Food Trucks are not new concepts, but they are growing in popularity and variety. Two culinary professionals share their entrepreneurial journey in the food industry, which has evolved into Food Trucks. Joseph Phillips is owner and operator of Jersey Jo’s, serving authentic cheese steak sandwiches in Rochester, MN and Chandu Valluri is a partner with Pine Island, MN based Infuzn Foods, delivering the fresh taste of Indian inspired cuisine to your doorstep. They have become collaborators and good friends and discuss the rewarding experience of adding Food Trucks to their businesses.
Jersey Jo's
Infuzn Foods
Experience Rochester, MN
Food Trucks are not new concepts, but they are growing in popularity and variety. Two culinary professionals share their entrepreneurial journey in the food industry, which has evolved into Food Trucks. Joseph Phillips is owner and operator of Jersey Jo’s, serving authentic cheese steak sandwiches in Rochester, MN and Chandu Valluri is a partner with Pine Island, MN based Infuzn Foods, delivering the fresh taste of Indian inspired cuisine to your doorstep. They have become collaborators and good friends and discuss the rewarding experience of adding Food Trucks to their businesses.
Jersey Jo's
Infuzn Foods
Experience Rochester, MN
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought to you by Experience Rochester. Learn more about Minnesota's third largest city, which is home to Mayo Clinic and features wonderful recreational and entertainment opportunities, by visiting experiencerochestermncom.
Speaker 2:In this business, I think the reward is being able to have a concept, develop the concept and see the gratification on an individual that you've never met before, within six minutes of meeting this person. This person and I have now shared an experience that you know. It's very rewarding. They took me on my word, they tried it the way I said it and they're like, wow, this is like the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Speaker 3:And I'm like, yes, In any aspect of the entrepreneurial journey. You pick up things, you do things that you never imagined you could have done, and I've never been a handy type of guy. But now that we own this truck I'm learning handy things and that's been wonderful. It's been humbling, but also very wonderful.
Speaker 1:And that's been wonderful. It's been humbling, but also very wonderful. Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast, where we take a deep dive into destination development and focus on a wide range of topics from tourism and entertainment to economic development and entrepreneurism and much more. I'm your host, bill Von Bank. Food trucks are not new concepts, but they are growing in popularity and variety. Today, I'm joined by two culinary professionals who share their entrepreneurial journey in the food industry, which has evolved into food trucks. Joseph Phillips is owner and operator of Jersey Joe's, serving authentic cheesesteak sandwiches in Rochester, minnesota, and Chandu Valuri is a partner with Pine Island, minnesota-based Infusion Foods, delivering the fresh. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can you both share a little bit about yourselves and your career journey, chandu?
Speaker 3:My career journey really essentially began in academia and still is in academia. I work as a marketing professor at Minnesota State University and along the way I got charmed by food. You can say A foodie by nature, always loved food, loved travel and the cultural aspects that associate and surround food. And so over the years, you know, I evolved in my career path in academia and I would do work in consulting and had the opportunity to work with various food companies and beverage companies and things like that. But in that process I recognized that consulting is great but the entrepreneurial journey teaches you a lot more. And so from that perspective grew this passion and this wanting and this urge, you know, to have your own entrepreneurial food adventure. That started really in the latter part of 2016.
Speaker 1:And the name of your business is Infusion Foods.
Speaker 3:That's correct Infusion Foods. Infusion is for Indian fusion, globally inspired foods with an Indian twist.
Speaker 1:Tell us a little bit more, because on your website you do a really good job of explaining it and helping people to understand that you can enjoy Indian food and you shouldn't be afraid of the spices or anything related to Indian food.
Speaker 3:That also kind of dovetails nicely with my background. I was born in India but never really lived in India. I grew up in Canada and Europe for most of my schooling and ended up meeting a lovely lady here in Minnesota who happened to be South African. So our family is very globally oriented. And what really sparked Infusion was this idea that, you know, much like Italian food and Japanese food and Chinese food and Mexican food, has adapted to the American palate. We believe that Indian food too is in that space. It's evolving as part of the American cuisine and that our objective is to make it more friendly, more appealing and to decrease that scariness or the little issue surrounding the lack of wanting to try it.
Speaker 1:Joseph, you are originally from New Jersey, is that correct?
Speaker 2:That is.
Speaker 1:Can you tell us about your life and your career?
Speaker 2:A Jersey kid, born and raised. We played football and did all the things of any city kid. You know I got my big break here of getting accepted to Tuskegee University. I went down there and studied engineering. At first I wanted to be an aerospace engineer but quickly learned and that's a very defined field and I could probably work out better if I broadened my horizons. So I landed a degree in electrical engineering which eventually landed me here in Minnesota with IBM In Rochester, minnesota. That is Rochester Minnesota, yes, and ironically funny that when they gave me my job offer they said Rochester. I thought they meant Rochester, new York. I was down in Georgia at the time and I was excited to get back to the East and I was a little sidetracked Where's him in? So when I figured it out and looked at the demographics and everything to do with Rochester, we decided to come down here and try it out. And you know we've been here ever since, had about eight good years with IBM, started with the supporting the AS400 and then moved to the chip design area and then, as time went on, what have you IBM got out of their hardware business, which landed me an opportunity. You know I left IBM and started working for a local company, recava, as a project manager, enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:But there is something about getting laid off that puts a taste in your mouth, you know, and that taste is how do I secure the or my future? And that was a question that I started asking myself At the time. My wife had her career started taking off at Mayo Clinic, so that kind of kind of kept me here locally and I made a decision to open Jersey Joe's because for us it was. We just didn't have anything familiar. We didn't have a place that really had cheesesteaks or deli subs or things that I grew up with. And as far as my wife's aspect, she grew up down South and her palate was more Southern, you know, flavorful and things of that nature. So we kind of combined the two and we opened up Jersey Joe's to give a taste of the East with a mix of, you know, southern cuisine or a style of cooking. And that's how Jersey Joe's came about. The name very simple.
Speaker 1:My name is Joe and I'm from Jersey, so I didn't really put a whole lot into that you know it works.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, yeah, that's what I hear. A lot of people think that I'm associated with Jersey Mike's, which is a very interesting thing, you know, and I tell them that's my cousin, you know.
Speaker 2:But there's no financial agreement there and you know it actually opens up a lot of room there because a lot of people come and they look for franchises. So they see Jersey Mike's and they make the mix up and then that gives me a chance to introduce them to something new. Right Me myself. I like competition, so I enjoy Jersey Mike's opened up when they opened up on Circle Drive because I think it makes you rise to the challenge. You know whether I'm going to deliver or not. You know so far we've been delivering, and very, very strongly. When did you open?
Speaker 1:Jersey, joe's.
Speaker 2:We opened in 2015. So we're celebrating seven, almost seven and a half years.
Speaker 1:That's great Chandu. When did you start Infusion Foods?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we formally incorporated in late 2016, around November 2016. But then, by the time we procured our facility and whatnot, it was June of 2017. So you can see, operations really began in June of 2017.
Speaker 1:So where Joseph has a brick and mortar store, your business model is delivery.
Speaker 3:That's correct. Yeah, we are meal delivery oriented. That's one of the major streams of our business, so we have a commercial facility in Pine Island where we are able to curate meals and deliver. Presently we're delivering in about 23 communities in southeastern Minnesota.
Speaker 1:Both of your organizations have some success behind you and some years behind you to kind of get it right, if you will. But you've also both jumped into the world of food trucks, and so I really want to focus on that, because such a growing trend pre-pandemic the growth of food trucks was about 7.5% annually took a little dip during the COVID pandemic starting to rise again. So let's talk about why you jumped into the food truck world, Joseph.
Speaker 2:Well, the food truck world was a bit of a thought for us at first. You know we opened up initially in 2015. We purchased our. Well, let me step back before I say we purchased. We actually got into Steele County Fair the summer of 2016. And at the time there was Max Cafe. That was here and George I was getting very acquainted with. He was really my mentor in the food industry and he had been doing it for decades. He basically allowed me to borrow all his equipment you know set up, and that was quite the experience. We got out there and we did very, very well, so you got a taste for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you know. But then we realized that having a food truck was probably the smarter move. When nature wanted to rain on you and that's kind of what kind of got us there, and we purchased a food truck and we just kept going from there, growing our presence there.
Speaker 1:Chandu, how about you?
Speaker 3:What would happen is that we'd see Joe at things like Rochester Fest and other events in the area and we'd always take a conversation and he's a great guy to hang out with and he makes great food, so we'd always trade food and enjoy each other's company. And he said you guys really should be thinking about this food truck. And I passed it off a year or two and then I realized what he was saying. And here we are and we actually keep running into each other and we become good friends and he gives us a lot of pointers on what to do.
Speaker 1:So very collegial.
Speaker 3:Very much so.
Speaker 1:Do you see growth in your retail businesses from operating a food truck?
Speaker 3:I do, I believe so, but what's happened is, you get noticed a lot, and so we've noticed an uptick in our digital, in our online presence, just because of the food truck, and the food truck has allowed us, and I'm sure it will continue to allow us to have a lot more reach. You're able to meet people all over at different festivals, at different pop-ups, at different music series, whatnot, and it just gets your word out, and I think that we're starting to see a definite improvement in that piece.
Speaker 1:How about you, joseph, any growth in your business?
Speaker 2:Yeah, most definitely. Being able to get out to some of the smaller communities is a good marketing tool for us, where people would have heard of us but not have tried the food. We get out to some of these smaller towns and they fall in love and then they come search you out and it was amazing. I remember the first year that we did it and we went to Steele County and people would come down on a weekly basis and I'm like that's pretty far away, you know, but they didn't have anything like that going on in their town. So they came down. You know, and I think that it's a huge marketing aspect that when you go out there and you have this, this food truck, it's this, you know, 16 foot in my case 30 foot banner that moves around, you know, and people take notice very well, you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll just going to add to that. You know, I remember the first week that we're driving the truck around and you know you're very much in the right lane, driving 40 miles an hour, looking every direction possible, and then, about 30 minutes later, someone calls their cell and says I saw you guys driving down the highway. Are you able to do this event? And, as Joe points out, that's a phenomenal marketing advantage.
Speaker 1:Do you find there's more events than you can do that are just reaching out to you asking you to participate in this event or that event Most?
Speaker 2:definitely, and that's a good problem to have, you know. That means that people are talking about you. People are thinking about you. It is a down point that you can't do everything that's asked, but you try to grow a little bit every season. You know, if I did four events last year, I'm trying to do five the next year, you know. And then if you do, you know for a while that I've been doing it. Then you realize it's really not the huge numbers, it is the quality of what you do. When you go there, everyone enjoys himself and everyone is satisfied that that that in itself is going to launch you in places that you didn't dream of being, you know. So trying to do everything is not necessarily a good thing, you know. But do what you do very well.
Speaker 1:Can you do this year round with your food trucks, or is it more of a seasonal thing?
Speaker 2:Well in Minnesota, no, the food trucks are very durable. They, they. You design it the way you want, but Minnesota has a uniqueness about them because of the weather and how cold it gets, that it does not become feasible at some point because you need running water and you need some other aspects to get affected by the cold.
Speaker 1:You've both identified food trucks as growth opportunities for your businesses. What are the challenges you currently face with operating food trucks?
Speaker 2:You have to be very strategical because you have a limited amount of resources to utilize and in my case, I have a brick and mortar and a food truck, so you have to consider some things there, I think, resources and weather being the biggest challenges.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and for us it's learning the process. I'm still trying to perfect how to back the trailer and I'm getting a lot more comfortable driving forward. You know, but learning the mechanisms, you know the regulatory piece of it. There's a lot more. You know licenses and things like that you need to be abreast of as you venture into different areas and zones and territories and things of that sort. Weather is a huge piece, as Joe pointed out. You know, one great day of weather can do wonders for you. One really bad day of weather can, you know, be a downer. And, of course, you know managing what you can handle. You have to be strategic. There's so many supply chain issues right now, so you got to make sure that you have ample resources in terms of you know the ingredients for food. You know you got to have backup plans in case you run out of food, all that kind of stuff. So there's a lot, but it's educational. You learn and with time I'm sure you become a lot more. You know predictive in terms of being able to handle things.
Speaker 1:I've noticed food trucks at more corners of streets. I've noticed food trucks even in major retailer parking lots. Do you think the food trucks will continue to grow in popularity for years to come?
Speaker 2:Food trucks are not new. They've been around since I've been a kid. But the idea of the quantity and the diversity of them, I think, are growing. I think we were all frequent with maybe a Mexican-style food truck or a lunch-style short-order food truck, but now you have all types of food trucks, like Infusion, and I've seen a variety of different ones that make me say, hmm, that's pretty interesting. So, yes, I really think it's growing and I really hope that it keeps growing.
Speaker 1:I second that are there networking and learning opportunities within the food truck community. You earlier you talked about collaboration you both have as food truck operators, but are there global associations for food truck operators or just even within the community that you operate or or the state of minnesota?
Speaker 3:I believe. So I mean, I rely heavily on the social media piece of it and there's various, you know, online groups, social media groups tied to you know, food trucks and things like that, where you learn a lot. You know where you know you actually seek out business because people are, you know, are advertising or looking for food trucks to come to their venues and things like that. But you know, the best source has been county fairs and just various local events where you meet great guys like you know Joe here, who you strike a conversation with and you know he tells you to get a cordless drill and you do it, and it makes a lot more difference. I think that you know the peer group element of it goes a long way in terms of you know learning the ropes.
Speaker 1:Joseph, it sounds like maybe you have to write a manual.
Speaker 3:Well, that's his next step.
Speaker 2:You know and I want to thank Shandu because he actually listened you know, a lot of times in growth we have an idea and you know we become very blinded and we don't listen to people around us. But I got to say, from the onslaught of infusion when I met him in a tent to where he is now, when I said something he would look at me and say okay. And now that he has the food truck, I try to drop what I learned on him and laugh at his struggle because I remember being there and he's quickly learning to perfect his craft and I applaud you for that.
Speaker 1:What's most rewarding about operating a food truck.
Speaker 2:I think what's most rewarding is in this business. I think the reward is being able to have a concept, develop the concept and see the gratification on an individual that you've never met before, within six minutes of meeting this person. This person and I have now shared an experience that you know. It's very rewarding. You know, they took me on my word, they tried it the way I said it and they're like wow, this is like the greatest thing since sliced bread and I'm like yes, you know uh.
Speaker 2:So I I think the satisfaction of being able to to uh to give someone a short satisfaction and in a very short amount of time is is, I think, very rewarding for me, chandu I think what's rewarding is you are in any aspect of the entrepreneurial journey.
Speaker 3:You pick up things, you do things that you never imagined you could have done and I've never been a you know, a handy type of guy. But now that we own this truck, I'm learning handy things and that's been wonderful. It's been humbling, but also very wonderful. The other piece of it, I think, is you need to be prepared to do things on that truck. You need to be able to. You know, man, that truck, and so the both of us are sitting here, but you know, we're on that truck, we're operating that truck, we're learning how to do that day in and day out, and that is very gratifying. And when you see a little kid or a customer come by and have a wonderful experience and come back again, that is the most gratifying. At the end of the day, you do that. You do what you do because you believe in what you do and you bring a smile, hopefully, to someone's face.
Speaker 1:Shandu Valuri and Joseph Phillips. Best of luck to you on your business ventures and thanks for being our guest on the Growing Destinations podcast, thank you. Thank you for tuning in to the Growing Destinations podcast and don't forget to subscribe. This podcast is brought to you by Experience Rochester. Find out more about Rochester, minnesota, and its growing arts and culture scene, its international culinary flavors and award-winning craft beer by visiting experiencerochestermncom.