SAN ANTONIO — When the pandemic hit, Lashaundra Allen’s passion for cooking was put on hold. There were no patrons in the AT&T Center. Noone tasted her food. No end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of restaurants aren’t even surviving right now. A lot of food trucks aren’t doing too well either,” Allen said. “You get tired of cooking for yourself at home. We’re ready to get our hands dirty again.”
Allen is now back in the kitchen cooking for the Spurs Street Eats Food Truck, a concept that came out of the San Antonio Spurs’ challenge to employees this summer.
“Ways we could operate and ways we could open back up to fans. I was honestly kicking myself for not suggesting it,” said Spurs culinary experience coordinator Jacob Ivice. “I think so far it’s been worthwhile and we’re very confident that it’s going to pay dividends to the fans and the community. I like when the city comes together for all sorts of different reasons and different demographics. We still can’t have that, but we can still see groups of people come and enjoy something together, which is our food.”
The menu is Latin-inspired food, and familiar fare to those who’ve been to the AT&T center.
“Some of the items we sell, we sell in the arena. It’s nice to have some of the fan favorites like Chicken Tinga,” Allen said. “Our torta is new, but everybody is loving it.”
The truck is just one attempt to reach out to a fan base that’s been dormant for months.
“It’s great to see all the super fans with the Spurs masks and the Spurs hat and the Spurs shirt and Spurs credit card in their wallet,” Ivice said.
Although basketball season isn’t in full swing yet, the new food truck is keeping fans’ bellies full.
“We meet a lot of people,” Allen said. “A lot of non-Spurs fans, actually. They ask questions about our menu in the arena, it’s been great. This year has been completely different, because normally we’d be opened up and closed during the summer,” Allen said. “With the COVID changes, it’s been a learning process to learn how to open back up.”