Trap Door Brewing’s Food Cart Revolution: Where Craft Beer Meets Culinary Adventure

PC: Prairie View Station

Crafting a Scene in Uptown Vancouver

From the moment Trap Door Brewing planted its flag in Vancouver’s Uptown Village, it did more than brew beer, it ignited a food cart renaissance. The downtown taproom sits just off Main Street, serving six to eight balanced Northwest‑style brews in a bustling space that spills out to one of the city’s largest patios. It isn’t just about drinking; it’s about dining. The brewery set up Vancouver’s first food cart pod, inviting a rotating cast of food trucks to fill the air with aromas of Thai curries, tacos and other street‑food delights. That pioneering move created a community hangout where you could savor a fresh IPA while choosing from multiple kitchens-on-wheels.

It’s like a mini festival every day, minus the overpriced wristbands.

The brewery is run by a fourth‑generation beer family, and that heritage shows in its commitment to quality. Using reverse osmosis water and top‑tier ingredients, they pour pints that win medals while giving locals a place to gather. The combination of award‑winning beer and a food cart pod turned the uptown operation into a hub for runners, cyclists, families and anyone else who enjoys good food and better company. The casual vibe, leafy patio and diverse flavors make the Uptown taproom feel like a mini festival every day.

Brewing Beyond the Door: Washougal and Pizza

Not content to rest on their laurels, Trap Door Brewing expanded east to Washougal in 2022, taking over a former brewery space and adding its own twist: a brewery, taproom and pizza kitchen. This outpost offers a full bar and wood‑fired pies that pair perfectly with the house beer lineup. It’s the kind of place where you can enjoy a crisp lager, grab a slice and watch the world go by from the front porch. The same ethos that powered the Uptown food cart pod, community, quality and creativity, runs through this location too.

Looking Ahead to Prairie View Station

The big news, though, lies north of Vancouver in Brush Prairie. Trap Door Brewing has partnered with local developers to create Prairie View Station, a 42,000‑square‑foot food cart pod and taproom set for a summer 2026 opening. This isn’t just another taproom; it’s a dining destination. Plans call for two rows of fourteen food carts flanking a central taproom, with covered awnings to keep diners dry during Pacific Northwest showers. Vendors will have easy access to gas, electricity and water via built‑in utility hookups, and a commissary kitchen will give them prep space and storage. Parking won’t be a headache either, there will be dozens of on‑site spaces plus spillover options at the adjacent WinCo Foods. So you won’t have to circle the block like you’re chasing Pokémon.

Food diversity is front and center. CEO Bryan Shull says letters of intent have already come in from vendors serving shawarma, sushi, Thai, BBQ, Vietnamese and more. Each cart will have an exclusivity agreement to avoid duplication, ensuring that visitors can explore different flavors without wading through five burger stands. The brewery’s own contribution will be an indoor pizza and salad kitchen with more than twenty taps and a full cocktail bar. Add in a turf play area for kids, flexible event spaces and a mezzanine deck with fire pits, and Prairie View Station sounds more like a neighborhood park than a typical beer hall.

Beyond the bells and whistles, Prairie View Station reflects a community‑minded vision.

The land was originally donated to the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District and sold to the project’s developers, with proceeds supporting library programs. Shull sees the project as a way to unite Clark County’s food and beverage scene while giving Prairie High School students and nearby residents a lunchtime option. The site will offer lunch seven days a week and aims to become a year‑round gathering place. In a region where rainy days are frequent, the combination of indoor and outdoor spaces ensures the vibe never falters.

Why It Matters for Vancouver

What started in a small taproom has become a blueprint for how a brewery can anchor a food community. Trap Door Brewing’s first food cart pod showed Vancouver that craft beer and street food can coexist and thrive. Its upcoming Brush Prairie project promises to elevate that model with more vendors, better infrastructure and a focus on family‑friendly amenities. For locals, it means a fresh destination to explore. For visitors, it’s one more reason to see why Clark County’s food cart scene is exploding. And for this blogger, it’s a sign that the I will keep opening doors to new flavors and friendships. In other words, the only trap door around here leads straight to your heart (and maybe another pint).