After surviving the pandemic, the operators of a San Jose food truck thought the worst was behind them. But then came another blow. Marianne Favro reports.
After surviving the pandemic, the operators of a San Jose food truck thought the worst was behind them.
But then came another blow when someone driving a stolen truck sideswiped Barya Kitchen’s parked food truck.
Specializing in Filipino food, Barya Kitchen is a labor of love for co-founder Rod Reyes, who wanted to honor his late mother, Nilda. Reyes launched his food truck in 2017 in San Jose.
“I was cooking her food in memory of her and also because, I wasn't going to have my mom's food ever again,” he said.
In late November, Reyes’ parked food truck was severely damaged when someone driving a stolen truck rammed into it in San Jose. The food truck had shattered glass and twisted metal frame.
Now, Barya Kitchen says they can’t drive the truck or use it to prepare meals for holiday events.
“We’ve had to cancel caterings, pop-ups and breweries all over San Jose. We had to contact them, saying, 'Hey, I'm sorry. We can’t come,'” said Selina Wong, Barya Kitchen’s operations manager.
According to Wong, the repairs will cost $8,000. On top of that, Barya Kitchen had to postpone their county health department permit inspection because their truck doesn’t run.
Then came yet another speed bump. Wong said their insurance company ended their coverage on Nov. 8, saying it’s no longer providing renewals to commercial automobiles.
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“We were overwhelmed, anxious, sad, frustrated,” Wong said.
Reyes and Wong said they are now asking the public for help because the food truck is their main source of income and they hope that they can fire up their grill once again.
Reyes and Wong said they are not sure when they will be able to get back up and running. Between repairs and inspections, it could be early next year.
At this time, they have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for their expenses.
