Philadelphia is well-known for its food scene, and Nina-Maria Lara Daniels and Armand Wilson are co-owners of a food business with a difference. Their purple food truck has a large TV screen on one side. They serve customers in Broad and Spring Garden Streets with Latin dishes and soul food. The unique aspect of their business is that customers can play games while they eat.
Birth of Electronic Eats
Electronic Eats is a gaming food truck that features popular games. Customers can play on a PC with Xbox-style controllers. Both partners in Electronic Eats have a mutual love of eating and gaming. They met on a film set in New York and their first dream was to open a restaurant together. When they moved to Philly they would eat at some of the best food trucks in the city. The food truck concept grew out of a desire to find a way to put together their mutual love of eating and gaming.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple purchased a former UPS truck. The truck presented them with many problems at first and needed a lot of work. They were finally able to test it out in different areas before ending up in the busy Spring Garden area.
The vision behind it
The vision of the co-owners is to connect people as they eat and play together. Someone having a bite to eat who hasn’t played games for years may just pick up a controller. Those who have never tried gaming before may give it a go. Electronic Eats has a Twitch channel and recognition for the brand is growing. Philly residents can see the purple truck on college campuses during weekends or at a variety of local events.
Support for gaming
Isaiah Thomas, a Philadelphia council member, recently presented the 2023 PHL Gaming Expo. He has an interest in the growing gaming community in Philly and has teamed up with Electronic Eats. He wants to send the message that Philly is a booming, innovative city. Gambling history shows that the industry can help to provide jobs and attract people and businesses to an area.
A growing wave of iGaming in Philly
Philly entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the growing wave of iGaming in Pennsylvania. In 2017, the expansion of commercial gambling included online casinos. Online casino gaming revenue in Pennsylvania is reaching record highs.
In 2021, Nerd Street Gamers launched the first Esports Campus in the world in Philly. “The Block” along the 400 block of North Broad Street has become a popular hub in the city. The gaming buzz is growing in Philly, and new gaming facilities are in the works.