Look for Indianapolis' The Block Bistro & Grill on 'The Great Food Truck Race'

An Indianapolis restaurateur is about to make it big on the national food truck scene, appearing on Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race” – sans food truck.

Terry Anthony, owner of The Block Bistro & Grill in downtown Indianapolis, heeded the call to compete on the upcoming season of the television restaurant business contest.

The Tyler Florence-hosted show has new food truck operators tackling challenges in the quest for a $50,000 cash prize.

The show was filmed in Los Angeles from late January through late March.

Food Network is mum about this season’s participants, but a Reddit poster who said they visited the season 16 trucks in L.A. months ago identified Block Bistro, 115 W. Market St., and the competition.

Anthony talked to IndyStar about being in a food truck competition without a food truck and how the experience will be reflected in the casual dining spot’s menu and its growth.

Here’s what we learned:

There’s a shakeup in the competition this year.

The eight-episode 16th season premiers in June with a twist. The show in the past has featured food truck operators. This crop of contestants will be a mix of food truck veterans and those in traditional restaurant spaces as well as pop-ups.

It was a long auditioning process.

Anthony said show reps contacted him via email in November 2022 to gauge his interest in competing.

“After that, there were multiple Zoom calls and trips out to LA,” he said. “It was pretty intense.”

He was notified in mid-January that he’d made the show.

The Block Bistro: New casual dining restaurant opens in Block building downtown

No truck. No problem.

Each of the nine competing teams was provided a truck to operate in the Los Angeles area, Anthony said.

Four of the teams were from non-food truck operating businesses.

“They put food truck veterans, those who operate food trucks solely, against food truck rookies; individuals like myself, who were restaurant owners or pop-ups that had the desire to expand their offerings to a food truck,” Anthony said.

He teamed with another chef.

Anthony’s team included Dallas chef Carl Harris, with whom he’d done catering gigs, along with an assistant.

“Operating a food truck is nothing like operating a restaurant and so I needed to get a crew that I felt was very comfortable as far as operating in cramped spaces, and very familiar with operating in a food truck,” he said.

The Block Bistro continued to operate while Anthony was in L.A.

Anthony left experienced The Block staff on-site to operate the restaurant while he was competing.

“I had to keep the restaurant open. So I needed to keep my staff in place so that the restaurant was still operating while I was out filming,” he said.

Diners at the restaurant will find new dishes or new methods of preparation inspired by Anthony’s experiences during the competition.

The Block opened with Boomerang marinated and grilled jumbo chicken wings as its signature dish, so viewers will see those show up during the season.

Other items from the competition will be added to the downtown menu, Anthony said.

“There are challenges where you will utilize things that you're familiar with, along with the things you're not familiar with. So it is an opportunity to grow. And it's an opportunity to show your culinary expertise in multiple ways,” he said. “There are new items that will be introduced on the menu after the show airs.”

We might see The Block food truck around the Indy area.

The Block does lots of catering, so wheels would make sense, Anthony said.

“A food truck would allow us to bring those offerings a lot easier than how I do them now,” he said. “Plus a food truck would allow me to get this concept on the road. My goal is to have a Block on every block in America. So the food truck fits into that plan of spreading this brand across America.”

A viewing party is in the works.

The season will begin at 8 p.m. June 18 on Food Network.

Anthony said he is preparing a viewing party at the restaurant.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Look for Indy's The Block restaurant on 'The Great Food Truck Race'