3:32pm
Street Sweets: Get To Da Choppa!
Discovering the sweet streets of New York City
Something that began long ago, but has been recently adopted by mainstream America, is the mobile food truck. Once limited to such things as fish tacos, soggy sandwiches, and hot dogs, they have now evolved into something much different. They’ve become something more refined, and some might even say they rival the very best culinary institutions. The brick and mortar establishments are worried and with good reason—they ought to be.
Having recently moved from Detroit Rock City to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan’s advertising/marketing world, I was eager to try the multitude of flavors situated right at my doorstep. Unsurprisingly, this city offers virtually any flavor you could imagine; from Indian, Peruvian and Mediterranean to Italian, Mexican and Cajun—it’s all here and it’s all accessible.
Until recently, I’d been impervious to the simplistic calls of the pretzel vendors and the grilled scents fuming from the Halal carts. I’d nearly brushed off the idea of mobile food all together, until I decided to try something new this past weekend. Rather than my regular Sunday jaunt to the uptown Shake Shack, I decided to journey out in search of the mobile offerings camped on the Upper West Side.
Hopping the subway down to 75th Street, I swam through the crowd to reach street level, and my gaze was immediately transfixed on the turquoise truck situated four blocks south of me. Upon approach, I noticed the name Street Sweets emblazoned upon the side and I immediately knew my life would change forever.
You see, this isn’t your typical food truck, rather a rolling bakery loaded to the gills with savory treats like leek, onion and swiss cheese quiches, orange brioche muffins and my newest guilty pleasure, the macarellas—two coconut macaroons sandwiching a delectable Nutella spread.
I had called ahead to let them know I was coming and was delightfully greeted with a cup of gourmet coffee by Street Sweets’ owners, Samira Mahboubian and Grant Di Mille. The real reason I made the short trip wasn’t to necessarily enjoy the delicious treats, but rather to speak with Grant about their relatively new mobile operation.
The story began when Grant and Samira both left their high-paying jobs in search of something greater. That something greater had always lain dormant within their realistic financial investment scope, but they were eventually drawn to it and decided to press forward. In retrospect, it’s no surprise they ended up as proprietors of Street Sweets—Grant spent his summers in a small Italian town enjoying lavish fruit spreads on halved croissants while Samira grew up in her family’s kitchen picking up the tricks of the trade, many of which they currently sell.
In October of 2008, they decided to pick up a Freightliner MT45 step van and immediately set to work converting it into the rolling bakery it is today, but not without a few minor hiccups along the way. Allow me to interject by saying this—shady builders are shady and shady builders’ friends are even shadier. After a few snafus, they eventually completed the build and hit the streets of Manhattan on June 1st, 2009. They decided that their first day would be one of epic proportion, so with that in mind, Grant and Samira headed to the iconic Apple store on 5th Avenue.
Shortly after their arrival they were met with opposition from the “knuckleheads” employed by one of the larger NYC ice cream truck operations. This would be the first of many run-ins with the competition and something they’d learn to deal with if they wanted to continue doing business. You see, there are no permits pertaining to vending locations, rather it’s a first come, first serve type of operation with a kill or be killed mentality.
And here in lies the contrasting difference between running your standard run-of-the-mill brick and mortar business and one with the mobility of four wheels and a 5.9-liter Cummins bio-converted Turbodiesel. If you’ve got pushy neighbors, you move; if you’re not hitting your daily targets, you move; if you’re simply tired of your location, you move.
With nearly ten months under their belt, the Street Sweets team has found a method to the madness and they’ve faired particularly well in this seemingly hostile environment. They pride themselves on being 100% legit in their operation while offering as close to a “green” business as possible through the use of post-consumer recycled materials and by using the aforementioned bio-diesel fuel (which also powers the truck’s 13,000 watt on-board generator).
At the end of the day, it’s all about the experience. It’s the experience of doing business wherever you choose without limitation. That freedom is something many traditional business owners might begin to consider as the trend for mobile food continues to grow.
When asked how Street Sweets compares to their anchored competition, Grant offered this gem; “Our product is far superior—we’re not here to provide mediocrity.”
That my friends, is confidence that money can’t buy. That’s confidence you earn.
On the streets.
Check out Street Sweets online!
Or follow their Twitter feed to see where they’ll be on any given day.
