Despite high winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy, the food trucks on Main Campus reported no damage.
“We had no calls about any damage. It was mostly just leaves and shrubbery,” Deputy Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said.
Leone attributed the security of the trucks to the steps vendors took before the arrival of the storm.
“We did a lot to prepare the campus and make sure there was nothing out there that could hurt people if the winds got high. We went around the campus and looked at the trucks to make sure the tanks were secured and any debris was cleaned up. We took a look around and saw no safety hazards,” Leone said.
CSS did not issue any letter of warning or expectations to the vendors, but rather depended on their previous experience with Hurricane Irene and snow storms to properly prepare their trucks.
With the exception of Insomnia Cookies, which opened for business on Oct. 30, the vendors did not open for business until Oct. 31.
Nikolas Harelidis of Susan’s Blue Truck on 12th Street said he did not open on Monday and Tuesday because there was little business.
“Not many people eat off of food trucks during a state of emergency,” Harelidis said.
Perhaps the biggest effect of Hurricane Sandy on the vendors was the loss of business.
Harelidis estimated that he lost more than 100 customers between the two days. Likewise, Ergun Cimen of E&E Gourmet Truck on Montgomery Avenue said he lost around 700 customers.
“It’s business. It goes up and down,” Cimen said.
As for the food, neither Harelidis or Cimen reported the loss of any inventory due to spoilage or expiration.
Bill Ndreu of the Five Dollar Foot Long Truck on 12th Street said he picks up fresh food either daily or every other day, so he simply did not order food for those two days.
Overall, the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the food trucks on Main Campus were minimal and pale in comparison to the woes other businesses are facing in New Jersey and New York, where extended power outages and flooding have hampered business.
Laura Detter can be reached at laura.detter@temple.edu.
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