By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Last week, Bill Tilison, owner of Dave’s Diner, launched Billy’s Burrito & Taco Wagon, a Mexican food truck parked at the corner of Sullivan and Albany Streets.
The food truck made its debut on Tuesday, May 5.
“We have traveled extensively to Mexico over the last 10 years and I’ve always loved Mexican street tacos and taco stands,” said Tilison. “We had often said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to just open a taco stand and kind of live a stress free life?’ Given the mandated closure of all restaurants with the exception of to go food, we decided now would be a good time to try it . . . We also figure when the restrictions are lifted they will not allow us to go back to normal capacity and we figure people will want to be outdoors where they can socially distance. And why not be outdoors and be able to have food you can walk around with?”
Billy’s Burrito & Taco Wagon welcomed its first customers at noon and sold out by 6 p.m.
“Obviously with Cinco de Mayo being our first day that helped,” said Tilison.
Currently, the truck is offering tacos, burritos, nachos and bowls. According to Tilison, everything, from the fresh Pico De Gallo to the crispy fried tortilla chips, is homemade at the diner daily.
As of May 6, the food truck hours had not been solidified.
“Right now we’re not sure, but we are keeping everything posted on Facebook,” Tilison said.
The Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees approved the required public space use permit and vendor’s permit for the food truck on May 4, subject to the following conditions:
1) The approval is for a parking space in the public lot immediately in front of 35 Albany St. and is for the duration of the emergency order preventing sit-down service at restaurants. Any subsequent use of the food truck there or in other public spaces will require a separate approval.
2) Conduct of operations so as to not interfere with the continued safe use of the remainder of the public parking lot.
3) Enforcement of social distancing and other public health guidelines as described in the DOH approval document.
“We have awesome village officials here in Cazenovia who are working hard to ensure that area
businesses can still prosper during these hard times,” Tilison said. “We have temporary permission to be in the current location as long as there is a state ordered ban on dining in a restaurant. We have also secured multiple locations on private property throughout the village, which eventually we will be moving to.”
Tilison added that he is taking social distancing very seriously to help ensure the safety of his customers and employees.
“We have put on extra staff to make sure people are spaced out six feet apart,” he said. “We also put on a food runner who brings your food to you while you wait in a separate area also separated from people.”
In addition to opening the food truck, Tilison has adapted to the COVID-19 situation in other creative ways.
For the past several weeks, Dave’s Diner has been offering Friday homemade dinners and Saturday morning donuts — both of which are available for pre-order on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 315-815-4300.
“It was honestly a matter of survival,” Tilison said. “Not a lot of people realize, but . . . it hit us especially hard because people don’t typically call for to go food between the hours of 6 and 11 a.m. So the ideas basically were born out of necessity. We started the Friday night fish fry in collaboration with Saint James church last year and we have just continued with it. [We] thought people would still want some normalcy for their morning weekend breakfast ritual, so we partnered with my good friend Mike Rothfeld — who is the owner of Harrison Bakery in Syracuse and a local Cazenovia resident — to bring some of the best donuts available to town every Saturday morning.”
Tilison also noted that Carter’s Creamery will open more frequently as the weather improves.
“Currently [the hours are] dependent on the weather,” he said. “Unfortunately, one day at 70 and the next day it’s 38 degrees . . . [Our staff size] varies depending on what we have going on, but with the creamery gearing up to be busy this season we will easily employee the same levels as last year.”
For updates on Carter’s Creamery, visit facebook.com/carterscreamery . For information on Dave’s Diner and Billy’s Burrito & Taco Wagon, visit facebook.com/Daves-Diner-Cazenovia-150103918391880.
