But then he read Thomas KellersAd Hoc at Home the book made him rethink his culinary approach.
People still relate food trucks to roach coaches, but thats not it at all, says Dodd.
A food truck is nothing more than a restaurant on wheels.
T.J. Smith grabs lunch at the Street Kitchen food truck. Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder
Dodd has nearly a decade of restaurant experience and two years of food trucking under his belt.
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Both men were stay-at-home dads with experience in the restaurant business.
They decided to start a food truck.
There they hoped to learnthe tricks of the tradeand get their business on the road.
They definitely didnotexpect to be told their business was going to fail but thats exactly what happened.
Did you know?
I left that seminar saying, I hate this guy, Dodd says with a laugh.
I took that as a challenge.
The partners decided to stick with their original concept and participated in their first event in July 2016.
But while Taste Buddz didnt fail, it came to an end about a year after its inaugural event.
Dodds partner decided food trucking didnt suit him and left the business.
As the sole owner of the food truck, Dodd decided to take Blascos advice from the year before.
Within two weeks of his partners exit, he had Soul Food Street Kitchen up and running.
Now potential customers know right away what bang out of food his truck offers.
The rebranding was worth it Dodd says his sales went up 30%.
A Day Behind the Wheel
Food truckers put in long days.
Once the lunch rush is over, everything has to be cleaned up and broken down.
Some days they have double shifts.
Yeah, cant forget about that heat.
Imagine sweltering in a small, enclosed vehicle full of cooking equipment.
Now, imagine how hot it is at 1 p.m. on a July day inFlorida.
Are you sweating just thinking about it?
And the heat doesnt just affect Dodd it affects business, too.
The food truck lifestyle can wear on you.
One of the negatives with food trucking is I feel the inconsistency in chasing the dollar, he says.
With a brick-and-mortar, you know what time you open and what time you lock the doors.
You have a set schedule.
Sometimes we will go 12 or 13 days straight, says Dodd.
Then sometimes… its a job here and a job there.
He would still like to run Soul Food Street Kitchen, but only for catering and private events.
Its a fun business, but theres a lot of work that goes into it.
Skip the shortcuts and cook from the heart.
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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