Angelo Griffith grew up in a large Italian-Irish family and food was always the highlight of any gathering.  He became so passionate about food that he started hanging out in the kitchen and learning how to cook when he was only seven years old.  His uncle also owned a deli called ‘The Barn Door’, where he eventually worked in.   As he says about getting involved in the food business, “It wasn’t a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’?”  After retiring in December, 2013 from the Carpenter’s Local 626; Angelo decided to get into the food scene again by opening a food truck.  Thus, Angelo’s Curbside Café in Wilmington, Delaware was born.

“Coming from the construction business, I ate off food trucks for 20 years”, shares Angelo.  Prior to opening, he also visited a lot of food trucks and interviewed their owners.  It took him four months to get the business started.  It took a little less time since he purchased a second hand truck that already had a complete kitchen on UsedVending.com.

He advises those who also want to open a food truck to do their due diligence, since each town and city has their own mobile food vending ordinance.  His wife also gave him a copy of ‘Running A Food Truck for Dummies’ for Christmas and that helped a lot.  “Also when you are not from the restaurant business, you need to practice your accuracy and speed in the kitchen.  So your food truck’s kitchen design and lay-out must be according to the food you are going to be serving.”  Their menu has something for everyone.  You can get cheese steaks, sausage and peppers, a pulled pork sandwich, a meatball sandwich, burgers, and hot dogs.  They even have Italian Water Ice.

The truck has become an event for the whole family to work on during weekends.  Last weekend they were at Rockwood Park for ‘Rockwood Under the Stars’, an overnight camp-out event for kids that featured different outdoor and craft making activities.  Start at events and corporate functions, shares Angelo.  Then you will start to get hired for private events.  When you get a good following, that’s when you go out to the streets.  They actually started by doing a block party in their neighborhood.   Starting May 15, they will be at the Christian Care Health Systems two to three times a week.  You can also get updates on their location via their Twitter and Facebook pages.

Start with the neighbors. Angelo’s first block party.

Seeing the people’s reaction to my food is the most fun part, says Angelo.  Where else can you get direct interaction and instant feedback from your customers than in the food business?  So as Angelo says, ‘Let’s do lunch!’.

Contact Information
Telephone: (302) 383-3364
Website:  www.angeloscurbsidecafe.com
Facebook: @Angelo’s Curbside Café
Twitter: @angeloscurbside