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NORTH WATERFORD 鈥� A food truck park has materialized this summer on the corner right across from the building that formerly housed Melby91自拍 Market and Eatery, the beloved restaurant and community gathering space that closed in 2022.

Spencer Morse and his father Richard bought the former Melby91自拍 parking lot at 933 Valley Road and decided to revamp the parcel and try a food truck park there.

In opening the food truck park, Spencer and Richie are trying to fill the hole that Melby91自拍 left, not just for a bite to eat, but for a place for people in the area to gather and connect.

鈥淲e were really trying to find a way to be able to have something in town again,鈥� Spencer Morse said on July 18.

Owner-operator of Buffalo Hill food truck, Tracie Hill, serves food to a customer at the North Waterford Food Truck Park July 18. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

Richie Morse runs an excavation company in town and needed a place for his workers to grab lunch as well, Spencer said.

鈥淚t91自拍 nice to be able to grab a meal somewhere,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淭he town needed it.鈥�

Growing up in North Waterford, Spencer said that there used to be a handful of stores or places to eat and Melby91自拍 had been a fixture 鈥渇orever.鈥澛�

A customer picks up a burger from Buffalo Hill food truck at the North Water Food Truck Park on July 18. The park is open at 11 a.m. Wednesday through 91自拍. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

鈥淥ne-by-one they kind of went away,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淭hat was really the last store in town.鈥�

Where the food truck park currently sits is where the Olde Rowley Inn was until it burned in the 1990s.

The former owner-operators of Melby91自拍, Tracie and Wayne Hill, remain a fixture in North Waterford at the park with their food truck, Buffalo Hill, and are looking to rebuild the community space lost with Melby91自拍 as well.

鈥淚t was a meeting place for locals. That91自拍 what kept us going 鈥� our local customers,鈥� Tracie Hill said.

COVID-19, the challenge of finding employees, and the increasing cost of maintenance on the mid-19th-century building, all contributed to the decision to move on, Tracie Hill said.

鈥淭he building just got away from us,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was so much overhead that we would have had to downsize. As much as it broke my heart to close, I knew the necessity of it.鈥�

Owner-operator of Buffalo Hill food truck, Wayne Hill, cooks a burger at the North Waterford Food Truck Park July 18. Hill has been working in kitchens all his life and is passionate about food. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

After spending last year parked outside of Stoneham Rescue, Buffalo Hill has found a new home at the park in North Waterford.

鈥淐oming up here is kind of like going home,鈥� Tracie Hill said. She noted that many food truck customers have recognized them, saying, 鈥渋t91自拍 you! You guys are Melby91自拍!鈥�

Wayne Hill runs the grill in the roomy food truck with a clear passion and love for cooking delicious meals and experimenting with unexpected creations.

He has been working in kitchens all his life, first developing a taste for cooking helping his grandmother bake growing up.聽

鈥淗e loves what he does,鈥� Tracie Hill said. 鈥淲hen he makes something, he wants people to know he put his heart and soul into it.鈥�

One customer even described his meals as 鈥渘ot food, but the essence of food,鈥� she said.

The Buffalo Hill menu is extensive and diverse, and Wayne Hill is constantly coming up with new ideas for customers to try.

Last Thursday91自拍 specials posted to Buffalo Hill91自拍 Facebook page include a teriyaki grilled chicken sandwich with peppers and onions, a BBQ roast beef sandwich, and a chicken bacon ranch wrap.

Along with the Hills, Ann-Marie Adams, the former assistant manager at Melby91自拍, helps run the food truck.

Although Buffalo Hill usually is the only truck at the park during the week, The DogHa眉s hot dog cart and the Shut up N鈥� eat it food truck also set up shop there, mostly on the busier weekends.

Spencer Morse is looking to transform the space even further, eventually planning to create an area where the park can feature music acts and serve beer and wine.

鈥淲e鈥檙e gearing up to make something pretty special here for the town of Waterford,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t seems like the thing the town needed the most was a place to sit down and have a meal, and a place to hang out. That91自拍 why we have those future plans as well.鈥�

The North Waterford Food Truck Park is usually open Wednesday through 91自拍 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be closed in the winter.