9.1. SR 11-20-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Examples of Food-Truck Entrepreneurs Opening Brick-and-Mortar Establishments Austin: In 2006, Michael Rypka opened a small food trailer on South First Street in Austin called Torchy’s Tacos. The trailer became so successful that he was able to expand: Torchy’s Tacos now has eleven brick-and-mortar restaurants, not just in Austin, but also Dallas and Houston. Michael now employs about 450 people.16 Boston: Ayr Muir graduated from MIT, earned his MBA from Harvard and began his career working at McKinsey & Company. But in 2008, he left the corporate world to follow his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and launched Clover Lab Food Truck. His locally sourced vegetarian fare has been such a huge hit with customers that Ayr has now been able to launch a total of six trucks and two restaurants in the Boston area.17 He now employs over 140 people.18 Chicago: In 1963, Dick Portillo opened a six-by-12-foot hot dog trailer on North Avenue in Villa Park. Years later, Portillo’s is a national brand—indeed, a brand that is nearly synonymous with the iconic Chicago hot dog—with 47 locations in Illinois, Indiana and California. Portillo Restaurant Group is now the largest privately owned restaurant company in the Midwest, with over 4,000 employees.19 Cleveland: Chris Hodgson was inspired to bring affordable gourmet food to Cleveland when he visited taco trucks in New York City. His first food truck, Dim and Den Sum, was so successful that he launched a second truck—Hodge Podge—which received nationwide fame when it finished second in the Food Network’s hit show, The Great Food Truck Race. Chris partnered with a restaurateur to open Hodges restaurant in downtown Cleveland, and it now employs about 50 people.20 Seattle: In 2007, Chef Josh Henderson started serving classic American food, but with a gourmet twist, out of an Airstream trailer called Skillet. Skillet quickly became popular, in large part because of the delicious bacon jam in its gourmet burgers. In 2011, Josh opened up the Skillet Diner in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and his business now includes catering and selling its bacon jam through retailers all over the country. He now employs almost 100 people.21 Washington, D.C.: Mike Lenard brought Korean fusion-style tacos to the nation’s capital in August 2010 when he opened Takorean using a remodeled 1985 Ford step-van. Mike has now opened a permanent location at D.C.’s Union Market, serving up the same menu that made his truck so successful. Takorean was honored to be named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s best food trucks in summer 2012, and the magazine recently billed the new Union Market location as one of 11 new restaurants its readers should visit.22 Mike currently employs nine people, and has imminent plans to hire five more employees if his sales continue their upward trend.23