Photo courtesy of the Fresno Grizzlies | Taco Truck Throwdown 2024 winners, Tacos Don Chicho, Miche Firme and Papi’s Mex Grill pose for photos of the Judge’s Choice category.

Long before Fresno Street Eats became the Central Valley’s go-to for outdoor food truck events, there was Taco Truck Throwdown — a celebration of tacos, music and a healthy dose of competition among food truck operators.

Founded in 2011 by Mike Osegueda, then a sportswriter for the Fresno Bee, and Sam Hansen, who worked in the Fresno Grizzlies front office, Taco Truck Throwdown grew from a small gathering of local trucks at a baseball game into a marquee event drawing participants and fans from across the country.

Gamesmanship among participants

Osegueda, a longtime sports fan, wanted to inspire competition. Leading up to this year’s event, set for Nov. 8, he held “qualifiers,” with trucks competing at locations throughout the Valley for a spot in the lineup.

This year’s Throwdown will feature 24 trucks.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time because I think it adds a level of… sportiness to it, but I think it also adds another level of pride to it,” Osegueda said.

Unlike many food festivals that rely on popularity or longstanding relationships, Taco Truck Throwdown invites past champions but also incorporates competition into the selection process. Osegueda compared the reveal to NCAA March Madness, with Fresno Street Eats announcing the lineup in batches to build excitement.

“Usually, we’ll always invite the previous champions and then we look for who’s hot? Who’s making noise?” Osegueda said. “And then we have people that have been in it from the beginning.”

About half the lineup comes from returning champions or feature trucks. Fresno Street Eats, which grew out of Taco Truck Throwdown in 2018, curates the other half, spotlighting new local entrepreneurs.

Tacos and baseball

Hosted annually by the Fresno Grizzlies, the event has grown with the team’s support.

“We’re extremely excited to have Taco Truck Throwdown here at Chukchansi Park for what is now its 14th year,” said Jonathan Bravo, the Grizzlies’ director of marketing and communications. “Any time you have an event running for 14 years, you know you’re doing something right.”

The event has inspired local entrepreneurs and even minor league baseball. In 2015, the Grizzlies adopted their alter ego, the Fresno Tacos, prompting teams nationwide to experiment with alternate identities.

“For us to be the first minor league baseball team to take the field as an alternate identity all those years ago is something that we take a lot of pride in,” Bravo said.

The event’s success also led to the founding of Fresno Street Eats.

“I don’t know that I would have been in a position to start Fresno Street Eats if not for Taco Truck Throwdown,” Osegueda said. “It’s definitely the beginning of it all. I would say if there was not a Throwdown, there probably wouldn’t be a Street Eats.”

A party atmosphere

Taco Truck Throwdown has grown from a seven-truck Thursday night feature into a full-blown festival with attendees from across the country and headliners including Cypress Hill, Tha Dogg Pound, DJ Quik and this year, E-40.

“At the end of the day, the star of Taco Truck Throwdown is the truck,” Bravo said. “For us to be able to compliment this exciting event with big names like E-40 and Baby Bash…this is an event that people know about and it’s an event that people are excited to perform at.”

“The first year we were literally just trying to have all these different cities represented,” Osegueda said. “Now we have more interest from trucks than there are spots in the event.”

With ongoing support from Fresno Street Eats and the Grizzlies, the event continues to elevate the taco truck scene and the Central Valley.

This year’s Taco Truck Throwdown will take place Nov. 8, with Early Bird tickets for pre-festivity taco tasting. The event starts at 5 p.m. Tickets are available through the Fresno Grizzlies website.