Brooklyn Park Fleet Farm Food Trucks Endure All Seasons
Food trucks are a common sight at the Minnesota State Fair, sporting events — and if you’re lucky — your neighborhood block party. Much of the time, though, those events happen in the summer, serving up treats like mini donuts, fresh lemonade and barbecue.
In many parking lots, like the Fleet Farm lot in Brooklyn Park, you can get those tastes of summer any time of the year. Phat Phil’s Mini Donuts holds up the corner of the lot.
“They call this my spot,” said Phil Lawrence, longtime owner of Phat Phil’s.
Lawrence is there in all conditions. He said the hottest temperature he’s served is 110 degrees. The coldest was -22.
Thursday was a balmy 40 degrees for a February, but the wind threatened to take down his sign.
“If it’s cold, I’ve got three fish house heaters in there,” Lawrence said, gesturing toward his trailer. “So, it’s always 95 and sunny in the trailer!”
Lawrence’s been in the business of donuts for nearly 20 years. Most of that time is spent at fairs and tournaments throughout the state. But in the last five years, once the pandemic began, he had to shift business slightly. There, he found the Fleet Farm parking lot.
“This community embraced me at a time when life looked kind of scary. I didn’t know where we were going to go,” Lawrence said.
It transformed his business. Now, he’s widely recognized for his Fleet Farm spot, though he still attends fairs, tournaments and even corporate events.
“Now, when I go out into the world: ‘aren’t you him? Aren’t you the fleet farm mini donut guy?’ and I go ‘yeah yeah yeah,'” Lawrence said.
Phil Lawrence stands outside his truck, which is parked in his corner spot at the Fleet Farm parking lot.
In Good Company
Lawrence isn’t the only one out at Fleet Farm. He has companions– like Pat Johnson, who runs the year-old BBQ Junkies, a Texas-style barbecue shop.
“The more the merrier is what I say!” Lawrence said.
Johnson crafts a variety of barbecue products, like ribs and pulled pork. He said he has five different barbecue pits at his house where he prepares the meat fresh.
He credits Lawrence for pioneering the industry in many ways. He also credits them for their little spot on the corner.
“This is where I trial my stuff, and my customers here are so loyal and so honest with me, that if something is not working they will tell me,” Johnson said.
Even in the winter time, Johnson said the customer loyalty stays true. He stays in the lot each day he’s there until the food sells out.
Pat Johnson stands outside his BBQ Junkies truck. He said he designed the truck and started work on it a year ago.
He agrees that even in the cold, he’s in good company.
“It’s kind of a really cool, tight knit community that really look out for each other. And it’s just a great group. We all call each other friends,” Johnson said.
Johnson and Lawrence are not the only trucks that set up shop in the Fleet Farm parking lot– there’s a rotating cast, depending on the day.
You can find out if BBQ Junkies is out at Fleet Farm by checking its Facebook page. Phat Phil’s also posts when its in the lot on its Facebook page.
