Food trucks are trending right now across the United States. They’re popping up all over, serving everything from gourmet waffles, ice cream and falafels to California cuisine, hot dogs and Cajun food. Mo-
bile entrepreneurs from coast to coast are cashing in on the food truck craze, but what exactly does it take to start a mobile restaurant business? Here’s a look at two food trucks in San Martin, whose owners were kind enough to share details about their start ups.
Although both trucks serve classic Mexican cuisine, each took a different path to opening their business.
Each day at 5 a.m., a bleary-eyed Felix Canales Jr. rolls out of bed and prepares to face the day. He leaves the Morgan Hill home he shares with his parents no later than 6 a.m. to arrive at his El Taco Feliz (“The Happy Taco”) truck bright and early.
Three times a week, Canales. 25, makes a stop at Restaurant Depot in San Jose, purchasing the items he needs to cook his family’s recipes. By 8 a.m., he’s at the commissary in San Jose where his truck is housed each night. He and his mother, Marta, begin completing the day’s prep work, and within the hour, Canales packs up the day’s food supply and tows his food truck to its stationary location at 13320 Depot St. in San Martin. He begins grilling meats, and at 10 a.m. he opens for the day.
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Up Highway 101, a slightly more rested Carlos Valencia and his brother, Ventura, also wake up at 5 a.m. The brothers, owners of Tacos El Abuelo (“Grandfather’s Tacos”), meet their meat vendor and purchase supplies needed to run their truck, which is also housed in San Jose, and begin the day’s prep work. According to Armando Valencia, the third Valencia brother who works at Tacos El Abuelo, the trio use family recipes – modified versions of their grandfather’s recipes. At 9 a.m., sometimes earlier, the truck at 313-337 San Martin Ave. is open for business.
For the Valencias, who purchased an already existing food truck for $36,000, the challenge was taking a trailer Armando Valencia says was in “bad condition” and investing $15,000 plus an additional $2,000 in graphics to making it usable.
“[My brother] had been working in a kitchen and they wanted to open their own place,” he said. “He didn’t want to work for anyone else. This way he can run it and work it.”
Valencia said only a few permits were required to get the business up and running, including a county permit to run the business and a food permit. Tacos El Abuelo opened in May 2013. Valencia said they have a contract with the landowner of their freeway-adjacent location, renting the space for $650 each month. Both food trucks chose San Martin, because the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill do not allow food truck businesses to operate within their city limits.
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While the Valencia’s investment was a mere $53,000 without the necessary permits, Canales spent nearly double to open his business – $70,000 to have his truck built, $5,000 for graphics and $5,000 for a generator, plus the purchase of a cash register system, microwave, supplies and handful of permits that quickly raised his total contribution.
“I saved up a big chunk (of money) and the rest was a loan that I received from Opportunity Fund in San Jose,” he said. “I went in Oct. 22, 2014, to get the food truck designed. By Nov. 1, I had given Cal Central in Modesto a down payment to initiate the (design) process. From that point on, I would go every week to check up on the process.”
Cal Central promised the truck would be built by Dec. 19, but it wasn’t completed until Jan. 15. The truck was then taken to Modesto for customized “wrapping.” A wrap is basically a large vinyl graphic applied directly over a vehicle.
“I told him I wanted something simple, something catchy, and something people would recognize right away,” Canales said. “That wasn’t complete until Feb. 4.”
As the truck was being built, Canales arranged to lease a space outside the San Martin Market. Once the truck was complete, he began the process of getting permitted through Santa Clara County.
“Since it was a brand new truck, the county required a blueprint of what’s in the truck and how everything works,” he said. “They want every little spec.”
Canales submitted the paperwork on Feb. 4 and the county had 20 business days to respond. Unfortunately, his paperwork wasn’t descriptive enough and his permits were denied. The paperwork was then resubmitted by the builders, and Canales waited another 20 days for a response. But the permit was, again, denied.
Canales submitted the required blueprints one more time and was finally approved in May. In June, he took the truck to the county for approval only to learn he would have to go through the process each year to maintain his permit.
Once he received the county’s stamp of approval, Canales needed to obtain a health permit, estimated at $1,000, business license and sales permit, which he said was free with the caveat that he has to pay taxes every three months. Finally, he spent $175 for a “safe serve” certification, another requirement needed before he could open for business July 3.
Canales has only been open for three months, and he’s still learning the ins and outs of the food truck business. But the Valencia business runs like a well-oiled machine.
“We’re really busy here,” Armando Valencia said. “In a year, we might open another place. We’re trying to find a location that would be a good place to have
a truck.”
Tacos El Abuelo stays busy throughout the day until the truck, open Monday through Saturday, closes at 7 p.m. The three brothers spend about a half an hour cleaning up before returning the truck to San Jose around 8 p.m.
As the Valencias head home, Canales is closing up. He shuts down at 8 p.m. and drives the truck back to San Jose, where he spends an hour and a half each night disinfecting it and three hours twice a week giving the truck a deep cleaning.
Canales leaves the commissary between 10 and 11 p.m. and drives back home to Morgan Hill. If he has any energy left over, he takes care of some accounting for the business. He doesn’t hit the sack until well after midnight, usually between 1 and 2 a.m., only to start the process over again the next morning.
“The thing is people don’t really understand is it’s a lot of work,” Canales said. “You have to enjoy what you’re doing and be determined to do this. It’s about how much you want it and what you want to do with it; how much you want to succeed. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, the food truck industry isn’t for you.”
