Red Hook Food Vendors fans, mark your calendars.
The beloved group of Latin American street vendors will return to the Red Hook Ballfields on April 26th for their 40th season of serving authentic South and Central American specialties like huaraches and pupusas.
Returning vendors include such favorites as last year’s Vendy Awards winner El Olomega, which specializes in Salvadoran fare, and former Vendy winners The Country Boys, who serve up traditional Mexican dishes. For the first time in the group’s history, there will also be a rotating lineup of vendors, not limited to Latin American cuisine, to help cultivate new talent.
“We’re trying to become more inclusive and stay relevant,” said the organization’s executive director, Cesar Fuentes. “We want to start enrolling the new generation of Red Hook Food Vendors.”
The lineup of new vendors has not yet been confirmed, but the group’s new website, www.rhfv.com, which launches later this month, will provide updates on the rotation.
Also assuaging any immediate fears about the Red Hook Food Vendors’ future at the Ballfields, Fuentes said the group successfully renewed its permit with the city’s Parks Department, which is set to expire this summer, for another six years. This ensures the vendors will be in action at least through the end of the decade, which is good news following years of permit issues for the vendors. We have reached out to the Parks Department for more details.
Red Hook won’t be the only place you can expect to find the vendors in Brooklyn, either. Fuentes tells us that he’s collaborating with East Williamsburg’s Moore Street Market to have a year-round presence for the Red Hook vendors and a place to further serve as an incubator for new talent.
Update: The Parks Department confirmed that the Red Hook Food Vendors will operate under a new six-year license agreement starting July 1.
Find the Red Hook Food Vendors at the Red Hook Ballfields, Bay and Clinton streets, every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting April 26 until October.
