why not here? Downtown is so boring otherwise - there is no life, as a college town should be. It's nice to see an adventurous entrepreneur starting a new venture. More power to him!
from: stillcooking	on: 08-22-2011 11:38AM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (0)
Editor: Truck food is very in, right now. I, too, do not understand the negativity toward entrepreneurism.
I Agree (8) - I Disagree (0)

There are enough restaurants in the spring Street area without a truck going around tying up traffic on a one way street.
from: arthur	on: 08-22-2011 06:55PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (13)

I was excited to try the taco truck and stopped one day going thru Williamstown. Unfortunately, the burritos did not have a lot of flavor, beans were undercooked and they put salsa verde on without asking your preference. VERY HOT not a lot of flavor, which apparently many people like. I prefer quality over quantity. Burrito was so full of beans and rice, not enough sour cream and would have preferred "normal" salsa. Disappointed and will not be repeat customer. Not trying to knock anyone - I think it is an innovative idea for this area, just offering suggestions as to the product itself.
from: good luck	on: 08-23-2011 12:30PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (2)

Anyone hawking their goods in the streets needs to obtain a hawkers/peddlar's license from Boston.
from: Rules	on: 08-23-2011 09:09PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (5)

Williamstown Planning Board Hears Results of Sidewalk Analysis

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Friday, December 20, 2024

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Two-thirds of the town-owned sidewalks got good grades in a recent analysis ordered by the Planning Board.

But, overall, the results were more mixed, with many of the town's less affluent neighborhoods being home to some of its more deficient sidewalks or going without sidewalks at all.

On Dec. 10, the Planning Board heard a report from Williams College students Ava Simunovic and Oscar Newman, who conducted the study as part of an environmental planning course. The Planning Board, as it often does, served as the client for the research project.

The students drove every street in town, assessing the availability and condition of its sidewalks, and consulted with town officials, including the director of the Department of Public Works.

"In northern Williamstown … there are not a lot of sidewalks despite there being a relatively dense population, and when there are sidewalks, they tend to be in poor condition — less than 5 feet wide and made out of asphalt," Simunovic told the board. "As we were doing our research, we began to wonder if there was a correlation between lower income neighborhoods and a lack of adequate sidewalk infrastructure.

"So we did a bit of digging and found that streets with lower property values on average lack adequate sidewalk infrastructure — notably on North Hoosac, White Oaks and the northern Cole Avenue area. In comparison, streets like Moorland, Southworth and Linden have higher property values and better sidewalk infrastructure."

Newman explained that the study included a detailed map of the town's sidewalk network with scores for networks in a given area based on six criteria: surface condition, sidewalk width, accessibility, connectivity (to the rest of the network), safety (including factors like proximity to the road) and surface material.

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