Three new food trucks will join the Food Truck Friday lunch program in downtown Pasco: Hot Tamales, Fast & Curryous and Rex’ Top Shelf.

[blockquote quote="I’m so excited to be sharing a multi-generation recipe." source="Paulina Perez, owner of Hot Tamales" align="right" max_width="300px"]

Hot Tamales is owned and operated by Paulina Perez with a little help from her mom, Lupe. Perez has been selling Mama Lupe’s tamales since she was 6 years old.

“It’s my mom’s passion for cooking that inspired me to start this business and a nod to her demand for freshness that makes all the difference in our tamales,” Perez said.

Hot Tamales will initially sell three fresh varieties: pork, chicken and veggie.

For half a dozen, pay $9.99 or bump it up to a dozen for $15.99 — both depending on the variety ordered.

Hot Tamales products are made and sold fresh from an authentic family recipe that dates back to more than 100 years in the Michoacan region of Mexico with a few modern-day twists: they don’t use as much masa as others and there’s no lard to be found allowing them to boast that their tamales are not only super fresh but lard-free and gluten-free.

Direct from Pasco Specialty Kitchen’s steamers to commercial warmers inside their white “mini-mini” van with its colorful logo newly painted on the sides, Hot Tamales plans to make deliveries, just give them until May for that to happen.

“From my great grandmother Apolinar to my grandmother Rafaela to my mom, Lupe, and me —the tradition continues. Pasco Specialty Kitchen helped make this dream a reality. I’m so excited to be sharing a multi-generation recipe,” Perez said.

Two other new food trucks and cuisines join Food Truck Friday later in the month. Fast and Curryous, co-owned by David and Kavita Stenoien, and Rex’ Top Shelf, owned by Rex Richmond.

Fast and Curryous will offer homemade curries and kabobs.

Rex’ Top Shelf will offer a broad range of elevated American classics from his long-catering history. Think fresh-carved prime rib sandwiches topped with ultra-fresh greens and a lip-smacking, handmade sauce.

Food Truck Friday’s veteran line-up includes Backyard Grub, Doggie Style Gourmet, Fresh Out the Box, Frost Me Sweet, Jiggy’s Bacon Burgers, and The Dovetail Joint (formerly The Glass Onion).

Later in the season, Uncle Brothers Fish Fry will be dishing up their famous Southern-style red snapper and hush puppies and Swampy’s BBQ is expected to roll in.

Food Truck Friday’s third season kicked off April 7.

The program serves as a launching pad for many new food truck owners. As an incubator organization, Pasco Specialty Kitchen, a project of the Downtown Pasco Development Authority, provides technical assistance through the maze of permits and licenses required by local and state agencies to become a legal, operating food business.

Food Truck Friday, the original connoisseur of food truck pods in Pasco, has spawned additional programs around the Mid-Columbia, including Sunset at Southridge and private pods such as Amazon call center and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, as well as on the west side of the state.

Mirrored after Food Truck Friday, Food Truck Tuesday is located in south Puget Sound in Tacoma as a result of a Washington Food Truck Association’s executive visit to Food Truck Friday program over a year ago.

“We’re tickled that others see our food pod program as the one to emulate,” said Marilou Shea, Food Truck Friday’s creator, director of the Pasco Specialty Kitchen and board adviser at the Washington State Food Truck Association.

“It’s a burgeoning industry that not only encourages collaboration but relies on it. It creates a win-win scenario especially for the micro-enterprises themselves, whether in downtown Pasco, across the river or across the state. Paying it forward pays off for food truck owners, their customers and our community.”

New hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the same location, behind Viera’s Bakery on Fourth Avenue, between Lewis and Columbus streets in downtown Pasco.