Baxter’s Barracudas invite you to Food Truck Monday tonight in Fort Mill

Baxter Barracudas are planning big bites for everyone to enjoy at home meets on Mondays.

The swim team last year decided to no longer sell concessions during meets, which opened up a new opportunity. Food Truck Mondays was created. Last year, there were two trucks and a handful of ice cream vendors. The trucks were so popular that they sold out of food and one had to have more brought in via an Uber driver, said Scott Phillips, co-president and sponsorship committee chairman of the summer swim team.

“I started chasing the food trucks around and getting an idea of what we wanted to do,” Phillips said.

This year, Phillips decided to more than double the number of trucks to seven, including ice cream trucks. Phillips said his inner foodie wanted more “adult” food at the swim meets. With more than 200 children on the swim team, it’s an event he said could bring in up to 1,000 people.

“I’m a pilot and my wife is a flight attendant, and we are all over the country,” he said. “I basically fly to eat. I try different foods and different restaurants. I use apps from the Food Network shows to find restaurants wherever I am all over the country.”

One of those shows, “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives,” recently featured Papi Queso and its gourmet grilled cheese. That truck, along with others that serve sliders, gourmet pizza and desserts, are all featured on the FT Monday Facebook page. The food truck owners pay a flat fee to sell at the team’s home meets and get their logo on the team’s T-shirt.

An addition this year will be more seating. Phillips said he sold sponsorships and the team bought 12 portable picnic tables.

“Last year the No. 1 complaint is there’s nowhere to sit,” he said.

Phillips said it’s been a large undertaking that started with getting familiar with the food truck scene.

“It took a lot of legwork, my wife and I ate at a lot of food trucks in the past six months,” he said.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Baxter’s Barracudas invite you to Food Truck Monday tonight in Fort Mill."