It’s a sad time for fans of two of Champaign-Urbana’s most iconic food trucks.
In separate, unrelated announcements over the past week, the owners of Cracked: The Egg Came First breakfast truck and Dragon Fire Pizza revealed plans to move to other communities.
Both trucks also want to let customers know how to find them before they head out of town, to make it in other locales.
The good news: neither one is going very far.
Dragon Fire Pizza posted its announcement on Facebook on Sept. 14 that owner Dave Saam plans to move the truck to Naperville later this fall. The truck will return to Urbana’s Market at the Square for two final weekends at the end of October, and then will hit the road headed north to the Chicago suburbs.
According to our friends at Smile Politely, the Cracked truck will have its final Champaign-Urbana hurrah on Saturday, September 26 at Urbana’s Market in the Square. (Our advice: go early.)
The letter printed by Smile Politely says that the truck has made plans to move to Gary, Indiana, to grow the community’s food truck culture. Read the full letter on Smile Politely HERE.
“The Cracked Truck will be moving to Gary, IN starting this fall where we have an opportunity to share our breakfast revolution with a new town. We’ve been working closely with the town to make this project happen over the past few months. Our ultimate goal is to bring the same food truck culture to Gary as we have seen grow in C-U. We can only hope to have the same amazing experience there as we’ve had in Champaign-Urbana.”
Here’s the good news for Cracked fans: the restaurant on Green Street in Campustown remains open, so fans can get their Morning Bender or parmesan tots fix anytime (currently open 8 am to 2 pm at 619 E. Green Street).
Cracked was one of community’s original food trucks, and the company helped to build Champaign-Urbana’s now extensive food truck culture.
Launched by two University of Illinois alumni, the bright yellow truck hit the streets of Champaign-Urbana in August 2012. It became a staple on campus, hanging out by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as well as near University High School.
Cracked also has maintained a consistent presence at Market at the Square over the years. Cracked on Green opened in 2017.
The company later expanded to Chicago, and opened a brick-and-mortar brunch spot in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, which remains open.
Dragon Fire Pizza came to Champaign-Urbana six years ago, and quickly made a name for itself with its delicious wood-fired pizza. Its unique wood-burning brick oven – housed in a trailer – was impossible to miss.
Dragon Fire Pizza has been a fixture in downtown Champaign as well as outside of local breweries, at the Market at the Square and Champaign Farmers Market, and at local festivals.