If you’ve ever had a food truck craving in Boulder, then you know it typically involves hunting down the location of this four-wheeled elusive meal dealer. Unless you happen to stumble upon a visiting food truck at a brewery or business park, chances are food trucks aren’t part of your list of go to places.
Luckily for us Boulder food truck lovers, especially those beer-outdoor-game-food-truck-lovers, that has all changed.
Earlier this summer, the Rayback Collective, Boulder’s first and only food truck park opened its doors, creating a space where food, beer, community and play come together in one place.
We spent an afternoon at the Rayback Collective recently, and couldn’t help but share what we learned!
Where It All Started
What once was the Rayback Plumbing Supply, a 60-year old plumbing company owned and operated by Marion Rayback, the Rayback Collective is now home to rotating local food trucks, local beers, games, event space, and live music.
As a tribute to Rayback’s business and his involvement in the Boulder community, the founders named the Boulder food truck park after Mr. Rayback.
The Rayback Collective was created for the sole purpose of bringing together what the founder’s consider Boulder’s core passions: food, beer, music and play. Through a successful kickstarter campaign and a few bumps in the road, the Rayback Collective was born.
Boulder’s Food Truck Park
When walking through the entrance of the Rayback Collective, you can’t help but feel as if you’ve walked straight into a backyard summer barbecue.
Outdoor lawn games are nestled against bustling food trucks. An outdoor picnic table style seating area houses people enjoying plates of food and cold brews. Twinkle lights zigzag the entirety of the outdoor space.
Once inside, an industrial, yet modern and comfortable, space greets you. The bar is lined with local beers, and ample space to order (yay!). Long high and low-topped tables share ground with eclectic couches and chairs.
The entire space emits a sense of community.
The other great part? The Rayback Collective is located right along the Elmer’s Two Mile/Goose Creek Path, making it an easy place to pedal. Woot!
Now, The Food Trucks
Each day, you can find up to 4 rotating local food trucks at both lunch and dinner. The type of food ranges from local farm-to-table eats, to tacos, to hot dogs, to BBQ, and so much more.
When we visited, we tasted an array of eats from The Ginger Pig (Asian Street Food) and Bumbu Bali (Balinese Food).
Our recommendation: get a little something from each truck so you can enjoy a variety of flavors!
Lunch is served from 11am – 3pm, and dinner is served from 5pm – 9pm daily. For a full schedule of the rotating food trucks, click here.
You Can’t Forget The Beer
The bar features 30 local craft beers on tap from all over Colorado, as well as wines to enjoy while waiting for your name to be called from the food trucks, or lounging in one of the wing back chairs.
As beer lovers ourselves, we sipped on a few different craft brews. The bar staff was very knowledgeable, so we encourage you to ask for recommendations if you aren’t quite sure what you’re craving.
Not a drinker? Not a worry in the world. They also offer kombucha!
Last Thoughts
The Rayback Collective is just that: a collective of what we too consider to be some of Boulder’s core passions: food, beer, music and play. With sweeping views of the mountains, we can’t think of a better place to enjoy local food truck fare with an ice cold local brew.
Have you been to Rayback Collective? How was your experience?