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I don’t know if this is legal

By on 20 February, 2013 in Burlington (BUR), Licensing, Location

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I was trying to be stealthy when I took this picture. Are you allowed to take pictures in town hearings? I was seated at a hearing. Anybody who wants to open a restaurant in Burlington, MA has to apply for a Special Permit. And that process takes a long time.

But here I was in our hearing. We generally take care of these things ourselves. But in this case, as we got close to the hearing, our Landlord asked if we would use their lawyer for the hearing. So we did. But John Lee and I were the ones who’d gotten the abutters lists, met with town officials, filled out the application, submitted the checks, answered the follow-up questions, provided the site plan, etc. etc. I was at this hearing hoping everything would go well, clutching a folder in my hands with the return receipts for our registered mail and wishing I’d worn a suit.

I sat for hours. That’s no exaggeration. Hours. And then it was my time. And the hearing went great. The board was welcoming, encouraging, and friendly. They even asked us to think about bringing the trucks up! So we’re officially approved. Here we come Burlington.

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Food Truck 101: The Conference

By on 26 January, 2013 in Licensing, Operations, Team

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The idea for Food Truck 101 started in 2011 when the City of Boston started offering the first spots for food trucks, and a lot of people told us they were interested in starting trucks. We figured we had learned a lot by being the first new truck in Boston. So we decided to run a seminar sharing information about financials, labor, and food with potential operators. Last year we expanded Food Truck 101 to include a panel discussion with Bon Me, Roxy’s, and Cupcakory.

A lot has changed since the first Food Truck 101. We/ve opened more trucks, and we’ve been joined by 50 others in Boston, including the kids of a customer who eats with us at the MIT truck.

Now people are saying it’s time for a broad conversation about food trucks. And we think Boston is the best city to offer the first-ever Food Truck 101 Conference. We’ll feature different sessions with current operators, historians, and city officials. Topics: building food trucks, social media for food trucks, food truck financials, and the historical context for food trucks.

FOOD TRUCK 101 CONFERENCE
Thursday 2/28, 4pm-8pm
at Food Truck U (Clover HUB, 1075 Cambridge St)
Space is limited. Register online.
$100 for general public, free for students

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Pretty Things Magnifico beer launch was nuts

By on 21 June, 2012 in Brand, Customers, HUB, Licensing, Menu, Operations, Team

Wow. We launched the new Pretty Things beer Magnifico at the HUB. It’s our first beer at the HUB. We got our license back in May but we’ve been waiting patiently.

I expected we’d have a bunch of people, but nothing like what happened. It was just a crazy storm of people. I remembered this video of the first iPhone launch where somebody just walked the line with a video camera. I thought it was really fun, so I suppose that was the inspiration for this. It feels a little more self-promotional than we’re used to. But there’s also some raw fun and excitement in it. At least for me watching.

This video was taken at 8:25, we launched at 8pm. The line to order kept growing from that point, stretching all the way from the garage entrance on Elm around through the front door, down the entire length of the counter, to the back of the restaurant where we’d opened up the whole space. Everybody was super happy and having a good time and eating and tasting Magnifico.

I’d made 300 cupcakes to give away to customers in honor of Vincenzo’s birthday. It wasn’t enough, not even close. And I think almost nobody got seconds because the line was 45 minutes long.

So to everybody who was there, thanks for coming out and supporting what Dann and Martha do. We love their beer and think it’s great. And come on back for your second round. We’ll be serving Magnifico through the end of July or until it runs out (which may be sooner).

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Retail Space for Rent

By on 15 June, 2012 in Licensing, Operations

You know that empty space next door to our HUB at 1075 Cambridge St.? We’re finally putting it on the market to rent. Why has it taken so long? Well, to be honest it’s just because I’ve been so busy.

We’re really excited that we get to pick our neighbor. So here’s what we’re doing: we’re not using a real estate agent or anything. We’re just posting this up here, and I ordered a banner to put in the window of the space. It’s a 1,500 square foot retail space in what we think is the most exciting neighborhood in the Boston area. We’d love to get somebody in here who is making food, serving food, or selling food, or maybe a combination of the three. Think a provisions store, cheese store, unique bar, the next best restaurant, cheese-maker-pizza-place, etc. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

So if you’re looking for a space, or know somebody who is, check it out:

1071 Cambridge St. proposal form

 

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Introducing Clover PRK

By on 20 April, 2012 in Construction, Licensing, Location

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Yesterday we launched Clover PRK. We are open 7 days/ week, 7am – 7pm. The site is right near the MBTA stop on the Boston Common. I can’t tell you how excited we are about this location. We’ve been working on this for almost 3 years. It felt so great to be out.

Julie is running the truck. Say hi when you stop by. I think the truck looks amazing in this site. What do you think? And the customers have been fantastic so far. Thanks Boston!

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Cambridge inspectional services

By on 20 January, 2012 in Greenway (DWY), Licensing, Operations

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It’s 7am here in Cambridge, and what could be better than a parking spot right at the front door of Inspectional Services? My biggest task this winter was to ensure all 5 trucks get oil changes, repairs, and upgrades. We do some shuffling around of trucks so that this can happen.

Our plan is to park the (very warm) GOV truck at Dewey, and park the (pretty warm) Dewey truck at MIT. Problem is, the Dewey truck was built to Boston specifications, and we want to park it in Cambridge. So here I am getting the Dewey truck inspected to see if it fits to Cambridge specifications.

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GOV truck final days

By on 20 November, 2011 in City Hall (GOV), Customers, Licensing, Location

This picture was Day 1 of the truck at Government Center, back in April. The crew was up early that day cracking eggs and slicing up tomatoes. We got the spot because Mayor Menino sponsored a contest to get healthy food onto City Hall Plaza. We didn’t know what City workers would think of us. But a few people came the first day. The next day they brought their coworkers. 8 months later, we’re feeding around 1000 people in a given week at GOV. That’s Bridget in the center. She’s been there since Day 1, I’d guess she knows the names of 200 City workers who eat with us every day.

So, what’s all this about final days? This week is the last for Clover and the other 2 food trucks on City Hall Plaza. The operating agreement expires on Thanksgiving. Well, it actually expired in October, Continue Reading →

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HUB: Working to open Saturday noon

By on 27 October, 2011 in Construction, Customers, Design, Licensing, Operations, Team

This is what we were waiting for: a giant crane. The crane got moved back a bunch of times by the city. So it put our schedule behind. But we’re still racing to get open for Saturday, Clover’s 3rd anniversary from the date we sold our first sandwich at MIT.

The crane came yesterday. It was enormous. 80 Ton crane. They had to shut down Cambridge St. Within 3 hours of the HVAC units getting placed on the roof there was heat in the space. Seriously. It was that fast. Really impossibly fast. It’s very exciting.

Our health inspection is complete. We have a few more inspections tomorrow morning. If everything goes well we’ll be ready to serve you all on Saturday. Can’t wait!

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Permit for sandwich board

By on 2 August, 2011 in Construction, Licensing

Just found this picture. This post is a little overdue (see the winter jackets?) But wanted to get it up here anyway.

We had a complaint from a neighbor about our menu board on the sidewalk. Since we don’t have any real sign on the restaurant the menu board is pretty important to letting folks know what we’re doing and where we are.

So we submitted an application to the City of Cambridge. It took a few bucks, but man was it fast. In less than 1 week they delivered the permit. So here I am, holding it high above my head. Really exciting. Chris should have been the one in the picture, but of course he refused (that boy is a little camera shy).

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We signed a lease

By on 2 June, 2011 in Construction, Design, Licensing

We’re calling this one our Hub. Small restaurant. Enormous kitchen. Lots more details to come.

See that bracelet on my wrist? Don’t worry, I don’t have a chronic disease or something. I just had a baby, remember? This photo was taken 2 days after Violet was born. I was on paternity leave, but couldn’t miss the signing.

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