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FOOD Former car lot in downtown Medford becomes food-cart hub Comment By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News A former downtown Medford car lot has found new life as a hub for food carts, offering choices from cheeseburgers to chèvre at an emerging hot spot called the Chop Shop. Since the beginning of October, the lot at the corner of Eighth and Fir streets has housed up to seven food trucks, including standbys Figgy's and Peruvian Point, as well as recent upstarts, including Wok Star, Curbside King and Fired Up! "It's a really good group of folks," said Benny Shapiro, who owns the lot as well the Cheesesteak King food truck. The Chop Shop's name ties in with Shapiro's other business, Indian Creek Auto Dismantlers in Grants Pass. Shapiro plans to add a place to order auto parts from the business next to the food cart lot. Vendors rent space from Shapiro and commit to being open from at least 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Some expand their hours to weekends, and Shapiro plans to test Friday and Saturday nights to see if he can draw the bar crowd. Shapiro owned the previous business on the lot, I C Auto Sales, but the idea to centrally locate food trucks came when Melissa Jones-Hanscom, owner of Figgy's Food Truck for four years, approached Shapiro about leasing the lot after the car dealership closed. From there, Shapiro and Jones-Hanscom reached out to other food-truck vendors, and the lot quickly filled. "It's in the center of my personal customer base," Jones-Hanscom said, pointing at the nearby One West Main building and the new Jackson County Health and Human Services building. Fired Up! owner Cody Diehl sees The Chop Shop as a rising tide that lifts all food-truck vendors' boats. "The best policy for food trucks is parking together so people have a common destination," Diehl said. Although convenience drives a certain amount of business, it was the food that drew diner Jessie Snow to join friends Mollie Hoover and Robert Tice for a picnic bench on the lot Wednesday. Hoover said it was her third visit and Snow's first time. "It's really good," Snow said, smiling and pointing to her burrito. "It's pretty much the best burrito ever made," Tice said of his Chèvre Burrito. "It's delicious." For Diehl, running his business from a truck allows him to focus on food quality while keeping other costs down. "Some of the things I'm offering would cost over $20 at a restaurant," Diehl said. "It's super versatile." Although the location boasts outdoor picnic seating, Shapiro is working on improvements such as free WiFi and indoor, heated seating in preparation for a grand-opening event Monday, Nov. 2. The all-day event will include live music by Frankie Hernandez. On Friday, Melissa Lawrence visited The Chop Shop for lunch with her 3-1/2-year-old son, Dylan Lawrence. Lawrence joined her friend Ashley, who brought her daughter, Austin, so the kids could play together. Both women worked as waitstaff at Buffalo Wild Wings, where Curbside King owner William Snyder worked as a cook. Lawrence said she used to live in Los Angeles and appreciated seeing something familiar from the city in Southern Oregon. "Food trucks are huge down there," Lawrence said. "It's nice to see Medford get a little hip." Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4477 or [email protected]. By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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