Food truck park at Merced rental car lot grows into major spot. What they offer

For Courtesy Rent a Car president Jeff Henenfent, hosting food trucks is nothing new. He hosted the first food truck on the business’ property near west 15th and R streets sometime around 2015.

Henenfent said that vendor operated exclusively until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous requests from other food truck operators.

“So slowly expanded with the correct, power, water and restrooms — stuff like that to accommodate everybody,” he said.

With a goal of offering diverse options, Henenfent said the location currently hosts eight permanent food trucks, with one intermittent vendor, meaning various cuisines, including Mexican, Teppanyaki, Indian and even cupcakes.

He said he prides himself on offering a location where customers can come to experience food in a space that’s easily accessible from a busy nearby intersection, as well as offering paved, off-street parking and ample lighting throughout the property with a goal of maintaining a clean and safe environment for patrons.

Henenfent said it’s not uncommon to see a vehicle full of people pull in for lunch. As people exit the vehicle, they all head to different food trucks to grab lunch.

“It’s fun to see that,” he said. “They can either sit here and hangout at the benches and the eating area we provide, or they can take it to go.”

What originally started out as sort of a fun concept of hosting a food vendor on-site, which Henenfent said also proved convenient for himself and his staff at lunch time, has now expanded and become a location that hosts a variety of offerings that are available for the community to enjoy.

“It’s fun helping support local vendors,” said Henenfent.

The site includes a covered dining area, restrooms and parking with about 40% of the 1-acre lot dedicated to the food trucks and customer space.

Henenfent said the food trucks operate their own hours separate from the Courtesy Rent a Car. This allows the vendors to come and go as they please, as well as benefiting customers as it means some of the food trucks may operate earlier in the day serving breakfast to hungry customers, or operating well past business hours catering to customers looking to grab a meal late at night.

According to Henenfent, food truck vendors operate from the location on a monthly rental agreement and all of the vendors on site are required to be permitted by the Merced County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division.

“As a landlord, I provide the water, electricity, trash service, 24-hour security guard and try to keep it clean and nice,” said Henenfent.

Food Trucks On-site

Owner and operator of the D Bois Teppanyaki food truck Danny Souphilavong, 35, of Merced, said he started operating his food truck out of the location in April, after having operated out of his home for the last three to four years on his days off from his nearly 13-year career as a truck driver. While the business and growing a customer base has its up and downs, Souphilavong said that, so far, the experience at the location has been good.

Souphilavong said the location is where he routinely sets up his food truck on a daily basis when not taking on catering gigs. With customers coming from the rental car business onsite and even with his food truck located near the busy intersection and near Costco, Souphilavong said a lot of people find his truck through social media and through word of mouth.

With various plate offerings including ones of chicken, steak and shrimp, Souphilavong said one of the dishes that proves to be popular with his customers is the triple threat–a dish including chicken, beef and shrimp with sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, onions and fried rice. All plates come with a side of homemade spicy mayo or teriyaki sauce, he said.

“There’s a lot of food trucks going on now,” said Souphilavong. “So you know, it’s always good (to) see what’s good. Check it out for yourself,” he said.

“You know, (if) your food’s good, your quality, your quantity, they’re always going to go where you’re at. I did it from home and I still have the same customers since I first started from home,” he said.

Ramon Mata, 35, and Maria Vega, 34, owners and operators of the El Tacoloco food truck, said the location provides easy access to the food trucks and parking for customers, which is valuable for customers.

Some of the more popular dishes include tacos, quesabirrias, sopes, burritos and tortas. Mata said the business started in 2015 in San Jose, before he eventually moved to Merced. Vega, who grew up in Merced, said they began operating from the location at the Courtesy Rent a Car property in 2022, and she recalls a time when she didn’t see many food trucks in the area.

“It’s getting very popular,” said Vega. “Now you go to every corner and there’s taco trucks.”

Mata said he has noticed that more people seem to trust food trucks now than in previous years. Vega said that in her experience, customers like to see inside the food trucks, as opposed to having the sides of the trucks closed.

Another reason that Mata believes food trucks are becoming more popular is that there is better equipment and more easily replaceable commercial equipment available now for food truck operators.

Overall, Mata and Vega said they see Merced’s growing food truck scene as a good thing for the city, especially as more cuisine options are available through food truck vendors and don’t foresee a problem with having too many options.

“There’s always space for another one,” said Mata. “There’s so many, there’s enough for everybody to sell. That’s what I believe and everybody’s going to go where they like,” said Vega.

This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 5:30 AM.