El Chile Toreado – Santa Fe, New Mexico
Until 2008, the notion of gourmet culinary offerings being proffered by a mobile conveyance was unheard of. Prior to then, food trucks were (often rightfully so) known as “roach coaches” or even worse “barf buggies.” Roach coaches were an eyesore, a medium of last resort usually parked at construction sites, manufacturing plants, public parks or basic military training bases where captive trainees had no alternative. Roach coaches were a pure convenience with no pretense to gourmet (or even good) cuisine. Most of them hawked simple fare such as hot dogs and tacos as well as potato chips, cigarettes, candy and chewing gum. During the era of “convenience stores on wheels,” food trucks weren’t worried about building a brand. Nor were they concerned with repeat business or customer loyalty. There was no such thing as social media at the time and there were no Yelp reviews. These unsightly vehicles (many with actual roaches in tow) were in business to serve a location for a short time period. After at construction job ended at one site, for example, they would simply move onto the next profitable location and the process would continue. These “convenience stores on wheels” served a purpose, but during…
