Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

Thursday, the line outside its service window didn't stop for three hours.

Run by Art Webb, of Auburn, the Tex-Mex truck joins a growing fleet of mobile food providers cooking in Cayuga County. Some, like Phat Kat, operate out of the Auburn area. Others operate from Syracuse and elsewhere outside the county. But almost all the food trucks serving the Auburn market agree that it's hungry for more of them.

Less than 10 trucks have mobile food establishment permits from the Cayuga County Health Department, it said, though out-of-town trucks can also apply for temporary permits.

The newest area truck is Phat Kat. Though Webb runs his truck in Auburn, business partner Ben Bonney runs one in Oswego and a third truck runs at Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse. They tout it as a veteran-owned business: Webb is an Iraq War veteran with the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

Webb's Phat Kat () currently serves customers from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays in the parking lot of Family Video, 48 E. Genesee St., Auburn. He's also pulled it into Tinkers Guild on Franklin Street and other venues by request. But he may have to upgrade his truck first: Webb was sold out of food by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Webb attributes Phat Kat's popularity to its menu, which includes tacos, nachos, burritos, quesadillas and churros with fresh carnitas, carne asada and other options made from Indelicato's meat.

"People love it," he said. "I'm going to have to get a second refrigerator."

Also new to Auburn's food truck scene is 3 Little Pigs Pig Out (), a traveling hot dog stand run by Artie Colon, of Auburn. Opened May 29, the truck has been serving attendees of Auburn's  at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at Market Street Park and every other Wednesday at Clifford Park.

With Hofmann, turkey and other hots plus toppings and soda, Colon's vying to be known as Auburn's "hot dog guy."

"I'm doing alright for my first (year)," he said. "People don't know about me yet."

Another Auburn truck, though one with more tenure, is Tonzi's (find it ). Run by Mike and Michelle Tonzi, the truck is more event-oriented than Phat Kat or 3 Little Pigs.

Mike said the business has been too busy with graduation parties and weddings this summer to commit to a single spot, though he hopes to be at Tinkers more regularly beginning in August. It will be at the Franklin Street bar's Oct. 7, he said, as well as the New York State Fair's and, possibly,  in September.

Given the range of events it caters, Tonzi's can cook anything from its signature macaroni and cheese fritters to "finer menus" for weddings, Mike said. 

"(Food trucks) are getting more popular and accepted in Auburn," he said. "We're definitely going to be more in the public eye in the next couple years."

Joining Auburn's hometown trucks are several from Syracuse and other neighboring cities.

A visitor is Dennis Souva and Cindy Baker's Chicken Bandit truck (), which most recently served pulled pork nachos, Mexican lime garlic chicken gyros and more homemade fare at the Auburn Rotary Club's Rotary Ribs, Rhythm & Blues Festival. The Syracuse truck has also stopped at Treleaven Wines in King Ferry, where it'll return Sept. 8 and 26.

Souva, who's part of the Syracuse Food Truck Association, said it can be lucrative for trucks to stay on the move.

"We're so busy that having one spot is like an anchor, and we do better by going where people want us to be," he said. "That's the beauty of a food truck: You can go to your customers."

Souva also touted food trucks for being self-powered, serving fresh food and following stringent health department inspections. PB&J Lunch Box owner Pat Orr () complimented the Cayuga County Health Department in particular for being welcoming to food trucks, pointing out not just things they may be doing wrong but also how to fix them.

Orr has taken PB&J to Dickman Farms' annual , where patrons often asked her why the truck doesn't serve its gourmet grilled cheese, grilled PB&J and other options in Auburn more often, she said. Sometimes, Orr continued, it's because events ask for costly up-front fees — even from a  like her.

"If it rains, you lose money," Orr said. "And we've had such a rainy spring."

Like PB&J, Auburn native Jeanne Catalfano's Bite Box Food Truck () has also come to select events in her hometown, such as the at Emerson Park.

Catalfano serves The Bite Box's poutines, sliders and other foods at many private events in Cayuga County, but said she's looking for more ways to bring her food to the public. An attempt to organize a food truck rodeo at  beginning in May fell through, she said, so she keeps looking as hungry customers in the Auburn area keep asking.

"I'm getting so many calls for trucks," Catalfano said. "There's a huge demand for food trucks in Auburn."