Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/235863
producer profile PHOTO: SKILLET STREET FOOD Booth 386 simply delicious …a biscuit for tea…a cracker with cheese …a cookie as a light and tasty snack EffiesHomemade.com Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 386 Henderson retroftted a vintage 1962 Airstream trailer for cooking and Skillet Street Food was born, serving fromscratch, bistro-style food. with the idea of cooking anywhere," says Henderson. "I thrived on it." Three years later, Henderson found a vintage 1962 Airstream trailer for sale on Craigslist. Within six months, he retrofitted it for cooking and Skillet Street Food was born, serving from-scratch, bistro-style food, like maple-braised pork belly with fried quail eggs and waffles, poutine, crab cake po'boys, duck tacos and grass-fed beef burgers with bacon jam. Finding Success, and Struggles From the get-go, interest in Skillet Street Food was high; with Facebook and Twitter broadcasting truck locations, loyal followers began to tailor their schedules around Skillet's lunchtime. "I had zero expectations in the beginning, but I knew people would like the food," Henderson says. "I was driven by blind confidence and was not afraid of failing." Still, Henderson's self-assurance did not prepare him for some obstacles along his journey. Food cost, pricing and revenue were some of the things he did not factor in to his initial plans. "I just kept looking ahead and focused on cooking good food," he says. "But we were struggling financially and I knew I needed to get someone in quickly to be the yin to my yang and put structure around my creativity. I pissed away a lot of time not having realized this earlier." Henderson hired Greg Petrillo in 2009 as president of Skillet. Petrillo was a customer he got to know over time to "get things buttoned up and run Skillet more like a corporation," Henderson explains. "The most successful businesses are those that find a balance of creative and corporate. You don't want someone to come in and dilute your creative process." Getting the business in order revealed some of Skillet's woes. "It was hard to balance the books," Henderson says. "There were times I considered walking away but never did because I knew I'd be ™ arizona sunset enchilada soup mix™ 92 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com