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| Food trucks rescue shortfall of Olympic vendors, a sign of Rio scene on the rise | Food trucks rescue shortfall of Olympic vendors, a sign of Rio scene on the rise |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Since their hipster menus of gourmet tapioca, rustic fries and duck delicacies started being offered on the streets of Rio de Janeiro two years ago, food trucks have proliferated rapidly in the city without ever being sure of a place on its congested roads or in the conservative hearts of its Carioca, those native to the city . | Since their hipster menus of gourmet tapioca, rustic fries and duck delicacies started being offered on the streets of Rio de Janeiro two years ago, food trucks have proliferated rapidly in the city without ever being sure of a place on its congested roads or in the conservative hearts of its Carioca, those native to the city . |
| But this week, the mobile eateries were asked to take centre stage by the Olympic host after a shortfall of official catering facilities on the first few days left spectators at the Rio 2016 Games grumbling about long queues, inflated prices and empty stomachs. | But this week, the mobile eateries were asked to take centre stage by the Olympic host after a shortfall of official catering facilities on the first few days left spectators at the Rio 2016 Games grumbling about long queues, inflated prices and empty stomachs. |
| Related: How to make a caipirinha, the Brazilian cocktail that could unseat the margarita | |
| This embarrassment for the organisers has been welcomed as an opportunity by food truck owners, who have been conscripted to provide emergency reinforcement for the fixed kiosks at the Olympic Park. | This embarrassment for the organisers has been welcomed as an opportunity by food truck owners, who have been conscripted to provide emergency reinforcement for the fixed kiosks at the Olympic Park. |
| It is a step forward for a nascent sector, which has suffered from hostile petitions in snobby neighbourhoods, fickle consumer demand and unhelpful regulations. | It is a step forward for a nascent sector, which has suffered from hostile petitions in snobby neighbourhoods, fickle consumer demand and unhelpful regulations. |
| Roberta Sudbrack, one of Brazil’s leading restaurateurs and an evangelist for the mobile food movement, hoped the Olympic gig could help change public perceptions and government attitudes. | Roberta Sudbrack, one of Brazil’s leading restaurateurs and an evangelist for the mobile food movement, hoped the Olympic gig could help change public perceptions and government attitudes. |
| “We are still struggling not just for space, but above all for comprehension about what street food is and the importance of food trucks in this movement,” she says. “I hope this experience with the Olympics can open the eyes of the authorities to the importance of this sector for the city.” | “We are still struggling not just for space, but above all for comprehension about what street food is and the importance of food trucks in this movement,” she says. “I hope this experience with the Olympics can open the eyes of the authorities to the importance of this sector for the city.” |
| Fernando Modenesi, who owns an award-winning food truck specialising in chunky, European-style chips called frites, concurred that mobile units were better suited to dealing with the high volumes of customers at the main Olympic site. | Fernando Modenesi, who owns an award-winning food truck specialising in chunky, European-style chips called frites, concurred that mobile units were better suited to dealing with the high volumes of customers at the main Olympic site. |
| “There aren’t many restaurants around here – the catering was simply not managing. People were waiting for hours – not minutes, but hours – to get some food,” he said. | “There aren’t many restaurants around here – the catering was simply not managing. People were waiting for hours – not minutes, but hours – to get some food,” he said. |
| With short, simple menus, he predicted food trucks would prove more adept at handling peaks of demand, which was not dissimilar to rock concerts and gallery openings where, “food trucks are more experienced in these critical situations of serving a lot of people in a very short space of time”. | With short, simple menus, he predicted food trucks would prove more adept at handling peaks of demand, which was not dissimilar to rock concerts and gallery openings where, “food trucks are more experienced in these critical situations of serving a lot of people in a very short space of time”. |
| Late to the street food revolution | Late to the street food revolution |
| The sector has come a long way in the two years since it started, but business still fluctuates erratically. | The sector has come a long way in the two years since it started, but business still fluctuates erratically. |
| Rio was late to the food truck revolution. Most trace the origins to a food festival – the Feira Planetária – in Gávea in September 2014, which was inspired by the already strong scene in São Paulo. | Rio was late to the food truck revolution. Most trace the origins to a food festival – the Feira Planetária – in Gávea in September 2014, which was inspired by the already strong scene in São Paulo. |
| Marianna Ferolla, a young business school graduate, was so impressed by that festival she decided to start a business, Tapi, with a rented vehicle. Within two months, she was able to drop 70,000 reals on her own truck thanks to the success of her gourmet twist on the indigenous Brazilian staple of tapioca. | Marianna Ferolla, a young business school graduate, was so impressed by that festival she decided to start a business, Tapi, with a rented vehicle. Within two months, she was able to drop 70,000 reals on her own truck thanks to the success of her gourmet twist on the indigenous Brazilian staple of tapioca. |
| It was ingenious. Tapioca pancakes were nothing new. On old-style street stalls, particularly in the north-east, they would be filled with cheese, tomato, dried beef or coconut and Nutella and sell for six to eight reals (about $2 to $2.50). But with finer flour and the addition of more exotic ingredients – brie, honey, toasted almonds, smoked salmon, red onion and potato purée – Tapi was able to charge double or triple that amount and they would still fly off the hotplate. | It was ingenious. Tapioca pancakes were nothing new. On old-style street stalls, particularly in the north-east, they would be filled with cheese, tomato, dried beef or coconut and Nutella and sell for six to eight reals (about $2 to $2.50). But with finer flour and the addition of more exotic ingredients – brie, honey, toasted almonds, smoked salmon, red onion and potato purée – Tapi was able to charge double or triple that amount and they would still fly off the hotplate. |
| “In the first weekend, we sold 1,000,” Ferolla recalls. “I made my initial investment back within four months. But then everyone wanted to start a food truck, the quality went down and the market crashed.” | “In the first weekend, we sold 1,000,” Ferolla recalls. “I made my initial investment back within four months. But then everyone wanted to start a food truck, the quality went down and the market crashed.” |
| From zero in early 2014, there are now 150 food trucks in Rio. But growth has slowed from 100%, in its first year, to 50% over the following 12 months. | From zero in early 2014, there are now 150 food trucks in Rio. But growth has slowed from 100%, in its first year, to 50% over the following 12 months. |
| People think that food trucks are easy, but no. Things fall while you are moving around | People think that food trucks are easy, but no. Things fall while you are moving around |
| Louise Nogueira, an analyst at the government agency for small business Sebrae, estimates a third of owners make between 5,000 and 10,000 reals a month but problems finding space, maintaining staff and paying tax are stalling growth. | Louise Nogueira, an analyst at the government agency for small business Sebrae, estimates a third of owners make between 5,000 and 10,000 reals a month but problems finding space, maintaining staff and paying tax are stalling growth. |
| “There are some challenges for this segment – even though the returns are good, we think that the growth will stagnate,” she says. | “There are some challenges for this segment – even though the returns are good, we think that the growth will stagnate,” she says. |
| Even more dispiritingly, consumers have proven not nearly as adventurous as the food truck innovators hoped. After the novelty of duck and ribs and foreign dishes wore off, everyone wanted what they had been buying off the street for decades: hamburgers and hot dogs. “People who started off with something different all ended up selling hamburgers. Some food truck festivals even became hamburger festivals,” Ferolla says. | Even more dispiritingly, consumers have proven not nearly as adventurous as the food truck innovators hoped. After the novelty of duck and ribs and foreign dishes wore off, everyone wanted what they had been buying off the street for decades: hamburgers and hot dogs. “People who started off with something different all ended up selling hamburgers. Some food truck festivals even became hamburger festivals,” Ferolla says. |
| She quickly grew disillusioned with the city’s system, which allocated spots according to a lottery. Each truck had a rotation of three or four sites a week, but the logistics were crippling so she dropped out after a few weeks. | She quickly grew disillusioned with the city’s system, which allocated spots according to a lottery. Each truck had a rotation of three or four sites a week, but the logistics were crippling so she dropped out after a few weeks. |
| “People think that food trucks are easy, but no. Things fall while you are moving around. Every day you have to rebuild the kitchen. Sometimes the tyres get punctured. Other times you take an hour and a half to get to a site and back. I came home at times almost crying,” Ferolla recalls. “But the good thing about them is that they are a way for young entrepreneurs to put their ideas out on the street.” | “People think that food trucks are easy, but no. Things fall while you are moving around. Every day you have to rebuild the kitchen. Sometimes the tyres get punctured. Other times you take an hour and a half to get to a site and back. I came home at times almost crying,” Ferolla recalls. “But the good thing about them is that they are a way for young entrepreneurs to put their ideas out on the street.” |
| This is key in Brazil, where the bureaucracy often seems primarily designed to prevent anyone from doing anything new. Restaurateurs have to leap through a red-tape obstacle course to secure licenses and often need to pay extra to ensure support that should be free from police and rubbish collection services. Truck owners face no such hurdles. The only license they require is the same as that for a street popcorn seller – an individual micro-entrepreneur (or MEI as it is known by its Portuguese initials). The cost is just 42 reals a month. That’s enough to get started, but once owners start earning a little more than $1,300 per month, it is necessary to upgrade to a small business distinction, which is more complex. | This is key in Brazil, where the bureaucracy often seems primarily designed to prevent anyone from doing anything new. Restaurateurs have to leap through a red-tape obstacle course to secure licenses and often need to pay extra to ensure support that should be free from police and rubbish collection services. Truck owners face no such hurdles. The only license they require is the same as that for a street popcorn seller – an individual micro-entrepreneur (or MEI as it is known by its Portuguese initials). The cost is just 42 reals a month. That’s enough to get started, but once owners start earning a little more than $1,300 per month, it is necessary to upgrade to a small business distinction, which is more complex. |
| For Ferolla, it has proved to be a success. She was invited to open two restaurant outlets in Galeão international airport. She also continues to do major events and festivals as long as the terms are good. | For Ferolla, it has proved to be a success. She was invited to open two restaurant outlets in Galeão international airport. She also continues to do major events and festivals as long as the terms are good. |
| Other food truck businesses will have an even bigger chance to shine in the public eye, after they were drafted into Olympic work on Monday. | Other food truck businesses will have an even bigger chance to shine in the public eye, after they were drafted into Olympic work on Monday. |
| Roberto Freitas, a coordinator of catering at the Olympic Boulevard, where the mobile outlets had already been playing a prominent role, was optimistic that the organisers had made the right decision. | Roberto Freitas, a coordinator of catering at the Olympic Boulevard, where the mobile outlets had already been playing a prominent role, was optimistic that the organisers had made the right decision. |
| “It was a smart choice, because food trucks are very agile,” he said. “I have no doubt that this new sector will continue to grow. It’s agile, practical, modern and mobile.” | “It was a smart choice, because food trucks are very agile,” he said. “I have no doubt that this new sector will continue to grow. It’s agile, practical, modern and mobile.” |