HANOVER — McDonald’s loss has become June Somers’ gain at The Hanover Mall.
Somers, owner of the Mom on the Go food truck is setting up at the old McDonald’s location in the Sears wing, with opening scheduled for Thursday, March 1.
Like the food truck, which has been operating since October 2016, the mall location will offer soups and grilled cheese sandwiches, but other sandwich options could also be on the menu.
“I was turning away business starting in the summer and into the fall,” said Somers.
She began looking for a place along Route 53, but nothing was clicking, she said. This led her to reach out to the mall on a South Shore Food Truck Association, which she organized in October, to inquire about the “Food Truck Tuesdays” that will run from April to October.
“I said I didn’t know if I wanted to go with a second truck or a brick and mortar and they said there was the old McDonald’s space,” she said. “They moved out a couple of years ago and the mall said to take a look at it. It already had a walk-in freezer and fridge was already here. It really made for a great way to try this out.”
The Hanover Mall, which will eventually become Hanover Crossing, will change from an enclosed mall to an outdoor shopping center through new owners PECO Real Estate Partners, which bought the property in November 2016 for $39.5 million from CW Capital Asset Management of Needham. Changes at the mall will begin in 18 months, so Somers said she signed a one-year lease.
Having the mall location will help with space issues, as Somers said her home has been serving as a “food truck depot,” and food truck menus are limited because all cooking must be done on the truck.
“The space on the truck is so limited, so I can do four sandwiches, maybe five, at a time,” she said. “Here, we can offer more. I change the menu up seasonally, so I will be adding some different types of sandwiches here.”
Reach Adam Silva at asilva@wickedlocal.com