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Date: 3/22/2021
HOLYOKE – When Nicole Oritz opened the Crave Food Truck in the summer of 2020 she said opening a restaurant was always in her long-term plan.
Now, that dream has come true after she opened the doors to the Crave Holyoke Restaurant during the weekend of March 13. Ortiz said while she purchased the food truck in February of 2020, she didn’t launch until August of 2020. However, she said the food truck “was a pretty big hit right from opening.”
When she began the food truck she said a restaurant space was part of her long term goals. Oritz said she was using a kitchen in Southwick to do her food prep for the truck when she was contacted by the owners of the Holyoke Hummus Company in early fall to see if she’d be interested in sharing their space.
“We needed a kitchen to prep the food so we were using a space in Southwick before, that was such a long drive [and] it wasn’t working. Holyoke Hummus reached out to see if we’d be interested in sharing their space. It works out, it’s right in Holyoke,” she said.
She said there were very few steps they needed to take for Crave to join Holyoke Hummus in the building on 285 High St. “We had to get an additional permit in the city for a food establishment, we also had to have a walk-in built out,” she said. Ortiz added that they shared a single entrance and Holyoke Hummus just used the space to do prep work while Crave did prep and takeout.
In addition to saving both of the restaurants money, Ortiz said moving into the space has also allowed her to expand her menu. “So our menu is bigger at the restaurant, we have several more items. Before it was hard to keep up with demand, we were only able to be open three to four days with the truck,” she said. “Now we can prep five days a week, so we have more food to support the truck and the restaurant. We can get more staff in as well.”
Ortiz emphasized that the opening of the restaurant did not mean the closure of the truck and that the truck would still be open for several days throughout the week. “The restaurant is only open Thursday through Sunday, but the food truck is open Monday through Wednesday. We’re going to be doing six days a week soon with the food truck,” she said, adding that she was still working to figure out scheduling and it required “figuring out how much to prep and when.”
Ortiz said customers were receptive to the opening of the restaurant and seemed excited about it. “We have a lot of regulars, everyone seems to enjoy it, especially in this area. There’s not a lot of food options, especially on the weekend a lot of businesses are closed. People are just excited to have another option,” she said.
In addition to doing takeouts and call ahead ordering, Crave’s food is also available on the DoorDash and GrubHub apps. Call ahead orders can be made by calling the restaurant at 504-9204. Hours and a complete menu can be found on the Crave Food Truck Facebook page.