MENDOTA – Reimagine Mendota brought a new concept to eating out in Mendota when it began Food Truck Mania two years ago.

The event has been so successful it has become the biggest fundraiser for the pavilion project.

It also outgrew its location.

“We didn’t have the space to continue having Food Truck Mania on Main Street,” said Reimagine Mendota Secretary Vicki Johnson. “When we put our survey out, people said it was hard to have the food trucks lined up so long because they had to walk all the way down and back to decide what they wanted.

“We talked about still having the food trucks on Main Street and closing a street to make the walk shorter, but due to the traffic, we decided it wasn’t the best idea.”

This year, Food Truck Mania is moving to Illinois Avenue between Jefferson Street and Monroe Street.

This location gives Food Truck Mania – 4-8 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays every month starting May 12 and ending Oct. 27 – a parking lot, lights, a storage area for the picnic tables, and people do not have to cross a street with ongoing traffic.

At press time, Johnson has met her goal of having 10 food trucks for six of the 11 Mondays the event will take place. She has eight or nine trucks for the other five but is reaching out to more.

“It worked out very well last year. Plus, with the survey, 100 percent of the people wanted Food Truck Mania to return,” Johnson said. “It’s something that brings our community together. The Sweet Corn Festival is the main thing to bring people downtown, but this is nice to have to have people gather on a regular basis.”

Food trucks included in Food Truck Mania are Tacos Guzman, Salinas Mexican Food, Philly Factory, Tony’s Buttshack, Flo’s on Pulaski, Didough’s Pretzels, AR Chimney Cakes, LaSalle Doghouse, Big Rich BBQ, Big B BBQ, Farmers Smoked BBQ, Main Squeeze Lemonade, Naiho’s Eggrolls and More, La Esquinita De Oro, and Flo’s will have a second truck.

“We hope to have some of the trucks do fundraisers for us. We’ve had a couple of trucks volunteer,” Johnson said. “We’re starting to charge the trucks $25 to be at Food Truck Mania, which we’ve never done before. If they decide to do a fundraiser, they won’t be charged the $25 for that night, but at the end of the night, they’ll donate 10 percent of their profit.

“All of the proceeds from Food Truck Mania and the food trucks, minus the costs, are going toward the pavilion project to match the $100,000 donation from Black Bros.”