By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — Talk about a buzz kill.
Fans of the Mud Truck, a mobile coffee vendor that operates in Astor Place, were shocked to learn that the popular stop-off for a strong cup of joe recently vanished from its longtime home on Fourth Avenue next to the uptown 6 train stop.
On Tuesday, the Health Department confirmed caffeine-craving customers’ worst fears: The vendor had been issued violations for “not having potable running water, inadequate refrigeration equipment to maintain food temperatures, and cold food not being held at proper temperatures,” a department spokesperson confirmed.
The bright-orange truck, which caters to neighborhood workers and NYU students, cannot reopen until all the violations are corrected and the vendor passes a department inspection, the spokesperson added.
News of the truck’s infractions still didn’t faze loyal patrons like Collin Woolcock, of New Paltz, N.Y., who always drinks Mud coffee during his regular visits to the East Village.
“People are making gyros on the street,” he said. “I can’t imagine it could be any worse.”
At the self-proclaimed “anti-establishment” purveyor’s standalone shop on E. Ninth Street Tuesday, a steady stream of swillers got their morning fix, with some curious about the vendor’s sudden disappearance from Astor Place.
“How’s the truck?” Judy Taylor, of Brooklyn, asked employees at the shop, which opened after the truck wheeled on to the scene in 2001 to combat “the generic coffee monster” symbolized by nearby Starbuck’s locations, its website notes.
Taylor, who gets off the train at the Astor Place subway stop each morning for work, said she trekked two avenues east for her beloved brew in the truck’s absence.
“It’s my favorite coffee,” she said, clutching one of Mud’s trademark orange cups. “They warm the milk, the beans are great.”
An employee at the shop, who declined to give his name, acknowledged the truck had a “busted water pump” and said the shop has been getting constant inquiries about the status of the truck. He said he did not know when the Mud truck would reopen for business.
A call to Mud’s office was not immediately returned.
In the meantime, the employee said, the Mud faithful should feel free to seek out their java elsewhere.
“This is New York City,” he said. “You can’t spit without hitting a coffee truck.”
