Operating a food truck, whether it be in the Tri-Community or Beverly Hills, is always about location, location, location. Besides the question, “Who owns the property?” arrangements and cooperation seem to be a successful approach to finding a suitable location. Given the nature of the business, these traveling kitchens have a few advantages over traditional restaurants. Being mobile, they can take their tasty product to the people. One such arrangement offers up gourmet coffee with vintage antique shopping.
Shirley’s Coffee Truck (#DAWGSBREW) is no stranger to remote catering. Drawing an audience from all over the Victor Valley, Barista/Owner operator Josh Shirley is a welcome visitor when his custom pink canine-themed step-van rolls into the paved parking lot of Paizly Vintage & Antiques. “Josh is awesome!” stated patron Trevor, an entrepreneur from Los Angeles. “It’s the only food truck I go to!” Trevor mentioned. The bright pink coffee van also shines up Phelan Rd.
A retired professional athlete, Josh converted a standard small bus into a rolling coffee lover’s delight. The vibrant pink step-van is garnished with a giant mural of his beloved pooch. The brightly colored vehicle is also pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. “We love having Josh and his coffee truck in our lot. It’s good for business,” said Kim Lombardi, owner of Paizly Vintage & Antiques, located at 4774 Phelan Rd. in Phelan. “We could use another one, maybe,” Kim said. On any given day, you can see customers sipping lattes and eyeballing antiques near Shirley’s Coffee Truck.
Another less paved scenario for the food trucks is the vacant, high traffic, dirt corner. It is not unusual to see four or five diverse types of cuisine in one location. Mastering the high desert mobile catering scene is the man behind “That’s-A-Pretzel,” Mural Proby, a mobile pretzel vendor who also knows the beauty of a good arrangement. Sharing a dirt lot with “That’s-A-Pretzel” in Adelanto Frank Hernandez was staffing the Adelanto Little League-sponsored fireworks booth. When asked about sharing a spot with a pretzel truck, Frank said, “It works for everybody. The pretzels are fantastic!” At a different location, Mural has a rolling pretzel trailer serving up his hot flavored fresh baked pretzels at the intersection of Baldy Mesa and Phelan Roads. Also doing business in Phelan and Pinon hills, “That’s a Pretzel” services the parking areas near other stores associated with Paizly Vintage & Antiques. You can follow “That’s-A-Pretzel” on Facebook or Instagram @Thatsapretzel. Be sure to enjoy a coffee and pretzel on a Paizly Vintage plate.
