Article
Partners reinvent themselves as 'Bro-Ritos,' serving chicken and burritos
Following a process of trial and error, partners Marcus Crawford and Jonathan Gibbs reinvented their mobile food business, replacing a food trailer with a food truck serving food that is popular in northern New Jersey.
December 19, 2018 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
For partners Marcus Crawford and Jonathan Gibbs, owning and operating a mobile food business has been an adventure. Beginning with a food trailer in northern New Jersey in 2014, the duo learned by trial and error what types of food customers want and the type of food truck experience they were seeking.
"There was a demand for a burrito truck," Crawford said. By the summer of 2016, phase two of Crawford and Gibbs' food truck adventure began to take shape.
While trailers were less expensive than trucks, the partners realized that a truck would allow them to serve people faster and better, and to provide the type of experience customers were looking for, as described in part one of this two-part series.
They purchased a Grumman step van that had been used for serving brats. They gutted it and rebuilt the kitchen with the help of one of Crawford's uncles who was a contractor.
Sweat equity
"We bought the appliances, we installed the wall, we installed the hood, the grills, the refrigeration, the electrical, the plumbing ... We did everything," Crawford said. They invested between $23,000 and $25,000, which they were able to cover using credit cards and their earnings.
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| Burritos have proven popular in northern New Jersey. |
They came up with recipes for burritos, tacos and quesadillas with the help of family and friends.
The resulting menu includes unique specialties such as Chipotle Chicken Bro! (pulled baked chicken with sautéed onions, roasted peppers, tomatoes and homemade chipotle sauce) and a Hot Cheetos Bro! (ground beef, guacamole, spicy queso, hot Cheetos and sour cream).
Coming up with the name for their new truck wasn't as easy. They wanted people to know they were selling burritos. They were trying to decide between "Burrito Brothers" and "Brothers Burritos" when a fellow food truck operator was hit with an inspiration: "Bro-Ritos."
New menu opens more doors
"The truck opened more doors for us," Crawford said, in comparing Bro-ritos' menu of burritos and chicken with the soup and lobster rolls served from the partners' first mobile kitchen. "Because of the menu. It's as simple as that."
The new menu has delivered far more catering opportunities, which now account for about 30 percent of total sales. The Bro-ritos food truck is now doing 50 catering events per year compared with 10 for the Soupman trailer, and the business relies far less on festivals than it used to.
To meet the growing demand, Crawford and Gibbs rented kitchen space from a local restaurant and brought on a full-time employee, Jarid Thomas.
An educational mission takes shape
As the business grew, Crawford and Gibbs began to realize the importance of providing the public with a deeper understanding of food trucks.
This year, they began a reality YouTube show. The videos, which air every other week on the Bro-Ritos home page, are produced by a professional videographer, and feature interviews not only with the partners and customers, but also with other food truck operators.
While the show helps promote the business, the partners also use it to educate the public and promote good food truck practices.
"We want people to be more knowledgeable," Crawford said. "It's definitely a great business to be in, but we've seen a lot of trucks go in and go out. The trucks that are coming in and going out aren't educated. They're not aware of what to expect in the food truck industry."
"People definitely like to see what we're showing," Crawford said for the YouTube videos. "We want it to be part of the brand that we're building." YouTube analytics allow them to see the number of views and the times when viewers are most and least engaged.
Meanwhile, Crawford has continued his own education. This spring and summer, he attended a 13-week program offered to New Jersey retail business and restaurant owners by the Rutgers University Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. The program, called the Black and Latino Urban Entrepreneurship — Retail Acceleration Program, trains retail and restaurant entrepreneurs in business management, marketing, accounting, site selection and other aspects of operations.
Crawford found the financial training the most helpful. "BLUE-RAP helped us get a complete understanding of the importance of keeping our books and our finances in order," he said.
Stage three: A brick and mortar restaurant
The partners are now looking for a site in New Jersey where they can open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, which will provide both the space they need to prepare food for the food truck and a new source of revenue. They also want to launch another one or two food trucks.
"In order for us to get to that goal, we definitely need a storefront," Crawford said. He anticipates needing $100,000-plus and an additional two or three employees to launch the restaurant.
In the future, the partners also want to be able to accept online orders.
"The model has proven to be something that we can create generational wealth off of," Crawford said. "We're on the right path, and if we continue to do things the right way, we can have the amount of success that these other trucks have."
Photos courtesy of Bro-Ritos.
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
