18 September, 2008: I’m supplying my truck from Eastern Baker’s Supply. Great name isn’t it? They’re the largest restaurant equipment supplier in the Boston area. I think that the sales guy, Alan, is getting sick of me. He sent me a sink (left) and the corner was busted. So he got me another sink (after about 2 weeks of harassment).… Read More
18 September, 2008: This is how I spent a good portion of my afternoon. With a hacksaw and a file. Things haven’t been moving as quickly as I’d like on the truck. I dropped it off in Salem on Monday, and zippo is the amount of work that has happened since then. I’d expected the systems were going to be… Read More
17 September, 2008: I think Gooseberry’s, the Asian food truck at MIT, rocks. Obviously I’m not the only one. This is the line at lunchtime. Nothing special, this is an everyday event. These people are ALL waiting for that white truck up ahead. And it’s not a very long wait, they process folks at a rate of close to 10… Read More
11 November, 2008: John Hong worked hard to make what he called a “deliberately random” pattern with the lights on the roof. It looks great doesn’t it? Sort of like a ripple running through water. We haven’t served at night yet, so most of you haven’t seen this. Thought I’d share. I enjoy it every night. Read More
17 September, 2008: I’m working with Joshua Hester on developing a “brand platform.” This means getting the philosophy, boundaries, and visual elements that define the brand right. Josh is a visual designer and going to help translate my abstract vision for the Clover brand into a concrete visual identity. To start with, we are working on the logo for the… Read More
16 September, 2008: It was my birthday today. I took the day off (sort of). Clem and Brooke baked me a cake, we picked some apples, Teasel came over to help pit a bucket of small plums and make preserves. It was a beautiful day. And I can’t express how satisfying it is to face this birthday at a time… Read More
16 September, 2008: Obviously the Clover Food Lab is going to be tight and professional. I’ve got too many great people helping for it not to turn out finished, and that is what we are aiming to achieve. That doesn’t keep me from admiring simple DIY solutions for things. Check out this cool train someone made at an apple orchard.… Read More
16 September, 2008: The systems (generator, LP gas, water) need access hatches. We’ve been looking at luggage doors, but I saw these on an emergency vehicle today and think they look promising. The manufacturer of these vehicles is Wolf Coach. Has me thinking we should look at suppliers of work trucks and other emergency vehicles for these parts. Funny, my… Read More
1 October, 2009: Some of you may have seen me wandering around Davis, Harvard, Kenmore, Coolidge in recent weeks. We’ve been scoping real estate for our restaurant. We’re funded now (raised money the other week), and one of the next steps involves prototyping Clover in a restaurant setting. We’re really excited and are looking to building new Clover communities. We… Read More
15 September, 2008: I just parked the truck in Salem, where the body work will be done. Phil Crosscup is managing this phase, and work is starting today! Read More
13 September, 2008: For obvious reasons I have not mentioned this here, but the truck arrived without any keys to any of the locks. This means my truck has been sitting unsecured on the road for the past few weeks. Luckily there’s nothing of value in the truck, but it’s still had me a bit uncomfortable at night. After receiving… Read More
13 September, 2008: The Utilimaster supply is great. On their website in addition to very helpful service manuals, they have a PDF of virtually every part of the truck. I replaced a bunch of rubber that was rotten and fixed the piston that holds the hood open so that it wont keep falling on my head. Read More
11 September, 2008: I’ve hinted at this before, when covering grease conversions, but I’m faced with two conflicting goals: I’d love to do as many energy-smart things as I can on the truck I’ve got to keep the costs very low Today I spent some time on the electrical design. The low emission route would be to use the sun… Read More
29 September, 2008: Josh has been hard at work. Find more examples after the break. I’m liking some of these. All are sketches, but I think the direction is interesting. That said, the flask isn’t everyone’s favorite (see last post). And I have ringing in the back of my head Erik’s encouragement to keep the logo as simple as possible. Read More
11 September, 2008: Greg Vaughn of Vaughn Plumbing helped me install the gas system. I think he did a great job, and once I track down the right regulator, we’re ready to pop a fryer, and possibly another appliance in there. Read More