Food Carts Move Upmarket By Nou Sotheavy PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – With commercial rents skyrocketing in Boeung Keng Kong 1, an increasing number of expat-oriented food and beverage businesses are taking their operations mobile. While carts of soda bottles, cheap coffee and snacks cooked on small grills are nothing new in the capital, the latest wave of gourmet food trucks is clearly aimed at the residents and visitors of this upmarket district. Galeno Chua, a New Zealander of Chinese descent, and his French-Khmer business partner, Frederic Bambou, launched one of the first of these high-end mobile eateries. The Bong Churro food cart is a motorcycle-towed trailer selling churros, deep-fried Spanish pastries traditionally dipped in chocolate sauce or sprinkled with cinnamon. The elongated donut-like snacks are popular with expats already familiar with the Spanish street food, and are also winning over a growing number of Khmers. Bong Churro started from a single food cart in June. The business now operates two carts, and opened its first store in BKK 1 earlier this month. Mr. Chua said it cost $1,500 to build and equip each food cart, which unlike a restaurant can be relocated daily and does not have to pay rent. He said the low overhead and mobility of the roving churro stands allowed the company to test the markets response to a new product, while extending advertising reach beyond a fixed location. We chose to invest in mobile carts because of low start-up and running costs, which made it much easier to reach our target markets, he said. Despite the new restaurant opening, Mr. Chua remains convinced of the advantages in food carts. He said Bong Churro will continue to operate the two existing carts, and plans to add three more in the coming months. Justin Landis, a 36-year-old American restaurateur, has seen great results with his food truck, Annabelle’s Hot Tacos. Launched in September, the graffiti-adorned vehicle cruises the streets of BKK1 several times a week during lunch hours, dishing out gourmet tacos and frozen margaritas. Street carts and vendors have been around for ages,” he said, noting that food trucks like his put a greater emphasis on hygiene, aesthetics and gourmet ingredients. Presentation is everything. Although some of the other late-night fast food carts aren’t that appealing, we spent a considerable expense to attract more customers. At a higher level, we are also more equipped than some restaurants. Annabelles Hot Tacos operates out of a converted ambulance fitted with a grill and toaster oven, and pimped up with street art, disco lights and a sound system. Mr. Landis said the initial investment in the modified vehicle, while high, appears to be paying off. “It was a substantial cost and I thought it would be hard for a mobile food service [to turn profit quickly],” he said. Were nowhere near breaking even after just one month – but we’ve been lucky to make up 30 percent of our startup cost. Between the irregular lunch shifts and the odd job catering events, Mr. Landis has managed to steer the mobile taco business toward profits. We worked only seven shifts last month and we were able to come out a little ahead, he said. Another food truck pioneer, Prak Oban Sambath, hopes to stay ahead of what he expects will be a heated competition for BKK1s busiest streets. The 23-year-old entrepreneur has sunk $200,000 into setting up Cafe4U, the local franchise of a South Korean food truck business. Each morning, Mr. Sambaths five retrofitted Hyundai Porter II long-body cabs are stocked with goodies and drive to up position at strategic corners and stretches of road in BKK1. The daily fleet positioning has put Cafe4U in direct competition with the dozens of smaller coffee carts working the district, such as the Ueda, Voltage and Mobile Coffee brands. But Cafe4U hopes to distinguish itself from others with bigger vehicles, a small table and chairs for customers to sit, and by offering an assortment of fresh pastries and snacks from Blue Pumpkin. Mr. Landis is watching the boom in mobile coffee carts closely. He said the small carts have done an admirable job in securing the citys prime roadside real estate, and continue to expand. But rather than competition, he views the myriad coffee carts as potential partners. “I would not mind pairing and sharing locations, he said. Breakfast burritos and coffee [complement each other, and cooperation] can benefit all of us in this virgin territory of gourmet mobile food services.” Mr. Chua of Bong Churro also sees competition heating up and is upbeat that this will only encourage cart owners to offer new products in an effort to distinguish themselves. It’s going to be saturated early next year, he said, noting: each firm is likely to expand with more carts or stands, but there is more room for new items like ice cream, deep fried savories and other foods.”(click the link below)
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:43:50 +0000
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