We recently connected with Gregory & Sierra Austin and have shared our conversation below.
Gregory & Sierra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
Most people in our industry disagree with the amount of licenses required to operate in the state of Minnesota. Many of us carry a license through the Minnesota Department of Health, but most counties/cities don’t honor it and require us to pay for additional licenses through their own county/city. We currently have 7 different licenses and still can’t operate everywhere, actually far from it. A lot of food truck owners are urging government officials to change the guidelines and have the Minnesota Department of Health license cover everywhere in Minnesota, like some states do (1 license for the entire state). We want Minnesota to be more food truck friendly and allow us small business owners a chance to really thrive.
Gregory & Sierra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions. Can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
In 2020 we,were hit by hard times and lost our jobs due to the COVID pandemic. Not knowing when or if we would ever get called back we decided to take matters into our own hands. We found an old charter bus in Texas, brought it all the way up to Minnesota, and with the help of some local food truck builders converted it into a state of the art food truck. We opened The Rustic Chef food truck’s doors in June 2021 and have been proudly serving the community ever since. We are a family business and many times our two kids (9 month old and 3.5 year old) tag along, so our customers get the full family small business experience.
We offer our customers an unique experience serving restaurant quality food out of our truck. Chef Gregory graduated in 2011 from The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Houston. He has worked as a Sous Chef in several kitchens gaining valuable knowledge and cooking techniques in various cuisines that he brings to our truck. Chef Gregory is well versed in global cuisines which allows us the opportunity to create custom menus to fit anyone’s needs.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Our best source for new clients is word of mouth, or people trying our food and then wanting to book us for their private events. Once people try our food and taste how delicious and unique it is they spread the word.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Our business was a huge pivot for us! We had always tossed around the idea of maybe “one day” getting a food truck but it was just something we talked about before COVID-19. Gregg was on track for a big promotion and relocation before COVID-19 with the company he worked with for 7 years. We thought Gregg was going to be with this company for the long haul. So when COVID-19 shut down the country and Gregg lost his job our world was turned upside down. The culinary industry took a massive hit and there were no chef jobs available. We had no idea what we were going to do to support our family, so we took the leap, with help from some supportive family members, and started our business.
Contact Info:
- Website: the-rustic-chef.zensmb.com
- Instagram: @rusticchef2020
- Facebook: @rusticchef2020
- Twitter: @rusticchef2020