Great Food Truck Race tied to Pocatello as filming wraps

Contestants from one upcoming reality show filled the streets in downtown Pocatello today for the final day of taping.

Some believe it was not just the competition that was heating up, but the local craze for food trucks as well after The Great Food Truck Race spent a weekend in the Gate City filming its fourth season’s third episode.

The show’s co-executive producer Peter Woronov said he chose Pocatello for a good reason after conducting endless research.

“It was between this and a couple of other places,” Woronov said. “We wanted a small town, so I started to do some research and I liked its history, I liked the idea of the potato and just what it was here, and so Pocatello seemed right.”

Although the show will be waving goodbye to a city the cast and crew called home for a weekend, they are still leaving behind a piece of what they originally came for.

With the rise of the food truck trend, local restaurant owners also say they might jump on that bandwagon as well.

Marhaba restaurant owner Sanju Choudhury believes opening-up a food truck will be smart of that wave hits Pocatello. He said the summertime months are opportune for people who want to eat outside with the food truck being the most viable solution for that desire.

“If you have five food trucks outside sharing different kinds of a country’s food, obviously people don’t want to be inside the restaurant,” Choudhury said in respect to keeping up with the competition. “So yes, according to the trend, Marhaba might also open up a truck and we’ll be in the trend with the food trucks.”

Even some of the contestants believe this is not the first time their ancestors have crossed the Pacific Ocean to land in Idaho.

Contestant Lanai Tabura said in the 1800s three Hawaiian explorers were sent to the mountains in Idaho to do business and landed in what is now called Owyhee County.

“They got lost and never came back, so the Indians named Owyhee County after them,” Tabura said. “So we feel like we have a Hawaiian tie to Idaho.”

Choudhury said having the show come to Pocatello is good for local businesses such as his restaurant. He said the city last saw this positive publicity when Extreme Makeover came back in 2010.

“It was an excellent concept, I think. Anything different we would like to have in Pocatello which would be nice for the city itself. Then the city gets on the map and people come to know about Pocatello,” Choudhury said.

Although our duty to deliver news to the community holds top priority, the show’s producers asked that we not disclose any spoilers or more information about the details of the episode’s outcome.

The season premiers on the Food Network on August 11.

Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinLoukides