Paris on the Platte goes mobile

By Laura Shunk Mon., Jul. 12 2010 at 4:08 PM

Categories: The Dish

Since the mid-1980s, crowds of hipsters have populated the dark rooms at Paris on the Platte, 1553 Platte Street, sipping espresso and smoking cigarettes (until December of last year, when the joint finally went non-smoking) in one of Denver's favorite alternative coffeehouses.

Now, the crew at Paris is taking its act to the street. The café debuted its pale blue food truck at Civic Center Eats two weeks ago, where it dished out sandwiches and coffee to park goers.

Like many of the city's mobile food truck owners, Paris on the Platte owner Faye Maguire was inspired by the mobile vending scene in Portland. After a trip to the city last October, she returned to Denver and bought a truck, fitting it with an espresso machine and basic kitchen gear.

"Food trucks are a great way to extend our business without a brick and mortar establishment," she says. "Plus, it's a really fun scene, and it's hip and cutting edge, which is what we are at Paris on the Platte."

Now that the wheels are up and rolling, Maguire is looking for events to explore. The truck will be at Civic Center Eats all summer, and, pending the outcome of the Steuben's Food Truck Civic Center pilot, Maguire is considering the possibility of a daily presence there, too. The mobile café will also be at the remaining July Thursday night concerts at Confluence Park.