DC Food Trucks are restaurant incubators!  Here is the running list of food trucks that went on to establish brick and mortar restaurants:

• El Floridano – Mothership @ 3301 Georgia Ave NW
• PORC – Kangaroo Boxing Club @ 3410 11th St NW
• District Taco – 1309 F St NW // 656 Pennsylvania AVE SE // 5723 Lee Highway, Arlington
• TaKorean – Union Market
• DC Empanadas – Union Market
• Curbside Cupcakes – Union Market
• SOL Mexican Grill – 1251 H St NE
• Chupacabra – 822 H St NE
• Hot People – Shanghai Lounge @ 1734 Wisconsin Ave NW (took over in Feb 2013)
• Coles Palette (Baltimore area)
• Carnivore BBQ (Baltimore)
• Maui Wowi Food Truck – operating in Dulles Airport
• Pure Pasty – 128C Church Street NW, Vienna, VA
• District of Pi – 910 F St NW
•  ..more are on the way!

It works the other way around, too! The following restaurants diversified their business to include a mobile component:

• Pepe (a Jose Andres creation)
• Crêpe Love
• Dangerously Delicious Pies
• Amorini Panini
• Chick-fil-A
• Cupcake Blvd (1117 State Route 3 N. Suite 104, Gambrills, MD)
• Mayur Kabob
• BonMi (900 19th St NW)
• The Salsa Room (TSR) Quesadillas & Empanadas (2619 Columbia Pike, Arlington)

Unfortunately, Mayor Gray is starting to stunt DC’s restaurant growth and future tax base by proposing overly restrictive food truck regulations.  The result is that food trucks are closing up shop due to the hostile political climate:

• Basil Thyme (2 trucks)
• Pinup Panini