Local Food Truck Park Expanding

By Michele Robertson

The Pigeon’s Coop of Carlsbad, owned by Harold Klaus, is set to expand its growing food truck park. Klaus’s goal is to “continue supporting startup entrepreneurs with guidance, energy, and experience.

“An abandoned dirt lot, left untouched for over 40 years, has now been revitalized through community effort, already helping more than six new business owners, with hopes to support many more,” he said.

Currently at the Pigeon’s Coop, 2302 W. Church St., one will find a variety of food truck options. The anchor store now hosts Elevate Coffee, a locally owned coffee shop with a unique variety of coffee and beverage items. Visitors will also find Pigeon’s Coop snow cones and rolled ice cream, Rinconcito Mexicano, Los Toyos, Bite Me Grill and Smokehouse, The Recipe Box, and Fuzzy’s Food Cave. Small engine repair is also available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“Plans are in motion to fully utilize the space by welcoming more non-food businesses—boutiques, artisan stalls, salons, tattoo parlors, and additional food trucks with the expansion of marketplace facilities and pop-up trailers. The vision is to create a multifaceted destination that goes beyond dining,” Klaus said.

“The Marketplace vision includes a shared indoor/outdoor mercado-style environment with artisan booths, swap events, and creative space for artists and makers. We are seeking boutiques, barber shops, salons, nail and tattoo services,” he added.

“Carlsbad is evolving and so is this corner of town. From its modest beginnings as a small engine repair shop, this area is transforming into a flourishing community hub. Once fully developed, the Marketplace will nourish social, economic, and cultural connections in the North Side neighborhood,” said Klaus.

Currently, Pigeon’s Coop hosts four events per month, aiming for daily scheduled happenings that include art markets, karaoke, swap meets, car shows, truck meets, poker runs, and live music.

Coming up for the Pigeon’s Coop are Harold’s Greasy Fries and Rice and Noodle Emporium, with an anticipated opening in August 2025, and Fuzzy’s Food Cave, which hopes to open soon.

Wyatt McBeth, aka Fuzzy, owns Fuzzy’s Food Cave. “I’m known as Fuzzy in more than a few of my friend circles and every username I’ve had since elementary school. I started growing my curly hair out around that time. My dad hated it at the time, but after some convincing from my mom, they let me express myself however. Once my curly mop of hair grew out, my dad started calling me Fuzzy, and it stuck,” he said.

Fuzzy grew up in Hobbs, attended college at New Mexico Tech, and then worked in Houston for a time. “I graduated from college, found a job in construction project management, and built a few apartment complexes in the Hobbs area, a large chunk of my paycheck going straight into trying something new in the kitchen,” he said.

“I started to see food on another level—chefs having a blast experimenting in food trucks, at breweries, at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant. There’s something beautiful about a really good meal regardless of where it came from,” he added.

“I would spend my insomniac-fueled nights watching YouTube cooking channels like most aspiring home chefs, FoodWishes being the biggest initial influence on my culinary experimentation, along with Alton Brown’s Good Eats, Anthony Bourdain, Binging with Babish, etc.,” he said.

“Houston was very kind to me through the ups and downs, but there was something missing. After a few years of building infrastructure in Houston and my brother having a ton of kids, it was time to come home.

“It was also time to swing for the fences and chase what’s been growing through the support of my lovely partner, esteemed therapist, and lovely individual, Libby Banks, and my endlessly caring family, Tye (older brother) and Savanna (SIL) and their kids, Kay (sister) and Chris (BIL), my parents Don (dad) and Kathy (mom). My cooking ultimately has always been for them, and how something we worked up tasted mind-blowing. I want to bottle that lightning, and I want to have a blast doing it,” Fuzzy said.

Visitors to Fuzzy’s Food Cave can enjoy specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, waffle fries, and chicken tenders inspired by Raising Cane’s, among other menu items. Look for Fuzzy’s to open toward the end of July.