By Megan Wehring
DRIPPING SPRINGS –The only water buffalo dairy and creamery in Texas is making its way to Dripping Springs, food truck style.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
OroBianco Italian Creamery, based at a brick-and-mortar location in Blanco, is opening a food trailer in Dripping Springs that will offer gelato and espresso.
OroBianco Italian Creamery is based out of a brick-and-mortar location in Blanco but has been expanding to sell its products in other areas across the state. The company milks its herd of water buffalo at a south Texas ranch and transports the 100% grass-fed milk to the creamery in the Hill Country – where the small-batch gelato and other dairy products are crafted.
The OroBianco team of chefs, ranchers and cowboys “proudly raise our livestock using south Texas ranching traditions” and “strive to produce the finest gelato in Texas while being diligent stewards of our land and our livestock.”
With a 3-2 vote, Dripping Springs City Council approved an application for a conditional use permit to allow OroBianco, the mobile food vendor, to be stationed longer than 10 days at 22713 Ranch Road 12 near Founders Park Road. Mayor Pro Tem Taline Manassian and council member Travis Crow were the dissenting votes.
The city council approved the permit with the following conditions:
• The applicant shall submit a site development permit prior to any additional site improvements
• Hours of operation are limited to between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• There shall be no amplified sound on the site.
• The conditional use permit shall be reconsidered by the city council within two years of its effective date.
• The permit shall become effective with the issuance of the building permit.
“That last condition is on there really to avoid issues of, let’s say the business doesn’t open for a year or maybe even 18 months then there is adequate time for the business to be open before reevaluating the request,” said Tory Carpenter, senior planner.
Mim James, chair of the planning & zoning commission, said that if the business was successful, another trailer/food truck would be able to use the conditional use permit. However, it would still be subject to the two-year limitation and the subsequent review by the city council.
Manassian clarified that she opposed the application due to the two-year limitation, not the business itself.
Opening date is unknown at this time as the business has to undergo several development processes including site development and building permits, along with a health review. These steps will take several months, according to the city.
