News

Beast is on the mend!

More to come as we get more details. Here’s a quick pic of the our extraction fans, vents, oven & smoker removed. #BringBackBeast

Update on the fire from Jeremy: Watching your dream burn.

This morning started out just like any other day. Running a gourmet pizza food truck comes with a lot of ‘little’ details that you must deal with. Some minor emergencies here and there, but usually it’s fun, eventful, and rewarding. Due to logistics Rob and I decided to carpool to the event to meet Aaron & Stephy as they were bringing the truck from the commissary.

Rob & I had to stop in at Ace Mart to pick up 16 brand new wooden pizza peels to help with our efficiency and add value to our business. We had a BIG event scheduled and weren’t going to let wait times get in the way. We were greeted at the door by the helpful staff and inquired about our order. Short story is, they forgot to transfer the order from their San Antonio warehouse and we wouldn’t be able to pick them up. So, “I just smiled and said no problem (because getting worked up about it wouldn’t have gotten us the paddles) when can we have them” and went on our way. They even cut the handles off of 3 longer paddles for us to take with us to help ease the pain. We’ve had WAY bigger headaches than this. So no problem.

Rob & I arrive at our event spot and waited for Aaron & Stephy. When they arrived we met up with them and immediately went in to set up mode. I’ve got to tell you, the 4 of us have it down to a science. Everyone knows what needs done and when, all the while calling out “45 mins till open”, “3o mins till open”, etc, etc…At about 5 till open Aaron, in a panicked voice says Aaron says “Boss I think we’ve got a fire in the extractor vents” to which I observe and reply with “Oh Sh*t!!!”. Right about that time Rob comes yelling from outside of the truck needing a fire extinguisher. I grabbed both, handed one off to Rob for outside and I went to town from inside. We ran out of extinguishing material fast and luckily Bomb Fried Pies, Lucky Ducky Dogs, & our event hosts stepped in with more extinguishers and we were able to keep the fire contained to the back of the truck for about 10 mins. After that we were forced to “get back” and potentially watch our shiny new business burn to the ground. I grabbed my handy-dandy iPhone and sent a video to Cameron from @CruisinKitchens that just said “We’re gonna need a new truck”. Luckily after what seemed like an hour the DFD showed up to save the day and got the fire put out. The culprit? An extractor fan motor caught on fire.

I’ve got to say, watching this happen and feeling helpless was the first rush of emotions that came once I had to step back and witness it versus being ‘in’ it. As I watched my team was trying to comfort me and make me feel better. A very wise quote from a very wise friend of mine came to mind today as the reality set in. “It’s just stuff”, and I said it out loud. From that moment on we all had a calm over us that allowed us to focus on moving forward. We’ve been through a LOT of trials with this truck over the past 6 months and it won’t be the last. But what a cool story we have to tell.

What’s next? I’ve got a low-boy trailer scheduled to pick the beast up and trailer it to San Antonio. I’ve challenged my boys @CruisinKitchens to get us back on the road in a week with a new Ansul fire suppression system, repairs, and all. He said he’s up for the challenge…the clock is on.

Cheers,

Jeremy