Mar 25, 2013

For mobile food vendors who put their food trucks into hibernation over the winter months, spring is an exciting time because it’s time to get your business on the road again.

If you shut down your truck properly, you made sure to prep your food truck systems for winter storage. This will help to ensure that the de-winterization process will be simple. However, since we are all human, it’s possible to have skipped a step or worse — skipped the winterization process altogether. This means preparing your food truck for spring operation may take additional work — even perhaps fixing some damage.

Here are some quick steps to help evaluate how your food truck weathered the winter:

First Look: Inspect inside the kitchen and cab for water leaks — ceiling or paneling stains — and animal infestation. Even if no water leakage is evident, check the roof for areas where the sealant may have shrunk around vents and other seams. Once you have thoroughly checked for leaks and none are evident, wash and wax your truck. You may also want to apply a petroleum distillate-free protectant in areas including rubber roofs, tires, moldings, and plastics.
Freshwater System: If you used a non-toxic antifreeze, drain it as thoroughly as possible via low-point drains, the water heater drain, and tank drains. Return the water-heater bypass to the operational position, and flush the system thoroughly with fresh water via the water pump and a city water connection.
Electrical Systems and Appliances: If the batteries have been on a converter or trickle charger, they should be ready for the road. To be safe, just check electrolyte levels (if applicable) and make sure there’s no corrosion on the battery connectors. If everything looks good, connect the shore power cord, and operate all appliances — use a 30-amp (or higher) service to test the A/C. Next, use a polarity checker to ensure all wall outlets are functional.
LP-gas: After prolonged storage with the LP-gas supply turned off, the gas lines will be full of air. To purge, open the LP-gas tank or cylinder service valve, then light a stove burner (this may require you to hold a flame next to the burner up to 30 seconds as air escapes). With the burner flame continuing, turn the refrigerator to gas, and check to ensure the flame is lit. Repeat this for the water heater and other kitchen equipment which uses gas to operate. If you suspect a leak in the lines, you can use wipe soapy water over the lines to confirm — bubbles will form where leaks exist for easy detection.
Running Gear: During storage, tires gradually lose inflation. Re-inflate to prescribed levels for safe travel — when in doubt use the pressure value listed on the tire sidewall. Food truck owners may opt to inflate tires according to load/inflation tables, when such figures are available. This approach may improve ride quality, and must be used with accurate weight figures for safe travel. You may also want to add 10 psi as a safety margin.

Hopefully, this evaluation shows you that your food truck has survived the winter with no major damage. But in case you’ve stumbled upon some minor repairs needs, we at Mobile Cuisine have a slew of tips to help you through small jobs. If the job is larger, get it to a professional mechanic to have the problems resolved.

Dine / Food trucks on a roll: Fukuda joins today’s South Side round-up

Pittsburgh’s mobile food businesses are growing.

Fukuda in Bloomfield has its inaugural run at today’s food truck roundup in the LifeStone church lot on the South Side (157 S. 26th St.) from noon to 3 p.m. The truck will join Oh My Grill, Franktuary, BRGR, Pittsburgh Pierogi, PGH Taco Truck and Cake Eaters Sweet Shoppe for the event.

The Fukuda Truck (on Twitter @FukudaTruck) will feature Japanese street food such as okonomiyaki (a savory cabbage and seafood pancake) and takoyaki (a type of fritter), as well as handrolls and other items.

Last week, Jamie McLeland rolled out The Steer Wheel (on Twitter @steerandwheel), a burger truck that offers a half-dozen combinations and double-fried Russets. He sells “little” and “big” burgers such as the Andre, with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, smoked gouda and grain mustard. The Muy Bueno wears a taco rub and is served with tortilla chips, iceberg lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayo on brioche.

Patties made with organic, hormone-free beef from Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance and bread from Mediterra Bakehouse elevate his take on street food. Mr. McLeland grinds beef right on the truck.

This brings the total number of such food trucks to eight.

Still, the city of Pittsburgh lags behind others in offering a variety of food trucks and food truck gatherings, partly because of laws that make it difficult for the mobile food vendors to set up near restaurants and stay in one location long enough to cook and serve food. The first roundup in the city was held last July in Lawrenceville with four trucks operating from 6 to 10 p.m. on 43rd Street.

Mr. McLeland said he was inspired to start a food truck from a friend, a New York transplant living in Pittsburgh, who marveled over lines for $16 lobster rolls from trucks such as Red Hook Lobster Truck in Manhattan.

After meeting with Megan Lindsey, a partner of the Downtown and Lawrenceville locations of Franktuary and its food truck, Mr. McLeland researched the city’s legislation and decided to roll on anyway. For his debut last week, he parked The Steer Wheel on a lot in Braddock, which does not have laws regulating food trucks. He hopes to locate inside Pittsburgh city limits at times.

“I took into account the changes proposed by [city councilman and mayoral candidate] Bill Peduto and I thought the timing could be perfect,” he said.

Current city law requires food trucks to relocate every 30 minutes, ostensibly to protect brick-and-mortar restaurants. The law also prevents sales after midnight, despite that it’s after the hours that most restaurants sell food.

Councilman Peduto is developing legislation that would address where trucks can and cannot operate as well as whether they can sell near restaurants at all or only during special events.

Starting a food truck for an independent operator such as Mr. McLeland is more daunting than it was for chef Brian Pekarcik from Spoon and BRGR in East Liberty. Mr. Pekarcik said his brick-and-mortar restaurants ease the labor of running the BRGR food truck.

“We add production right into our prep and our cost,” he said. His BRGR truck has refrigeration for up to 350 burgers. If the truck is swamped by customers at a festival or an event, “it’s just a phone call away to bring another 100, 150 more burgers. For most food trucks, when they run out, they’re done for the day.”

Here in Pittsburgh, food trucks affiliated with a restaurant lend legitimacy to the effort.

A pioneer of Pittsburgh Mobile Food Coalition, Mr. Pekarcik said that his presence, along with Hoon Kim of Fukuda and the Franktuary partners, convey support for the growth of food trucks. A petition with signatures from dozens of local restaurants helps.

“I haven’t come across any pushback from brick-and-mortar restaurants,” he said. “Owners generally want to see food trucks thrive here.”

Unlike other food trucks in the area, Mr. Pekarcik said that 90 percent of his food truck business comes from inside the city limits, the result of partnerships that allow him to park in two Downtown lots for weekday lunch service as well as corporate rentals.

Aside from events and roundups, Mr. Kim said he will likely end up selling outside the city.

“Because of the legal structure, we need a host with a private lot,” he said, citing the Coffee Buddha on the border of West View as the host for PGH Taco Truck.

Should Mr. Kim find a host, he would consider parking “three, four or five times a week,” he said.

Mr. Kim recalled a day last week during which he helped James Rich, proprietor of PGH Taco Truck, as he operated in the Coffee Buddha lot.

“There were lines of people waiting for tacos,” he said. “The turnout demonstrates that people want more trucks here. To drive around the streets and to sell food in town? That’s the hardest thing to do in Pittsburgh right now.”

NYC Law Would Impound Food Trucks For Parking By Hydrants

NEW YORK CITY, NY - A bill introduced in the City Council yesterday would make it a lot harder for food trucks to find a spot to sell their delicious wares. Councilmember Margaret Chin is introducing legislation to crack down on food trucks that operate in front of a fire hydrant. The law would prohibit mobile food vendors from operating within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, fining them $250 for a first offense and $500 for a second offense within a six month period—at which point the vehicle would be impounded by the NYPD.

“Every year, when the weather gets warm, I receive complaints about ice cream trucks and other mobile food vendors that park at fire hydrants for hours on end,” Chin says. “Not only is guaranteeing unfettered access to fire hydrants a public safety issue, but the proliferation of mobile food trucks poses very real quality of life issues, including noise and fumes from generators and vehicle exhaust. It is imperative that we update and strengthen regulations as mobile food trucks become more prevalent in our City.”

Finding a lucrative location to park is already one of the biggest challenges facing food trucks, so obviously street vendors are pretty worried about this. Sean Basinski, Executive Director of the Street Vendor Project, tells us, “Right now, under city law, food truck vendors have no place to legally park and serve their customers. That needs to change. Before it starts impounding food trucks, the City should focus on creating parking spaces where vendors can vend legally. We look forward to working with Councilmember Chin and others on this issue.”

Ben Van Leeuwen who operates ice cream trucks and brick-and-morter ice establishments, breaks down why vendors think this proposed law is so ill-conceived:

The logic behind it is questionable. On our ice cream trucks, for example, we use Honda EU3000 generators. They burn 1.5 gallons of fuel in a 14 hour day. This is a minuscule amount of exhaust when compared with regular traffic flow near any of the fire hydrant spots that would be desirable enough for a food truck to park at. Our generators, and those of most other food trucks are ultra quiet. Ours operate at 58 decibels and are then installed in a sound dampening box. Their sound is virtually unnoticeable in a normal New York City street environment.The council woman’s point about “guaranteeing unfettered access to fire hydrants a public safety issue,” also concerns us. There is always someone working on a mobile food truck, therefore it can be moved almost instantaneously in the event that a fire hydrant has to be utilized. A food truck standing at a fire hydrant in fact guarantees this, as it prevents illegal parking. We park at a fire hydrant in SOHO on weekends. It generally takes us an hour to get the spot as people park illegally in front of them while they do their shopping.

These “very real real quality of life issues” that the councilwoman claims as a result of food trucks are not valid. Her quote “as mobile food trucks become more prevalent in our city,” is also worrisome to us. Since the 1980s the City of New York has not issued a single new mobile vending permit, thus the number of mobile vendors has remained the same, so how are mobile food trucks becoming more prevalent?

It fascinates us to see a bill like this be proposed, as its claimed motive is easily disproven, thus suggesting it being no more than an unfair reaction to a growing stigma against food trucks in New York City.

Find the entire article by John Del Signore at The Gothamist here

Weekend Food Truck Roundup Mar 15 – 17, 2013

In our quest to keep our readers up to date with the latest stories relating to the food truck industry has compiled a list of the stories that hit the wire this weekend from Seattle, Worcester, Gainsville and Hermiston.

March 15

Established restaurants, too, hitting streets with food trucks – SEATTLE, WA - In a reversal, established brick-and-mortar restaurants are taking to the streets in food trucks, trying to extend their brands and reach new diners.

Find the entire article here

Food trucks hit a nerve with city – WORCESTER, MA - im Donoghue and Alec Lopez are in the same line of work; both own restaurants and are used to the tireless work and endless hours that go into making their businesses successful. When it comes to whether the city should ease its restrictions on mobile food vendors, however, the two men come down on opposite sides. It is not unlike the City Council, where there is dissension among the ranks over one councilor’s call to take another look at an ordinance that clamped down on where food trucks and carts can set up. Some say the time has come, others say the rules were changed for a reason.

Find the entire article here

March 16

Second Food Truck Rally goes more smoothly – GAINSVILLE, FL - Michael Musoke stepped down from his food truck, Off the Griddle, and looked at the line of about 50 people waiting to try his food.

His jaw dropped.

“Wow,” he said, smiling.

Find the entire article here

March 17

Mobile Vendors Consider New Regulations – HERMISTON, OR - Luis Diaz can see his home as he cooks up meat for the lunch rush in his mobile taco truck each morning.

He owns and operates Tacos Xavi, a mobile food truck, and his business is parked next to a shoe store on North First Street in Hermiston. It’s just steps from his back yard.

Find the entire article here

Foodiecall Nola Tops First Annual New Orleans Vendy Awards

Owners of Foodiecall NOLA show off their Vendy Award (photo: Facebook)

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Last Wednesday marked New Orleans’ first Vendy Awards, which crowns one local mobile food vendor king of the streets.

“Taceaux Loceaux is the first spot I hit of course. I love Taceaux Loceaux,” said Claudia Gehrke.

She was one of dozens who lined up at the French Market to get a taste of the New Orleans Vendy Awards.

“So far the brisket taco and the pull pork taco,” said Eric Brown, who is visiting from Kentucky.

From tacos to falafel to a cup of Yakamein, the dishes being served up showcased what’s become a growing food truck trend in New Orleans.

“I love the food vendor trucks. If it weren’t for them after Katrina. I probably would have starved in my neighborhood,” said Gehrke.

Nine local mobile food vendors spent the evening feeding a growing hungry crowd and hoping to win their votes.

The Vendy Awards, which lets foodies vote on their favorite vendor’s recipe, is part of the New York-based Street Vendor Project.

“We’re trying to build a national movement to support vendors, and New Orleans is a perfect fit for that,” said Helena Tubis with Street Vendor Project.

As these vendors try to work with the city to create new laws on where and how best to operate, on Wednesday night they had the greenlight to set up shop in the French Quarter to the delight of the crowd.

“I think food trucks are a great thing for the city. I think they provide an affordable option for people to eat,” said New Orleans resident Matthew Newman.

The winner of the’s competition was “Foodiecall Nola,” which won both the judge’s and people’s choice awards.

As for the proposed mobile food vendor law, it’s being reintroduced for a third time to the City Council on March 21. A vote on that pilot program is slated to happen in April.

Find the original article with video from wwitv.com here

Food truck festival to roll into Harrisburg as part of Third in the ‘Burg

The food trucks are coming.

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MAD Sandwiches will participate in the first MashUP Food Truck Festival.
SUE GLEITER, PennLive.com

This Friday, as part of Third in the ‘Burg, about a half a dozen mobile food vendors will share space at the Harrisburg Community College’s midtown campus parking lot at Fourth and Reily streets from 6-9 p.m.

The trucks will create a sort of makeshift al fresco food court. Visitors will be able to dine on everything from french fries to spanikopita, Cuban sandwiches and cupcakes.

The event is called MashUP Food Truck Festival. Its founder is Marissa Hockenberry. She recently returned to the midstate after living in San Francisco for six years.

San Francisco is known for its Off the Grid, which is a roaming mobile food event with more than 25 trucks held on Friday evenings. Hockenberry said she would frequently meet friends at Off the Grid to kick start their weekend and Friday night plans.

Hockenberry said she came up with the idea to host a food truck rally in the midstate while driving cross-country. She shopped the idea at a Friends of Midtown meeting in January where one of the members suggested teaming up with Third in the ‘Burg.

“There is such a huge opportunity in that arena for food trucks,” said Hockenberry, who runs Events by Marissa.

Most of the trucks participating in the MashUP will be driving in from Lancaster and include The Floating Lotus, SouvlakiBoys and Lancaster Cupcake. MAD Sandwiches, a Harrisburg-based food truck known for its sandwiches, will be joining the group.

In the near future, Hockenberry said she is hoping to include upscale food carts such as Dewz Dogz in Wormleysburg, as well as adding entertainment such as acoustic acts and bands.

“Hopefully, this will get bigger as the year progresses,” she said.

Food truck Vendy Awards makes French Market debut

Tania Dall / Eyewitness News
Email: tdall@wwltv.com | Twitter: @taniadall

NEW ORLEANS – Wednesday night marked New Orleans’ first Vendy Awards, which crowns one local mobile food vendor king of the streets.