the first week: "into the wild"
As our first week in operation ended early Sunday morning and our crew traveled back to our commissary, I reflected on the week that was. The movie "Into the Wild" was the first thing that came to mind. No, I am not comparing the operation of a food truck to living alone in the Alaskan forests. But for those who have read the book or seen the movie, you will recall the adventure of Christopher McCandless (the protagonist) leading up to his months in the wilderness and all the meaningful relationships he formed with complete strangers. In a way, I feel like I am living a parallel journey. I have already met so many people in the past seven days that I would have never met otherwise if I had continued in my prior career path.
There's Rob, the owner of the Good Bike Cafe, whom we share the Freewheeling Bicycles parking lot with on weeknights at West Campus. A former Floridian, Rob's passion for Cuban coffee and Cuvee roasted beans are unrivaled. Trust me, I know this for a fact. He hasn't not offered me his coffee on any day I have seen him. We even traded banh mi sliders for Cuban coffee on Wednesday - kind of like trading baseball cards in my youth except not really. Rob's outlook on life is refreshing and he clearly is blessed as he holds 50 yard line season tickets for the Miami Dolphins.
This post would not be complete without mentioning the loyal customers the peached tortilla has already garnered in its first week. There's Kris from South Austin who drove up on Wednesday night to check us out at our West Campus location. This guy may have been more amped about the peached tortilla than I was (which means he was very amped). The excitement in his voice was so exhilarating to hear, as it was clear our menu and product was clearly speaking to him. Kris assured me he was coming back next week to purchase a t-shirt. Enough said. There's also Tina, who picked up our bbq brisket sliders on Tuesday and came back with her friend on Thursday for bbq brisket tacos. We shared our Missouri connection as she explained to me she lasted 6 months at UMSL (University of Missouri-St. Louis) before she jumped ship and left the show me state. The list of great people I have met in the past week is too long to go through in detail. But I feel that while operating this food concept, in a way I am going on my own "into the wild" journey, meeting amazing people and learning about life along the way.
Until next time,
Eric