Anna-Claire Bevan has an interesting post on how
Entrepreneurs in Guatemala dish up their version of American food trucks to serve locals. After their bus was put out of business because of a 2010 change in Guatemala City bus service, Hugo Cristal and Alexander Escobar re-purposed their bus as a restaurant.
The alterations took just two months, during which time the original seats were repositioned to accommodate tables offering indoor seating to 20 people. A kitchen was installed boasting a grill, fryer, sink and churrasco (barbeque), and some of the windows were removed to form a hatch, which allows the chef to take orders from the street.
The team of three, Cristal, Escobar and their former ‘cobrador’, who used to collect the bus fares, now work from Monday to Saturday selling churrasco and fried chicken to around 100 people a day. They drive the restaurant to its regular spot early each morning, head out to buy daily supplies and then start preparing for the lunchtime rush.
Even though the bus has only been in operation as a fast-food restaurant since last November, it is already proving to be a hit with locals and students alike. During Christmas it even catered at a handful of festive events around Guatemala City.
Now, obviously, not every bus can be re-purposed as a food truck and be successful. These guys had some cooking skills and, presumably, capital. However, it's still a great story and shows what can happen with a little ingenuity.
