Food Truck Spotlight
Curry Up Now returns to food truck roots to feed growing fan base
Curry Up Now, a growing successful restaurant and bar brand began as a food truck enterprise. As CEO Akash Kapoor puts it: Food trucks is the soul of the the business and in its DNA. As COVID-19 thwarted plans for a restaurant in San Roman, in the Bay Area of California, Kapoor put a food truck in motion to feed its fans.
December 28, 2020 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit hard nationwide last spring, Curry Up Now, an Indian street food enterprise that initially launched as a food truck, was getting ready to launch yet another restaurant in the Bay Area, in the City Center Bishop Ranch shopping center in San Ramon, California.
Undaunted, Curry Up Now launched a food truck for its Tri-Valley fans. Food Truck Operator reached out to CEO Akash Kapoor to get insight on the strategy and catch up with the expanding company.
Q. What prompted doing the food truck in San Ramon? You were planning to open a restaurant at that point in the spring, right? Was the food truck an interim solution that turned into a permanent option given COVID-19?
A. We currently have a half-dozen locations across the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, San Mateo, Palo Alto and San Jose) and were planning to open in San Ramon's City Center Bishop Ranch in early 2020. Since COVID-19 halted construction, we felt the food truck could be an amazing way of feeding our fans who have waited for a few years for us to open.
Q. Curry Up Now began as a food truck — anything different this time launching this latest truck compared to that very first one? Are there more challenges with regulations or rules, etc.?
A. Trucks are the soul of our business, that's how we started and it's part of our DNA. When COVID-19 halted the construction at the San Ramon site, we moved an existing truck from a different area. By placing a truck in front of the construction site, fans had a chance to try the items they have been waiting to taste.
Q. In mapping out the truck menu, what did you take into account in terms of what to offer and not offer from your full restaurant menu and why?
A. We are offering a limited menu on the San Ramon truck that highlights our most popular dishes including Tikka Masala Burritos, Deconstructed Samosa, Sexy Fries, Bowls and more. We are also offering heat-and-serve family meals from our location at 2678 Bishop Drive in San Ramon.
Q. At this point how many Curry Up Now trucks are rolling and are there expansion plans?
A. We have three Curry Up Now food trucks, and we may franchise the trucks to our existing franchisees. We are partnered with Fransmart, the industry-leading franchise development company, and are currently looking for experienced franchisees and qualified investors to introduce the concept to major media markets across the country.
About Judy Mottl
More From Food Truck SpotlightMore
Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from Food Truck Operator.
Recent Posts
