Food truck season off to stormy start

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This article was published 02/05/2022 (1263 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Through biting winds, whiteout blizzards and the COVID-19 pandemic, food truck owners continue to warm Winnipeggers from the inside out.

It has been a challenge.

Fil Romolo, owner of Italian food truck Little Eggplant, has always worked in the hospitality industry. Considered a part of his Italian culture, Romolo worked “front-of-house” for several restaurants, serving and bartending until he threw in the towel and pursued his dream.

“It’s fun. It’s interesting. You’re always adapting to situations, nothing’s ever the same. There’s always a new challenge. And it’s good, you’re always on the goal but it’s not for everybody,” said Romolo, who has owned his truck for five years.

“You have to be able to figure things out as you go along — and that’s the fun part about it, every day is different. Be positive and in the end, everything does work out.”

The Little Eggplant typically opens in mid-April, but after last season’s balmy weather, Romolo decided to take a chance and open early in 2022. However, there was no way to prepare for the weather; the recent storms scared away customers and even stopped the electricity.

“So we essentially all had to shut down and get our trailers out of there in the blizzard but that’s the grind that we do as food truck owners. It’s like everything’s unexpected whether you know something’s up.”

Last weekend, Romolo had to fix his hot water tank “on the fly” in “freezing blizzard temperatures.”

“You know, it’s a little bit challenging, but that’s the grind that we do. Whether we run out of a food item or have difficulties with the trailer, we always take the poor situation and are able to sort of figure it out.”

Such issues come with being in the industry.

Jason Dornbush of Blue Haze Barbecue Catering and Deli says while “their truck isn’t open for the season, staffing is a bigger issue.”

A spokesperson for Aboriginal Fusion mirrored those thoughts, adding storm delays are “with the season.”

For Romolo, the unpredictable nature of his work is part of the fun.

“It’s nice to see that things are all happening again with COVID-19 and all that, it’s nice to see the festivals are open again,” he said. Little Eggplant will be at Fringe Fest, as well as farmers’ markets, in the coming months.

“The unpredictability is part of the reason why I like it and I know my guys, the other operators, feel the same. It’s a big community, we meet a lot of people doing what we do, and it’s just good to be an entrepreneur.”

Winnipeg Coun. Shawn Nason recently proposed a city rebate in the hopes it may alleviate some of the struggle food truck vendors have experienced the last few years. With a maximum amount of $2,500, the rebate will allow such vendors to get a 10 per cent return for business costs.

Lorrie Krahn, co-founder of BBK’s Barbeque, said the earliest she and her husband have opened BBK’s was mid-March for spring events, but this year, “there was none of that.”

“One group had asked us to come out but they called and said, ‘Looks like we’re gonna have rain, I guess we’re gonna cancel and rebook again in May.’”

Every event BBK’s had booked for spring has been cancelled due to the weather, Krahn said.

“At the beginning of the year, you’ve spent literally thousands of dollars to get prepped for the season… and when you spend that kind of money and then the weather does what it did… March and the entire month of April for nothing.”

This wasn’t the first blow dealt to seasoned food truck owners in the last few years.

With COVID-19 seemingly here to stay, BBK’s never recovered from the initial income lost during the first pandemic wave, Krahn said.

She got a second job at Canada Post, dropping down to part-time and helping out at special events at BBK’s while her husband handled the rest.

“It’s humbling, it really is when you see the same people year after year after year come back, and they’ll say, I brought our whole family for barbecue, and it’s wonderful for us to see that,” said Krahn. “But financially, it’s been tough.

“It’s been really, really hard these last few years. And with this weather, it’s like, wow, you know, I feel like I haven’t made any money in three years.”

While the recent weather in southern Manitoba has been unforgiving, the couple mirrors Romolo’s optimistic outlook for the 2022 season. BBK’s will cater Winnipeg Folk Fest and has several bookings for May. In the meantime, the couple will continue to do what they do best: barbecue.

“We’ve been social distancing for so long, it’ll be so nice just to see people in an outside environment,” Krahn said.

“We’re local, we’ve been local for years and you know, we’ve just really appreciated the customer base that we’ve had over the years.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca