GREAT FALLS — Although times are dark, some color will soon be returning to Great Falls, as the popular food truck PurpleGold rolls into town next week.
The official opening date and location are still to be determined, but co-owner Ashley Smith predicts the truck will take the streets next Tuesday or Wednesday.
While many businesses are choosing to close at this time, Smith explained that there were several reasons why she and her husband Ryan decided to reopen- mainly the closure of their gym, Big Sky Crossfit.
“We were actually planning on opening up in April anyway. We had a late start last year just because our truck wasn’t finished until June. Of course, it is a really crazy time, but our gym is closed right now too so for us. We do have the extra time and there were a lot of messages asking when we were going to open. So, we took all of that into account,” Smith said.
Since their food truck operates on a to-go basis, their business is permitted to operate at this time. “Because we are takeout, we kinda fit right into the 'okay to continue serving food’ [category],” Smith said.
However, the Smiths will be taking some steps to keep their food, customers, and staff as safe as possible, including: Extra washing of fruit, more disposing of gloves, six feet apart distancing while in line, and relying more on credit card orders to minimize the hand-to-hand exchange of cash.
Smith also wants to limit the number of people standing in line, to minimize social contact: “Try to limit who’s standing in line. Instead of you and maybe your whole family coming to stand in line, maybe if just one person can get everybody’s order,” Smith said.
Another way her employees will exercise extra care is by practicing quarantine while at home: “Everyone that's going to be working at purplegold are going to be quarantining at home if they're not a work and they're at home with their families who are doing the same thing. So I think people can be reassured that our employees are symptom-free and abiding by the rules set out for everyone,” Smith said.
While the food truck offered both bowls and waffles last season, they're going to sell solely acai bowls while coronavirus concerns persist. In addition to a new focus, PURPLEGOLD also has a new website where customers can easily access their menu, schedule, and contact information. They plan to follow a 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule for their upcoming season but will be changing locations weekly.
Click here to stay up-to-date with the schedule. You can also check out their Facebook page.
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