Friday, June 22, 2012
Doug Coats is a friend who can do anything. He remodels, fixes, tinkers and has fun doing it. I call him to ask if he would be interested in working on making a food truck. I catch him while he and his family are on vacation in California. He's at the San Diego zoo when he answers the phone. He laughs and says he'll take a look at it when he gets back from vacation. That night I play a gig with my band at Cutters, a bar-b-que place in Eudora. I'm all excited about the truck and talk to Herman, my guitar player, and Len, the bass player, about the rebuilt engine. They Google the type of engine on Herman's phone and pronounce it OK.
June 28, 2012
I have been calling the health department all week trying to get one of their inspectors to come and look at the truck and tell me what improvements I need to make before I start to spend any money. I want to make sure that this project is feasible. We finally hook up and she swings by in the afternoon to look at the truck. She likes it and gives me pointers on the sinks, water tanks and refrigeration.
July 7, 2012
I'm spending four days visiting friends in Spokane, Washington. I've done nothing to the truck since I bought it. Catering has been busy and then my trip has consumed my thoughts. I contemplate what directions my life might take and I wonder if I could get the truck to Spokane. I talk to my friends Billie Moreland and her husband, Steve Simmons, about the truck. She has done some research on food trucks and both caution me about the potential problems with food trucks. I resolve to call Doug again when I get back to Kansas City.
July 9, 2012
I get Doug on the phone. He laughs again and says he'll come by that afternoon to look at it. He shows up about 2:00 and hops out of his truck to take a look. We hop up in the back of the truck. I can tell he is intrigued. Doug asks what I have in mind. I want to rip out all of the wood in the truck and strip it down completely, putting in aluminum or stainless walls. I have a grill, but I need to figure out what kind of sinks I need and how to hook up refrigeration. I haven't even started thinking about a hood yet, but that is another problem. Doug says "I love to tear up stuff. This is going to be fun!" I start to get nervous...
The next morning Doug shows up. I'm busy getting lunches ready and
leave him to his own devices. After lunch I go over to the truck to see
what he has done. As I walk past the dumpster I can see that he has
filled it with the cabinets, beds, table and paneling that had been in
the truck. I peek in the back. OMG, there is almost nothing left! Doug
is standing there with a hammer in one hand and a pry bar in the
other. He looks happy like a cat who has just caught a mouse. I get
this feeling that its too late now, but with all the junk out I really
start to imagine the possibilities. Doug says "You said you wanted to
get rid of all the wood!"
Doug Coats is a friend who can do anything. He remodels, fixes, tinkers and has fun doing it. I call him to ask if he would be interested in working on making a food truck. I catch him while he and his family are on vacation in California. He's at the San Diego zoo when he answers the phone. He laughs and says he'll take a look at it when he gets back from vacation. That night I play a gig with my band at Cutters, a bar-b-que place in Eudora. I'm all excited about the truck and talk to Herman, my guitar player, and Len, the bass player, about the rebuilt engine. They Google the type of engine on Herman's phone and pronounce it OK.
June 28, 2012
I have been calling the health department all week trying to get one of their inspectors to come and look at the truck and tell me what improvements I need to make before I start to spend any money. I want to make sure that this project is feasible. We finally hook up and she swings by in the afternoon to look at the truck. She likes it and gives me pointers on the sinks, water tanks and refrigeration.
July 7, 2012
I'm spending four days visiting friends in Spokane, Washington. I've done nothing to the truck since I bought it. Catering has been busy and then my trip has consumed my thoughts. I contemplate what directions my life might take and I wonder if I could get the truck to Spokane. I talk to my friends Billie Moreland and her husband, Steve Simmons, about the truck. She has done some research on food trucks and both caution me about the potential problems with food trucks. I resolve to call Doug again when I get back to Kansas City.
July 9, 2012
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