After a fire last March put the Green Tidings food truck out of use and injured four employees, the truck has emerged from the ashes for its reopening near the Art-Sociology building today.

The truck has operated under irregular hours on weekdays since Sept. 5, when it opened as a surprise near Tawes Hall, but it will now resume its normal 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekday hours. Executive chef Will Rogers said the past two weeks have served as a trial period during which staff could become acquainted with the new and improved truck.

After the incident last semester, Green Tidings workers knew they needed something “bigger and better,” Rogers said, and that’s exactly what they got.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “[It’s] everything I’ve always wanted.”

Rogers said the new truck is larger than the original vehicle, with a kitchen resembling the size of Adele’s. There used to be about two feet between employees working in the truck, but now there is four, he said.

“The original truck, while they made a valiant effort, was not big enough to handle the demand for sustainable lunches from a food truck,” Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple said.

Students go to Green Tidings

Employees working aboard the truck have noticed the difference.

“It’s bigger, and there is just a lot more space,” said Green Tidings supervisor Gina Artis, who was working in the truck at the farmers market on Sept. 10. “It’s a lot easier to move around.”

Over the summer, Facilities Management workers outfitted the new Green Tidings truck — purchased used from a food establishment — with extra safety features, even those not required by law, Rogers said. The truck’s entire staff also went through a weeklong training session in August with the university’s fire marshal and fire safety team. Last year, only one member aboard the truck was trained, Hipple said.

“We want to make sure that our staff is safe,” Hipple said. “They work in a kitchen that is in a very small, enclosed space.”

Senior accounting and Jewish studies major Rafi Ginsburg said he was surprised that the staff was not trained until after the fire incident. He ate at the truck once a week last semester, he said.

“If anything, [the safety training] wants to make me eat there more,” Ginsburg said.

Unlike the original truck, which had one door and an open cabin where the driver and passenger sat, the new truck has a closed cabin to protect the driver and passenger and an extra door at the far end of the truck so all employees can exit quickly if need be.

The new truck has propane tanks built under the vehicle rather than in the back of the truck — where they used to be — which will lessen the chance of injury and damage if another car bumps it.

“I’m glad the workers will be safer now,” said Nadia Laniyan, a regular Green Tidings customer. The junior nutrition and food science major said she ate at the truck once a week last semester and is excited to visit the truck for lunch again this semester.