On Saturday, March 24, Barking Duck Brewing Company hosted the first Mint Hill Food Truck Rally of the Spring.

Mint Hill resident and Sticks and Cones truck owner Karen Harvey Trauner brought food truck rallies to the Barking Duck last March.  The kid- and dog-friendly events were immensely popular, and the brewery hosted several last spring and summer.

Five food trucks offered their fare to Barking Duck patrons on Saturday from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm: 100 Main BBQ, KO Food Truck, Mel’s BLT Kitchen, Zaroob and Dumpling Girls.  “It’s a great mix of trucks,” said Trauner. “All kind of cuisines, new and old trucks. It’s a nice mix of menus: BBQ, soul, Chinese dumplings, TexMex, sandwiches and Middle Eastern.”

Inside the brewery, Annemarie Williams from “Soaping Around Me” offered a craft for children.  For a fee, children could create an “Easter Egg Bath Bomb” filled with essential oils and a toy.  Williams held a similar event earlier in the day at Mint Hill Roasting Company.

Barking Duck offered four of their own beers on tap: “Banamber: Belgian Amber, “Brain Lives” Cream Ale, “Wicked Sippa” Sour IPA and “Release the Quacken” Imperial Chocolate Sea Salt Porter.  Also on tap were Southern Range “Deranged Red,” Legion “Juicy Jay” and OMB “Copper.”

Patrons can expect to see more beers on tap from the Barking Duck at future food truck rallies.  “We have a lot more seasonal beers and new beers coming up in the next week,” said owner Josh Carl.  “We didn’t want to rush out anything that wasn’t ready.” In the coming weeks, expect to see Hoppy Blonde, New England IPA, Coffee Porter, and Strawberry Cream Ale, to name a few.

With gray skies, temperatures near freezing, and a constant threat of rain, Saturday’s weather wasn’t exactly ideal for a picnic on the lawn of the Barking Duck.  In anticipation of the cold and rainy weather, The Barking Duck opened the back warehouse to provide more indoor seating, and many patrons chose to take food to go.

Although the cold weather limited attendance at this first food truck rally of the season, Trauner and Carl are confident that future food truck rallies at The Barking Duck will be just as popular as they were last season.  “People gave great responses,” said Carl. “If the weather was better we can expand it more outdoors.”