Napa County couple shifts to food trucks after pandemic restaurant closure

When Petaluma’s Wine or Get rid of Board Recreation Cafe succumbed virtually two many years ago to the pandemic, entrepreneurs Craig and Amanda Karas ended up grieving, but also planning their up coming undertaking.

Currently, they own two food truck corporations — a person they hadn’t planned on.

In August 2021, the Karases bought and started functioning Trader Jim’s, a small food truck that travels close to Sonoma County serving up pineapple Dole whips and floats at farmers marketplaces and non-public activities.

“We have been lovers of Trader Jim’s for a long time,” Amanda Karas said. “For our wedding day (in 2018), I preferred to get Craig a surprise dessert and employed Trader Jim’s to cater pineapple whips for our reception. We designed a joke about how if they ever decided to provide, that we ought to acquire it, and the relaxation is heritage.”

The Karases, who reside in Napa County, acquired Trader Jim’s from Lauren and Travis Huhn, who experienced decided to go out of the area previous year.

Lauren Huhn mentioned the Karases’ enjoy of the Trader Jim’s business enterprise and merchandise she witnessed at the couple’s wedding left her feeling like the enterprise would be in very good hands.

“We had developed up a pretty foolproof small business, so virtually anybody could run it, but we knew Amanda and Craig would continue to keep it up to the common people have developed to anticipate with Trader Jim’s,” Lauren Huhn informed the Enterprise Journal in an e-mail assertion. “Our complete spouse and children enjoyed Wine or Lose and the resourceful strategy, so we knew they could keep on to deliver exciting and refreshing suggestions to Trader Jim’s.”

The Karases declined to disclose the outright order cost of Trader Jim’s, but explained that in between both equally of their foods trucks, they used about $150,000. The pair had poured $250,000 into their former cafe, which opened in August 2019 and completely closed at the end of July 2020.

The Karases’ next meals truck enterprise was presently commencing to get condition as the few was shuttering their cafe.

The Happy Frenchie — named right after their French bulldog, Meeko — will be the couple’s bread and butter when it’s up and jogging later this calendar year. The truck will vacation to Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties, marketing consolation foods with a French twist at wineries, breweries and situations.

Meeko will serve as mascot, however she now also has a sibling. The pair not long ago adopted one more French bulldog, named Scout, mentioned Amanda Karas.

The Joyful Frenchie truck is at the moment heading by means of health and fitness inspections but also is caught in the supply chain woes, as the couple’s mechanic awaits a necessary element, Craig Karas said.

It would be uncomplicated to imagine functioning a food truck is easier than jogging a cafe, but Craig Karas said there are notable variations, with overall flexibility currently being a important edge to having a meals truck.

For illustration, the couple normally takes Trader Jim’s largely to farmers marketplaces, but they select which kinds and on what days, relying on their unique schedules.

That adaptability also permits them to be nimble as they continue on to do the job their continuous work — for now.

“Eventually, we want to be self-sufficient and get the job done for ourselves,” Amanda Karas stated, adding that was the aim when they opened Wine or Drop.

Craig Karas, who has been in the restaurant company for extra than 25 years, such as performing as a fantastic-dining chef, is at the moment a consulting chef at Brasswood in St. Helena. Amanda Karas is the director of marketing for Check out Fairfield.

One particular key commonality amongst restaurants and food stuff vans is that the two need to have a spot to prepare the meals, Craig Karas mentioned.

“We even now need to have a commissary kitchen area. That is a single of the requirements for a meals truck, so you do nonetheless need to rent some house someplace or have your personal restaurant,” he said. “It’s undoubtedly not the overhead a brick and mortar is, but you really don’t absolutely escape it.”

That commissary kitchen area will be wanted for equally food truck operations, Amanda Karas mentioned.

In the meantime, staffing is a hurdle that food items trucks just cannot cross any a lot easier than a cafe. In fact, Amanda Karas said they are going to have to meet up with or exceed compensation for the Satisfied Frenchie that a employee could possibly hope at a restaurant.

The Karases, having said that, might have a leg up on selecting. On a food stuff truck, all staffers interact with friends, so all people shares in the suggestion pool, as opposed to in a cafe, Craig Karas reported.

The couple is now managing Trader Jim’s on their personal but will most likely conclude up staffing both of those food stuff vehicles.