Trini Vybez, HoodFellas and Soul Street to hold spots at Local Restaurant Row this semester 

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

Three brand new restaurants will take up shop at the University Union’s Local Restaurant Row through April. On the menu they have authentic Trinidadian cuisine, modern American barbeque and classic soul food.

The first restaurant, Trini Vybez, will be at Restaurant Row Monday, Feb. 10 and stay through Feb. 21, according to Marketing Manager at Aramark Collegiate Hospitality Bethany Combs.

Owner Natalia Kalloo knows Trindadian food is uncommon in Baltimore, her food truck and catering business might be the first time most people have had the opportunity to try traditional Trinidadian food.

“We have a lot of fried bread, Halal meats, roti, curries, and vegetarian options as well,” Kalloo said.

Kalloo learned of Local Restaurant Row from working with Aramark, Towson’s food vendor, at a children’s hospital. There Trini Vybez worked a pop-up stall on a rotating basis. They saw the Restaurant Row as an opportunity to expose more people to Trinidadian food, and a hope to one day branch out into the Towson area.

Trini Vybez will offer Halal meats like goat and chicken, both in curry and jerk versions. Chicken will be the Tiger Meal option.

After Trini Vybez leaves, HoodFellas will stay in Restaurant Row from Feb. 24 to March 14. HoodFellas serves American and soul food and is a consistent partner with the vendor coming in after it, Soul Street.

Soul Street will serve brisket, ribs, collard greens and more starting March 24 until April 4. Director of Business Development Ira Chase said students were the jumpstart to HoodFellas and Soul Food’s partnership with Towson.

“We got recommendations from students, because some of the students…have been to the restaurant,” Chase said. 

After Towson reached out to Chase the decision was clear. He has a passion for helping teens and young adults learn workplace skills—his non-profit is aptly named Chasing Your Dreams—so coming to a college campus was a no brainer. Chase also hopes for more partnerships at Towson in the future.