June 13, 2018

If you missed your chance last summer to eat Nick’s hamburgers in Sioux Falls, you’ve got at least three opportunities this year.

The mobile grill for Nick’s Hamburger Shop of Brookings will be at Dawley Farm Village once a month this summer, with the first appearance Friday.

Nick’s will serve singles and doubles from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the shared parking lot for First Bank & Trust and Coffea Roasterie at the east-side shopping center.

Those two businesses organize Food Truck Fridays throughout the summer and invited Nick’s for the first time last year. Customers stood in line in pouring rain to order the slider-size burgers made on a flat-top grill at the June event.

“We love the community support outside of the Brookings community,” said Jamie Cuka, Nick’s catering manager.

At that first event, Nick’s sold out in 90 minutes, so arriving sooner rather than later isn’t a bad idea.

“We can make 250 in an hour, realistically,” Cuka said. “We’ll pack 600 burgers on the trailer.”

Breanna Garbers, retail branch manager for First Bank & Trust, said 900 people have already expressed interest in coming on the event’s Facebook page.

“They have such a special following,” she said of Nick’s. “We had plenty of people who were glad to have them here and excited to find out if they were coming back again.”

The mobile grill usually serves at private events, so alumni from South Dakota State University will seek out the rare public appearances.

“I love hearing those stories (from alumni),” Cuka said. “People will share how they remember eating them during college.”

Garbers agreed that the nostalgia of Nick’s is a big attraction.

“I think my favorite part of it was hearing the history,” she said of the customers who came to the two Food Truck Fridays with Nick’s last year.

The hamburger shop has been serving food in downtown Brookings since 1929. It started using the trailer in 2008 when the restaurant was being renovated.

The other Dawley Farm dates are July 20 and Aug. 31, the final Food Truck Friday.

Nick’s also will be in Sioux Falls on Saturday for Fernson Brewing Co.’s Field Day. The trailer will be at the brewery at 1400 E. Robur Drive from 4 to 7 p.m.

Love food trucks? Here’s your complete guide to the 2018 season