Instagram: Patas Azules Food Truck Location: Rapid City, South Dakota Fun Fact: Their food truck doesn't use a generator; they built a battery pack (imagine Tesla)!
I love sharing real-life stories of those who are in the food truck industry. Food Truck University member, Ana (Software Engineer by trade), is from Ecuador and is now a food truck owner in South Dakota. Tune in as Ana shares her food truck journey.
Tell us your story, Ana!
As you know, I’m from Ecuador where I was a Software Engineer. I worked for the power company for 12 years. The power company is owned by the government, and when things changed in the government – I was laid off. I was a single mom and I was really, really struggling. I couldn’t find a job anywhere. I began selling ceviche in the park during soccer games, but it wasn’t enough to pay for my house, my car, or my son’s school..it was crazy! So, I went to Seattle to be with my family. I was trying to get a job as a waitress so I could earn tips, but it never worked out for me because I couldn't apply for any jobs because I didn't have a Work Visa at the time, I only had a Tourist Visa.
Now, about my personal life. I am Catholic, so I decided to sign up for CatholicMatch (a dating site). Long story short, I ended up meeting another engineer on the site and dating for awhile… and after dating for awhile we got married! My husband is very supportive. I was having a hard time finding work, and he suggested that I stay home because I’ve worked so hard over the years. But….I wanted to work. I ended up interviewing for a Project Manager role. They interviewed me for two hours, only to send an email later that evening saying they found another candidate and I was like ARRRGGHH!!! I think the problem was my English.
So, tell me…how did you get into the food truck industry…especially after being a Software Engineer?
One day we were celebrating something…and I really wanted some ceviche. I didn’t have time to prepare it, so I thought I could order some from a restaurant – only to find out that no one sold ceviche in this area! So I told my husband we should start a restaurant. We started looking at potential places to start a restaurant, and the amount to rent a commercial space was too expensive. Then we decided to go to a shop that builds trailers. Even that was pricey, so my husband decided to build a trailer for us! He drove to Wyoming to buy the material for the floors, and we purchased a lot of commercial kitchen items online.
Ahh.. so your husband had this idea of creating your trailer like a Tesla? Ha! Yes,,my husband is an electrical engineer, so instead of purchasing a generator to provide power to our food trailer, he built a battery system instead. So imagine a Tesla trailer. Tesla runs off of a battery pack, and our trailer runs off of a battery pack. The battery holds 24 hours of energy before it needs to be recharged. And, in emergencies it is able to provide energy to our house, too!
Wow! I’ve worked with A LOT of food trucks over the past 11-12 years, and I can honestly say that this is my first time hearing of this, and I love it!
I had a very bad car accident right after purchasing the trailer. It took me four months to recover, so it gave my husband the time he needed to build the battery and build the inside of the truck. We don’t have a noisy generator; we don’t have a silent generator… we have an electric food truck!
Wow! When I had a food truck, a gentleman who owned three trucks built mine. So, I understand the process. Tell me about your menu! We make everything from scratch. I truly respect the process of making fresh food. For instance, instead of going to the grocery store to buy flour, in Ecuador we grind corn, yuca, and plantains to make flour ourselves. This is the way I’ve watched my mom and abuela do it for years. So for my empanadas, I grind the flour. I really try to maintain the standard of quality and the freshness of the food. I respect the process of how we cook our traditional foods. I don't take any shortcuts. We cook real and fresh food, and my husband loves our gastronomy -- that's how he fell in love with me for the second time (laughs!).
We use a lot of salad…our fruit and onion salad is the key to everything. And lime. We use lime in most of the dishes we make. Our base is technically what we call “The Trinity” – red pepper, onion, garlic, and tomato. We don’t use anything from a can. I can taste when something comes out of the can, so I use fresh foods only.
(Pictured below is Ana's Ceviche and Pork Sandwich with onion salad.)
Is selling Ecuadorian food a challenge in South Dakota? The first time we opened in my neighborhood, we had a HUGE line! I freaked out and asked– “How are we going to do this?” But, we did it! Here are some of our reviews.
Here’s my last question for you. What challenges are you currently facing?
I don't have any any employees, yet. My mom used to come and help, but she's now 74 years old – so she helps whatever she can. But, yeah– we don't have employees. It's hard. I’ve tried to train people, but it’s been a challenging getting people to understand the flavors and how to put them together. Instead of tasting the food, everyone here just uses measurements. That’s not how we cook. So yeah… maybe one day I’ll have employees.
Ana, thank you so much for sharing your story! I can’t wait to hear about more of your successes!
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