City October 31, 2012 8:59 AM

The Black Market Food Truck

The Black Market Food Truck
queenseyes
queenseyes 11
There's an interesting story behind every food truck. For me, hearing these stories and how they unfold speaks to not only the food that is served, but the people behind each operation. Where are they coming from? What are they planning? Where did the truck come from? Who is building it out? 

We've told a lot of these stories on Buffalo Rising, and I'm sure that we'll be telling a lot more, starting with this next one. The Black Market Food Truck (Facebook), is not on the road quite yet, but it's on its way. And thanks to the power of social media, that story can be explored via a video that the two owners have put together (for Kickstarter purposes). 

The reason that this video is so neat, is that it shows exactly what the two chefs, Michael Dimmer and Christian Willmott from The Nines Catering Company (Facebook), have ahead of them, and the road(s) that they will need to take to get the truck from its current condition to their ideal mobile cooking operation. 

What exactly does it take to get a 1968 truck retrofitted to serve up gourmet deli-style sandwiches and Vietnamese Banh Mi? 

Let's take a look and see... 

 
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11 Comments Leave a comment
Queen City Studio
October 31, 2012 9:40 AM
Queen City Studio

Emailed these guys yesterday after supporting them on Kickstarter, we would LOVE to be able to help them out with design work to get them going. Website, truck graphics, menus, you name it. Hoping to hear back from them to talk some business. Good luck guys.

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Score: 5 ( 7 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
metalpeter 1
October 31, 2012 10:27 AM
metalpeter 1

So I did give them a few bucks.. Not sure if it is my kind of food but with a free side if they complete it no harm no foul.. That being said I love that they have the opening theme to the show StrikeBack in the back ground :)

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Buffalo_Resurrection
October 31, 2012 10:39 AM
Buffalo_Resurrection

I have always worked for organizations that are financially strapped and have become a semi-novice at finding vendors who retail items at a very low price and even if the stated price is not low enough, they are always open to negotiations.

If these two entrepreneurs are seeking commercial grade kitchen equipment I can highly recommend a company in Niagara Falls (corner of Whitney Avenue and 11th Street) known as Nu-Temp and their contact number is 282-8015 and just ask for “John”.

If they don’t have it, they will find it for you – great company to work with and I can highly recommend them!
Also, if they need a commercial grade dishwasher, contact Ellicottville Kitchen Equipment and speak with John Karassik at 570-5985.

He has reconditioned units that are better than new and at a fraction of the price!

Good luck to these two guys!

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Score: 7 ( 7 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
LiveFastDie
October 31, 2012 11:39 AM
LiveFastDie

I think this is a great example of how a food truck should be using KickStarter or crowd funding in general. The $5k goal is more than reasonable and doesn't come off like they are depending only on contributions to get this show on the road. Also, the rewards for contribution seem way more fair than past efforts by Lloyd, Lagniappes or Amy's. Good Luck!

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NorthBuf
October 31, 2012 11:50 AM
NorthBuf

Maybe we can do a second kickstarter for lloyds to buy them a square CC readers for their trucks

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replied to LiveFastDie
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14213
October 31, 2012 1:33 PM
14213

Just started one-
price for a square= free ;)

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replied to NorthBuf
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LiveFastDie
October 31, 2012 2:23 PM
LiveFastDie

I would love to see more local businesses embracing services like Square or LevelUp. Using LevelUp at Bisons' game this year was great.

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replied to NorthBuf
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NorthBuf
October 31, 2012 2:46 PM
NorthBuf

The inability to process credit cards is a pretty big factor in my not spending money at your place. I, like many younger people, don't carry cash that often. The only place I really use cash is at the farmers' market (and even some of them are using square). If it's two places competing for my business and one takes cards I'm going to that one even if I don't like the food as much just for the convenience of not having to go to the ATM before hand. Cash is on it's way out, like checks.

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replied to LiveFastDie
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benfranklin
October 31, 2012 3:34 PM
benfranklin

The three percent fee is probably more than ten percent of what the guy makes on the transaction. It also leads a paper trail for an audit. Convenient for you, no fun for the owner.

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replied to NorthBuf
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NorthBuf
October 31, 2012 4:03 PM
NorthBuf

Raise the prices 3% and don't be a sleaze ball, and then both issues are moot. They are losing 100% of what they make on a sale when I don't go to them.

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replied to benfranklin
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Lukia Costello
November 5, 2012 2:34 PM
Lukia Costello

Yay! Now all we need is a few mobile food villages, like in Portland, OR. What are those? Empty lots that are appropriated as daily mobile food truck food courts. How awesome would that be?

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