^ I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. When restaurants closed in March 2020, Darnell “D” Smith, owner of local food truck Mr. Wonderful’s Chicken & Waffles, had to get creative. He started looking for customers … everywhere. Smith says he sat down and wrote a list of all the stores that were open and had a decent amount of pedestrians. He called every place from pharmacies to grocery stores and asked if he could put his food truck outside. It paid off. Smith has since served at Sam’s Club, Sonny’s Gentlemen’s Club, Greenwood Brewing, and others. “I’ve always been a fighter, I’ve always tried to think outside the box,” says Smith. “(COVID) forced me to be more creative than I was then.” Smith isn’t the only mobile grocery vendor to get rowdy and panned successfully. He follows the advice of Kat Moore, founder of Best In Show – an event management company that links food trucks to festivals and other gatherings. Moore is also a co-owner of Short Leash Hot Dogs. She and her husband Brad Moore ran the hugely popular Short Leash Food Truck for years before opening a stationary restaurant in 2013. So she knows her way around. Moore says these times call for innovative strategies, like Smith’s. Trucks need to partner up, develop strong brands, and strive to retain loyal customers. “Having people who really like what you do and who follow you really helps you get through this mess,” she says. She adds that trucks need to be consistent on their schedule, and Smith made it a point. Customers always know where to find him. “I’m a beast on social media,” he says. Smith frequently posts live videos to interact with and invite customers. His Instagram @mrwonderfulscwaz has more than 4,000 followers. Mr. Wonderful’s is now providing private catering for Sam’s Club and Walmart corporate events. And he recently announced that he would like to expand his business and attitude. The past year has been “definitely profitable,” says Smith. “It’s because of what I did.” EXPAND Phoenix Coqui is now a daytime option in the Melrose District. Phoenix Coqui Meanwhile, Phoenix Coqui is busy following Moore’s advice to form new partnerships. The Puerto Rican food truck was founded in 2015 by Alexis Carbajal and Juan Alberto Ayala. At first they were hit hard by the pandemic, losing profits and employees. However, according to Carbajal, Phoenix Coqui has returned, stronger than it was before the pandemic. Phoenix Coqui partnered with The Rock, a gay and drag bar in the Melrose District, long before COVID. When the truck resumed operation in May 2020, the partners decided to change their opening times, which opened up a new customer market for them. Before the pandemic, they were on duty from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., mainly serving bar visitors until late at night and nurses on the night shift. Now their opening times are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can comfortably serve guests in The Rock’s large car park, which allows social distancing. Carbajal says their employees will also bring food to people’s cars. As a result, Phoenix Coqui has had record-breaking months of sales. To keep up with the “exponential growth” of the business, the workforce had to be doubled, according to Carbajal. “We’re just very happy with the way things have gone after being closed for three months,” says Carbajal. “It is good to be affirmed.” Then there are chilte tacos. Chilte was founded by Lawrence Smith and Aseret Arroyo during the pandemic (and was recommended in our most recent restaurant review). The owners had plans to start Chilte well before COVID, but when bars and restaurants closed last spring, the couple decided to start the concept. “COVID had the opposite effect for us,” says Smith. “The pandemic drove us whether we were ready or not.” Before Chilte, Arroyo was in marketing and Smith was an NFL player with the Indianapolis Colts before going to cooking school. The couple combined their marketing and cooking skills to create Chilte Tacos in September. The pop-up visited farmers markets and breweries across the valley. They’re also a recurring favorite in the Thunderbird Lounge (which brings several food trucks every week to feed guests on its 5,000-square-foot back patio) for Taco Tuesdays and Smith’s imaginative food pairings. The menu is constantly changing, but some popular dishes include birria ramen and butternut squash and goat cheese tacos, served on brightly colored, hand-pressed tortillas. Chile tacos recently received more social media coverage than a TikTok video from @azfoodie highlighted certain Africans and one Puerto Rican dish went viral (although there has been a lot of backlash over its alleged cultural appropriation). Anyway, the video blasted their pop-up which resulted in them selling out in less than an hour over a weekend. With this success since opening in fall 2020, the couple hope to expand and eventually start a restaurant group. Chilte, says Smith, is just the beginning. Keep Phoenix New Times Free … Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we want it to stay that way. We offer our readers free access to concise coverage of local news, food and culture. We produce stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with bold coverage, stylish writing, and staff who have won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award to the Casey Medal for the Deserving Journalism. But with the existence of local journalism under siege and the setbacks in advertising revenues having a bigger impact, it is now more important than ever for us to raise funds to fund our local journalism. You can help by joining our “I Support” membership program which allows us to continue to cover Phoenix without paywalls.
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