Appendix

C

Truck Tales

Our society has an obsession with telling the stories of brave pioneers and their journeys from relative obscurity to fame, fortune, and success. Watching shows like Biography and 60 Minutes, we mimic these pioneers and entrepreneurs to get closer to achieving our own dreams. The world of food trucks is no different. There are stories that include great success, tremendous obstacles, unique partnerships, creative genius, and sometime catastrophic failure. In Appendix C, we will share the stories of some notable trucks. Take some time to examine the stories and glean as much information as you can. You may find something that makes the difference between your success and failure. As the Greek writer Euripides said, “leave no stone unturned.”

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Does the name sound funny to you? You’re definitely not the first person to enjoy a giggle or smile when hearing it. But when it comes to ice cream, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is as serious as it gets. Doug Quint, the founder of this gourmet ice cream truck, is actually a classically trained musician. After earning degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard, Doug decided to follow his passion. He purchased an ice cream truck from a flutist who played in an orchestra with him and set out to make ice cream even more delicious.

After taking some time to customize his truck, Doug went from musician to ice cream man with partner Bryan Petroff in early 2009. And the name? It came from the way they used to refer to their truck during its creation. One day when setting up the truck’s Facebook page, Doug said to a friend, “it’s just me and my big gay ice cream truck,” and the brand that launched a thousand cones was born. Doug figured that even if the truck failed, people would walk by and laugh. But that ended up being far from the case. The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck spawned an ice cream empire, and their biggest problem became keeping up with demand.

Doug’s truck is part old-school Mr. Softee and part mad flavor science. The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is known for its wacky combinations and even wackier names. Would you like a Bea Arthur—vanilla soft serve, crushed Nilla wafers, and dulce de leche—or a Salty Pimp—vanilla ice cream, sea salt, dulce de leche, and chocolate dip? The truck pairs creamy soft serve ice cream with even crazier toppings such as sriracha hot sauce, bacon marmalade, and crushed wasabi peas. The truck has become so popular that Doug and Bryan recently expanded to their first bricks-and-mortar shop in downtown Manhattan. On top of that, they’ve become media darlings with feature segments on Anthony Bourdain’s Layover and the Rachael Ray Show; a write-up in The New York Times; and attention in many of the biggest media outlets in the food universe.

Through a combination of creativity, personality, and plain old-fashioned deliciousness, the Big Gay Ice Cream truck has become big business.

Soul Patrol

When you think of Hawaii, what comes to mind? Beaches? Luaus? Pineapples? Definitely not fried chicken, right? Well, chef Sean Priester plans on changing that with his truck, Soul Patrol. In 2009, Sean was working as a chef at The Top of Waikiki, one of Hawaii’s most popular fine dining restaurants. He had a big salary, stability, and acclaim, but his true destiny was about to find him in the form of a truck.

That destiny showed up as his friend Utu in a white lunch box truck that serviced the needs of his community. Utu founded an agency called H5 (Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope) that used a truck to deliver meals to the homeless in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Sean got involved with the program and began to help out in his free time. However, the part-time gig became full time, as Sean got addicted to helping others. When his friend saw his passion, he purchased a second lunch truck and said, “here you go.” With that, Soul Patrol was born.

In the beginning, Sean tried to keep his job in fine dining, but the time constraints made the decision for him. So Soul Patrol, the truck with a humanitarian mission, became a full-time gig serving the most revered soul food in the south Pacific.

Sean is an army brat whose family moved from place to place, but he has roots in South Carolina. The food on Soul Patrol is 99 percent Southern cooking with a little Hawaiian influence. For instance, the “Southern Sampler Plate” is inspired by a classic Hawaiian luau plate. The fried chicken replaces laulau and collard greens replace poke, but the yum factor remains the same. Sean’s menu is a heartfelt ode to Southern cuisine with signature items like Carolina-style pulled pork and crunchy shrimp po’boys. This food is without question the best Southern food the islands have ever seen, and that’s because it is made with love. Sean has always made tasty food, but it turns out he had to return to his grandmothers’ recipes and family roots to find greatness. Most recently, Sean has added to this soul food empire by opening a bricks-and-mortar restaurant called Soul in Honolulu.

Sauca

Sauca is serious business. Just ask Farhad Assari, the owner. He will tell you that Sauca is a “global lifestyle brand that combines food, travel, music, and fun into the most interesting new concept to hit the streets.” Can you say big dreams?

Farhad knows a thing or two about big business. Of Iranian descent, Farhad went to college at NYU and Wharton. He then followed that up with 20-plus years in the investment banking business. When his mother became ill, he moved back to Washington, D.C., and had to figure out his next move. After thinking long and hard about something that could be exciting and involve the world of food, he came up with a food truck called Sauca. The name is a variation on the word “sauce,” but because sauce couldn’t be trademarked he settled on Sauca. The truck serves globally inspired flatbread wraps that combine proteins like Mumbai butter chicken, Mexicali fish taco, and pork bahn mi with an array of sauces like world hot sauce, tahini, and garlic chili. The protein and sauce are combined in a Lebanese flatbread for a scrumptious combination of flavors that traveled the globe to get into your hands.

In addition to food, Sauca aims to offer a complete experience to its customers. Some of the add-ons they offer are karaoke, global TV from a satellite, and a phone service called “token time.” This service allows customers to call all over the globe with tokens earned by making purchases at the truck. Why? Because Farhad wants Sauca to be a lifestyle brand, not just a truck. He wants to connect people through this brand and build an international business in the process. And it seems to be working: currently four Sauca trucks operate in the D.C. area, and Farhad has plans for a national roll out.

Whatever the long-term results of Farhad’s plan, he has clearly combined his passion and business acumen to become a compelling force in the world of food trucks.

Schnitzel & Things

While the recession hit many companies hard, some people used their unemployment as a chance to start their own business. Oleg Voss was one of them. The Ukranian-born Voss went from international investment banking to food trucks. Currently in his late twenties, Voss got his start in the hospitality business at a restaurant, but he “hated it.” So he decided to get his business degree from NYU instead. He had an opportunity to go to Austria to become an investment banker and took it. He packed up his fancy suits, expensive watches, and was all set to become an international businessman, but six months in the crisis hit and he was unemployed. “Last one in, first one out” is how he puts it.

So he started researching the food truck trend and came up with the idea for a Schnitzel truck because “who doesn’t like a fried piece of chicken or pork.” With that, Schnitzel & Things was alive and frying—frying so well, in fact, that the truck won Rookie of the Year in the 2009 Vendy Awards. Oleg’s menu consists of four types of schnitzel including chicken, veal, pork, and cod, as well as German-style bratwurst sausage and his very own deep fried Schnitz Burger. The schnitzel is served Austrian style with sides such as potato salad, beet salad, cucumber salad, and even Oleg’s own sauerkraut. Combine that with a little spicy sriracha mayo or ginger scallion relish, and you have one of the most delectable lunches in Manhattan.

But this isn’t a hobby for Voss, it’s his business, and he’s in it to make money. With that in mind, Oleg recently expanded from the truck into a bricks-and-mortar location in Midtown Manhattan. Schnitzel and Things is a perfect example of taking something that you love and turning it into food truck gold, and I am not talking about the crispy skin on your Schnitzel.

Mmmpanadas

Empanadas are fried pastry from Latin America that are stuffed with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and any other edible delicacy you can dream up. Mmmpanadas is a food truck in Austin, Texas, founded by Cody and Kristen Fields, a couple who absolutely love empanadas. Cody fell for the pastry while building wastewater plants in Costa Rica. After working the grind at a local bank, the Fieldses began to think of ways to become self-employed. That’s when fate came knocking on their door. While speaking to a bar owner, he mentioned that his empanada guy fell through, and the Fieldses offered to provide the product. They delivered six dozen, and the bar owner and his customers instantly loved them. From that one account, they began a business as wholesalers of fresh empanadas. From there, it took only six months for the couple to enter the food truck business.

The Fields’ truck was originally a pizza truck that they purchased off eBay. They replaced the pizza oven with a convection oven and installed warming cabinets to hold their cooked empanadas. For the first year, Cody worked every single shift that the truck operated. He learned a lot, becoming an expert on things like fixing a diesel engine. Most importantly, he always trusted his belief that the empanada was the perfect street food.

Since then, they have served Green Chile Chicken and Spicy Black Bean Empanadas to luminaries such as the Stone Temple Pilots and Matthew McConaughey. They even serve experimental items such as the “ham and cheese experiment” and a sweet empanada based off of S’mores. My mother used to always say “find what you love and get someone to pay you for it,” and that’s exactly what the Fieldses have been able to achieve.

Spencer on the Go!

Oh the joy of sitting at your neighborhood bistro sipping a café au lait. That may be what you had in mind, but the guys at Spencer on the Go! have a much different idea of the classic French bistro. Chef Laurent Katgely started parking his bistro truck in downtown San Francisco in 2009, serving delicacies such as Escargot Lollipops and braised lamb cheek sandwiches.

Originally from the French Alps, Chef Katgely started cooking when he was just 14 years old. He apprenticed at Alain Chapel under a three-starred Michelin chef, and followed that by working at famed restaurants like Lespinasse in New York and Pastis in Los Angeles. From there, he went on to open Chez Spencer in 2002 in San Francisco with his wife. The restaurant, as well as the truck, is named after their son, Spencer.

Katgely found his food truck by going out for lunch. He was a regular visitor to a taco truck down the street from Chez Spencer and used to joke about opening a food truck to compete with them. Those jokes became serious when he recognized opportunity for his idea. He found a used truck for $15,000 from a defunct burrito seller, and opened for business seven blocks from his restaurant. He decided to focus on being a fun and affordable alternative to high-end French dining. The truck serves incredible French items like Ratatouille and Truffled Boeuf Bourginion for less than $12 a plate. Spencer on the Go! received national recognition when it was featured on the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race and has recently developed a growing catering business.

Spencer on the Go! demonstrates that food trucks can be a great way of expanding a business, not just a way to start a new one.

Skillet

Every food truck has elements of the city in which it was founded. Seattle is known for rain, coffee, and grunge rock. So what type of food trucks does this city produce? The answer is an awesome one named Skillet. Way back in the beginning of the food truck revolution (circa 2007), Josh Henderson founded Skillet, an airstream trailer serving high-end American comfort food using the best local ingredients available. And boy is it good!

Josh spent the years prior to launching Skillet finding his way. For a while he worked in restaurants and hotels, but was tired of working long hours and “missed his dog.” So he spent the next couple of years working with photographers handling the food for photo shoots in faraway locations like the Mojave Desert. Even though he loved the experiences, he knew he needed something closer to home. With that in mind, he began searching for something, and stumbled upon a truck while browsing Craigslist. Once he struck a deal, it was off to the races.

For Josh, it has been a downhill journey. From the moment the doors opened, there has been an onslaught of press and lines of people. The main battle for Skillet has been getting the city of Seattle to change their legislation and make it friendly for food trucks to operate. This finally happened three years into their operation. The city used to only allow trucks to park on private property, but with Skillet’s help, food trucks now can park virtually anywhere with the right permits.

Skillet still operates today, but has expanded with a bricks-and-mortar location, the Skillet Diner, and a line of products including Bacon Jam and Pumpkin Sauce. Josh also recently released The Skillet Cookbook: A Street Food Manifesto. In a 2011 interview with Seattle Weekly, Henderson said, “street food was never going to be the foundation of at least a financial empire—it’ll be the foundation of our business and the brand and who we are as DNA, but it’s never going to take us to our Bacon Jammer Yacht we planned.” This is a clear example of how important it is to use your food truck to expose your skills and establish your brand so that you can generate supplementary opportunities.

Marcelo’s Ceviche

There’s nothing more refreshing and tropical than a well-prepared ceviche. And there are many things that are more refreshing than losing your job. That’s exactly what happened five years ago to Marcello Florindez when he went on vacation from his position at a Miami restaurant. After that gut check, Marcelo, the eternal optimist, wanted to open his own restaurant. But a restaurant was too expensive, so he decided to take his idea mobile. And are we happy he did!

Marcelo’s first step was to purchase and build the vehicle, which he did completely by himself. Next he had to obtain a license, something that most ceviche trucks in Miami don’t usually take the time to obtain. Marcelo is by most accounts the only licensed ceviche truck in Miami, and he has a stellar record with the health department. That is something any truck would take pride in, but it is especially difficult when you are serving raw fish. Marcelo operates the truck alone or with one employee four days a week and also caters private events.

All the ingredients that Marcelo uses, aside from the fish, are sourced from Peru, the ceviche capital of the world. The fish are sourced from Costa Rica and Panama, as well as some local suppliers. Marcelo’s fish ceviche is marinated in lime juice, cilantro, red onions, and Rocoto chiles. All of the ceviches are made to order, and he makes custom items based on special requests.

Marcelo’s ceviche is an example of taking darkness and turning it into light. He was given a challenge when he lost his job, and he turned it into opportunity. In the process, he established a market-leading product that is nationally recognized. Gooooo Marcelo!

Mexicue

What do you get when you combine the spicy deliciousness of Mexican food with the smoky goodness of BBQ? The answer is Mexicue. Founded by David Schillace and Thomas Kelly, Mexicue got its start when the owners started experimenting mixing spicy and smokey flavors in their Brooklyn kitchen.

Prior to deciding to start the truck, Dave was at a corporate sales job and looking for something different. He had spent some time in Los Angeles and was inspired by watching Kogi explode onto the scene. David and Thomas were close friends, and Dave knew that Thomas was very talented in the kitchen and was also looking to make a change. So Dave approached him with the idea, and they both knew it was the perfect opportunity. But what type of truck would it be?

The first step was to find a truck, and they had a rough time of it. Eventually they located one that was partly built on eBay. After bidding online, they traveled a few hours to Woodstock, New York, and picked up their rig. They spent the next four months testing, planning, and customizing their truck in Long Island City, just outside of Manhattan. The original concept was tamales but as Thomas began experimenting in the kitchen, he decided to expand the menu. After finalizing their Mexican BBQ fusion concept, they expanded to a commissary kitchen on the lower east side of Manhattan and developed a system to prepare their signature smokes and braises.

When Dave and Thomas were finally ready to launch the truck, they decided to spend their first day in Park Slope, in Brooklyn. The traffic was light that first day, and so the next day they felt ready to challenge themselves by heading into the midtown business district. They had no idea what was waiting for them. From the minute they started serving, a line developed. It got so busy that during the lunch rush, it reached three city blocks long. That shocked their system, and they knew it was time to develop operational procedures. Once they got the system in place, things became much easier, so much so that after only six months they launched their first bricks-and-mortar location. Currently they have a second one planned and believe the future of their business is in fast, casual, quick service restaurants.

When asked what the key to their success was Thomas said, “My personal tip—what has been most beneficial for us—is to develop a strong brand, the sky’s the limit, then you can take that brand and do whatever you want with it.” Moral of the story: think through your branding and marketing efforts at the beginning to maximize your long-term value.

Maximus/Minimus

An enormous travelling steel pig—that’s one way to describe Maximus/Minimus; deliciously brilliant is another. Kurt Beecher Dammeier came up with the idea for Maximus/Minimus in 2008 when he was making pulled pork sandwiches to feed his office workers. The sandwiches were a huge hit, so much so that people at the office wished they had a place to get them every day. He started looking for locations, but there was nothing perfect for his concept available near the office. So he decided on a food truck that he could park in a lot just down the block.

But finding his location was just the start. Kurt needed a name and a killer design for his truck. For the name, he turned to his son and an excellent branding gimmick. His son’s name is Maximus, and the sandwiches were going to either be spicy or sweet. Maximus, the spicy, needed an opposite end of the spectrum to represent the sweet, hence Minimus.

For the truck design, Kurt worked with local designer Colin Reedy. The duo turned an Alaskan Hot Dog truck into an “urban assault pig” straight out of the movies—a metal sculpture that roams the Seattle streets spreading deliciousness everywhere it turns.

The truck finally launched to much acclaim in June 2009 and has been operating from April to October annually ever since. The food on the Maximus/Minimus includes pulled pork sandwiches, veg sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches, Posole (a Columbian soup) and pork, and mac & cheese. All the items are available Maximus—spicy—or Minimus—sweet. Even the drinks have two iterations, the Maximus ginger lemonade, and the Minimus hibiscus nectar tea. Kurt is also the owner of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, which makes his mac & cheese an extra special combination of handmade cheese and Maximus sauce.

What is the most ironic part of this amazing story? Kurt Beecher created the truck and made a success of it based on pure passion. When Beecher was 38 years old, he sold his family’s printing business for $85 million dollars. He could have easily retired, but in his own words, he “didn’t like golf.” Money definitely makes things easier, but a great way to know if you’re pursuing the right path is to ask, would I be doing this if I didn’t need money? If the answer is yes, you have found your path.

Crepes Bonaparte

Gaston. You may think that is the name of the owner of Crepes Bonaparte, but that’s actually the name of the truck. The brains behind this creative stunt are Christian and Dannielle Murcia, a husband and wife team from Fullerton, California. The Murcias started Crepes Bonaparte as a catering company in 2008, providing French crepe stations to private events. After seeing the opportunity and growth in the food truck business, the Murcias decided to join the party in 2010.

Christian and Dannielle purchased Gaston, their Morgan Olson Stepvan, from a local Chevy dealer. After finding the rig, they worked with MSM Catering Trucks in Southern California to customize it. Some of their special requests included a crepe grill and service window large enough to allow customers to see their crepes being prepared. According to Christian, the most important step the Murcias took was to include a clause in the contract requiring MSM to finish the job in three months. They chose to go with a completely custom interior for the truck because pre-fab trucks came with a lot of materials they wouldn’t need to execute their menu. By customizing the truck and purchasing the chassis, Christian estimates they were able to save $30,000 to $40,000 dollars.

The Murcias offer their delicious sweet and savory crepes throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. Their menu consists of breakfast crepes, savory crepes, dessert crepes, and traditional crepes. The most requested crepe is the “HazelBerryAnna,” a classic sweet crepe filled with strawberries, bananas, and Nutella. Christian’s favorite crepe is the “PCH” a decadent mix of peanut butter, Nutella, and honey, which he prefers with a big scoop of ice cream. They say the biggest challenge is working out of such a small space. Not only do they serve their customers from the truck, the Murcias actually run their catering business from the truck as well. This makes for major storage issues, especially when it comes to refrigeration. But good operators make the best of situations, and that’s exactly what the Murcias are.

Even with the challenges, Crepes Bonaparte is flourishing. The Murcias goal is to provide crepes like they do in France, “simple, cheap, and on-the-go.” Their commitment to this goal has made them a leader in the business and carried them all the way to become a contestant on The Great Food Truck Race with celebrity chef Tyler Florence. Even though they only made it to the third round of the competition, the exposure has increased business and helped make them local celebrities. With huge amounts of media exposure, passion, and a great product, Crepes Bonaparte should be satisfying people’s crepe cravings for years to come.