Remember when corporate food companies suddenly jumped on the food truck bandwagon? Now they’re gunning for our pop-up trend. We received a press release this morning from Jennie-O announcing a new “pop-up” it’s holding in El Monte tomorrow. From 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., Jennie-O Turkey Store will take over a shuttered El Gordito to give away free turkey burgers. Does this really fit the pop-up mold or is it just a four-hour giveaway riding a buzzword that’s finally made it into the pages of Time? It’s certainly a far cry from the spontaneity and mastery of pop-ups like LudoBites, The Art of Sushi, BreadBar’s Hatchi series, or that Bloody Bill dude, who kinda just vanished after commandeering the Libertine with his hearty tapas. Much like the corporate embrace of food trucks, at least the food is free; another thing that makes it very distinct from our real pop-ups.
Jennie-O Turkey Burger “Pop-Up” 11655 Valley Blvd. in El Monte, from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. tomorrow.
