Words by Anthea Riskas Images supplied
Aaron Dixon is nothing if not determined – he’s been sitting on (and paying for) his vacant piece of grassy land on Little Fyans Street since 2021. Permits, pandemic restrictions, power connections and a chronic illness diagnosis have all played part in delaying his plans for a Food Truck Park in South Geelong.
But The Bin Chicken is now just a few short weeks away from launching and Aaron’s enthusiasm is just as infectious and obvious as it was 2 years ago when he first came up with the idea. “Geelong needs this,” is his simple answer as to why he hasn’t given up.
Aaron wants to give the local food truck vendors a weekly, central place to trade that’s not based on events, highlighting this style of dining as an experience in and of itself.
The casual, backyard-style lawn can hold 120 people and the invite extends to kids, pals and pets, to come and gather on weekends, listen to some tunes, sample some cuisine, and make yourself at home amongst the pallet furniture and corrugated iron fence covered in colourful street art.
This isn’t Aaron’s first foray into opening a venue, he successfully ran a similar space – The Bird Watching Society – in Prahran for a few years, but with this change in location and personal circumstances, has come a cascade of new ideas and ambitions.
Social inclusion, accessibility, and a focus on collaborating with community-based Orgs is an important delineation between the two projects, “Initially we’ll only be here 3 days a week, so I’m happy to throw the keys to people and say, ‘Use it’ if it helps,” as a place to stage fundraisers or events.
And when The Bin Chicken finally welcomes its first visitors in mid-February, they can expect to find food from vans like Pizza Pawn and Workers Barbecue, live music from buskers and DJs, a regular makers market and even Geelong’s first non-alcoholic bar – a concept that’s had huge traction with the sober-curious in Melbourne over the past 12 months.
Some of these ideas might be new, but the planning has been a long-time in the making and as far as its founder is concerned this Food Truck Park “with personality” has been worth waiting for.
THE DETAILS
Who: The Bin Chicken
What: Food Truck Park
Where: 46 Little Fyans Street, Geelong South
When: Opening mid-February 2023
More Info: The Bin Chicken South Geelong
We wish to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
