Part I
WP: Are you the owner?
Art: No. I'm just a part-time worker. When somebody's out sick, or they're looking for new stops and everything, they bring me in to do a little soliciting.
WP: So what do you have that's good today?
Art: Just about everything. Our daily menu changes, depending on what the specialty is. Today we have chicken cacciatore over noodles, we have Spanish rice with a spicy sauce, a hamburger sauce, then we have a beef teriyaki over rice, we always have chicken wings, Spanish rice with black beans and —
WP: What are those?
Art: Those are empañadas. They're a Mexican food filled with hamburger, spicy hamburger.
WP: And what's that?
Art: Hotdogs.
WP: Hotdogs.
Art: These are gorditas up there.
WP: Gorditas.
Art: Very good, popular seller.
WP: What's the most popular thing you have?
Art: The most popular. ... Now, I've got to say, we're leaning towards dishes that are more Spanish, Hispanic flavor because we're getting more of them into the work force.
WP: More Hispanics?
Art: More Hispanics. So like gorditas, empañadas, burritos. We have hot sandwiches.
WP: Does the metal (the truck is metal) help keep things hot?
Art: Yeah. And this is all heated by propane.
WP: You don't use propane fuel in the gas tanks, do you?
Art: Only for the cooking.
WP: Regular unleaded?
Art: Yeah, regular unleaded gas, I think. (Walks around side) And then on this side, we have all the cold stuff. Chips, cup of noodles, Pringles, all kinds of cookies, pastries of all kinds.
WP: Does the metal help keep things cold?
Art: Yeah. See, you've got the ice coming up from there, generates it. We have all kinds of sodas, drinks of every kind.
WP: Do you ever get strange requests for different food?
Art: No. Pretty much what we have, they'll go for.
Part II
Customer: How much is it?
Art: Normally, $2.25. For you, babe, $2.
Customer: Oh, really? Whooo! I guess that makes it the morning special.
Art: Yeah, we need a good-looking customer once in a while.
Part III
WP: (knocking on open metal door overhead) Have people ever clocked their heads on here?
Art: Um — no.
WP: I guess it wouldn't matter if they have hard-hats.
Art: Most of them have hard-hats. I'm probably — I'm the biggest one that's did it. I did it more times than anybody else.
WP: How many times?
Art: Oh, gosh, I don't know. (Laughs) I knocked myself out one time.
WP: You knocked yourself out?
Art: In California one time — see, I retired and came down here to be with my grandkids, and they found out that I used to do this, so they call me up whenever they need help.
WP: So you're like the old pro at it.
Art: Yeah, I guess. 30 years experience at it. I'm actually a banker. I went to banking school and everything, and I just didn't think that that was what I wanted in life, and friends of mine were in this, and I've enjoyed it.
WP: How old are you?
Art: 65.
WP: 65.
Art: Yep.
Part IV
WP: Can you make a pretty good living doing this?
Art: A person who wants to do this, yes, would make a decent living, provided you gonna hustle. You gotta get out and get the business and everything.
WP: So talking to a reporter isn't gonna make you rich.
Art: Yeah, you gotta hustle. When I see a strip loader digging a hole, I stop right away, give 'em my card, just ask 'em what's going on.
WP: Have you ever had a fender bender?
Art: (Raps twice on skull.) Knock on wood, no. I had one little, tiny scrape. The worst thing that I've done is drive off with the doors open, hit a telephone pole, rip the doors off, you know, had a $1,000 replacement. That doesn't help on things.
WP: Ever have trouble with shoplifters?
Art: Yes.
WP: You'll be on one side of the truck, and they're over there —
Art: That's a problem, especially at construction sites. You'll get a lot of that.
WP: And then they eat the evidence.
Art: Yeah, exactly. We've been very fortunate; no one's ever been robbed. Of course, I shouldn't say that; someone will say, "Oh, that's a good idea."
WP: Where are you going now?
Art: Now I'm going over to the courthouse they're building.
WP: Downtown?
Art: Yes.
WP: Watch out for the lawyers.
Art: Yeah, right. Right.
Contact David Jasper at 813-248-8888, ext. 111, or [email protected].
