Latest news with #foodtruck
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
You won't believe the incredible secret hiding inside this Aussie 'servo'
At first glance, it looks like just another old-school servo at the top of Port Kembla's main drag in Wollongong, NSW. But through the doors of this retro 1950s Mobil station is one of the Illawarra's best-kept secrets - The Servo Food Truck Bar, a thriving hub for food, music and art. The venue has quickly become a cult favourite among locals for its food offerings, drag shows, live gigs, fire pits, and fully BYO-friendly atmosphere, as well as open-air movie screenings. It has certainly been giving Sydney 's cool inner-west scene a run for its money -and the best part is that it's only 90 minutes from the city. Forget sticky pub carpets and cover bands though, because The Servo, according to their social media, is a welcoming space for humans of all identities and ages. Curated by local James Spink, the venue's ever-changing program features everything from punk rock, folk, queer cabaret, to experimental jazz and zine fairs, to spoken word poetry and candlelit sound baths. 'The Illawarra got way cooler the day the servo opened,' one fan commented on Instagram. 'Thank YOU for creating such a safe and wonderful space,' raved another. 'Love performing at this very special space,' said one of their regular soul musicians. 'Fuuuuuun!' another added in the comments. Every weekend (Thursday through Sunday), the forecourt transforms into a pop-up foodie mecca with a rotating lineup of food trucks. The list now includes a rotation of some of the areas favourite cuisine options: Papi's Birria Tacos, Roy's Restobar, 2 Smoking Barrels, Pho King Delicious and Messina, among others. Customers can enjoy deep-fried lasagne toasties one weekend, and slow-cooked pork cordon bleu bao the next. 'It's the best! So good for community, so good for music, so good for the soul!!' one customer wrote on their Facebook page. 'You guys have built a little piece of retro special space ~ thanks for supporting local artists and I wish all the best & big things ahead,' said another. There's also house beer on tap. PK (Port Kembla) Lager was crafted just down the road with Seeker Brewing and is 'best enjoyed chilled, outside, with music in your ears and charcoal in the air.' Set against the backdrop of the Port Kembla steelworks, the space also features mural-covered walls, fairy lights, reclaimed timber furniture, a mural-splashed performance space and crackling fire drums. Each week it opens its doors from 4pm untill late on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 2pm until late on Saturdays and Sundays. From queer comedy night, local punk sets, craft markets, or just a space to grab a drink and some dumplings with mates, The Servo has community at the helm.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Indian River eyes revising, updating food-truck rules as Griddle and Grind moves back
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Griddle and Grind food truck owner Dane Jones was forced to move his truck in May from the parking lot of OTG Liquidation Center, 6920 U.S. Highway 1, to Sebastian. It's in an unincorporated area of the county, where food trucks are prohibited. Now Jones is back in his original location and doing better than ever. The county allowed him to return and suspended his code-enforcement violation. At the same time, the county is trying to revise the outdated codes that forced Jones to move in the first place. "The community support I have received for standing up to the county has been incredible," said Jones. "People come up to me daily and talk to me about it." Nearly every day since returning, Griddle and Grind is selling out. Jones spends most afternoons shopping and restocking. Often his wife Lauren, after getting off a shift as a full-time nurse at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, has had to go shopping as well. "We haven't had an off-season," said Dane Jones. "In part, it's because people are happy we stood up for ourselves. Rewriting codes Planning and Development Director Chris Balter presented the first ideas for updating the codes to county commissioners July 15. "We had an old ordinance from 1990 which made it difficult for food trucks to operate within the (unincorporated) county, except under certain circumstances," said Balter. "We're trying to rectify that so that everyone can benefit from food trucks." The draft allows food trucks to operate in areas zoned commercial and industrial from 7 a.m. to p.m., with one truck per site and no overnight parking. Griddle and Grind is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The draft revision bars the trucks from having have tables, chairs, tents or signs; loud generators or utility hookups; and requires them to display their licenses and inspection reports and to operate on a paved surface. "The code was written before food trucks became popular," explained Balter. "Thirty years later, we have to go back and modernize it." Texas flooding: Vero Beach Riverside Theatre kids show support in Camp Mystic deaths Mobile home fight: Vero Mobile Home Park staring down foreclosure; owner says he'll fight it Jones disagrees with the ban on utility hookups and the mandate for paved surfaces. "If the business I am parking at allows me to hook up to their utilities, I should be able to," he explained. "Also, there are a lot of unpaved parking lots in the county." While the revision remains a draft, Jones will make his thoughts known. "I'll let the county know and continue to monitor the issue," said Jones. "I'm just trying to make this a better environment for me and my colleagues." Nick Slater is TCPalm's Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at and 224-830-2875. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Griddle and Grind food truck returns to operate in Indian River County Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New barbecue-based food truck to open at shopping centre
A BARBECUE-based food truck will be coming to a shopping centre in Bournemouth. The new food truck, known as Street Bites, is the Daily Echo's Trader of the Week and will be opening in August this year. The company has gained a three month contract with Castlepoint and the owner, Jessica Brunyee, believes it will be permanent. The truck will sit outside M&S on the ground floor, ready to greet customers with both takeaway and eat-in options. The mobile kitchen provides a variety of meat options such as burgers, build your own breakfast and even sweet treats such as waffles, to their very own signature shakes. She will also be looking at doing daily dishes on the menu and stated that they also serve halal chicken wings. The idea began as Jessica saw a 'gap in the market' in the area. She said that she "saw a market by not having that availability for barbecue food down here". Jessica will be looking at 'helping the local economy' by looking at potential work experience from nearby colleges and helping those with dreams of being a chef. She added that she believes Dorset has potential alongside a variety of 'beautiful' locations for additional food trucks in future expansions. After the first year, they will be looking to venture on the path to expand with another truck to do private hires. Jessica added that Street Bites will also be partnering up with farmers from a 50-mile radius to supply the fresh ingredients. Street Bites will be open from 8am to 10pm on Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 11pm on Saturday and 10am to 9pm on Sunday. Jessica believes that she has a great passion for food. She said: "After many years, several burns, late nights and grilling from various head chefs, I realised my love for food." She has experience over the last couple of years, from working in restaurants such as The Ivy. The food truck is currently being built in China and will be delivered to the UK. She explained this choice by stating that she wanted 'absolute precision' when it came to the truck. More information is available on the Street Bites website.
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
How fried chicken food truck YFC ran afoul of KFC's trademark lawyers
Ben Yang's food truck chicken business will change its name and logo after KFC took notice. Photo: TikTok / File Explainer: An entrepreneurial teenager ran into trouble when his fried chicken business was called out by KFC. Why does a giant global corporation care so much about similarity to their logo? It all boils down to intellectual property rights, and businesses big and small wanting to protect their brand. Riccarton High School student Ben Yang started up his own business last year selling Korean fried chicken and more. The 17-year-old called it "YFC" - as in 'Yang Fried Chicken' - and gave it a red logo featuring a cartoon of Yang. However, fast food giant KFC objected to the similarity to its own logo , sending out legal documents ordering him to cease and desist. Yang has been told to change the name of his food truck by August and has started a contest to help rebrand. Riccarton High School student Ben Yang started up his own business last year. Photo: Supplied The teenager ran afoul of intellectual property rights by coming so close to the well-known KFC logo. Ben Cain, an intellectual property lawyer at Auckland law firm James & Wells, said it doesn't matter how small your business is in cases like this. "Companies like KFC take their IP rights in their brands, be they trademark rights, copyright rights or 'get-up' rights in how the brand is graphically represented, very seriously and they do so for good reasons." Rob Batty, co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Intellectual Property and an associate law professor at the University of Auckland, said enforcement action against trademark infringement often boils down to not wanting to confuse customers. "Consumer confusion can potentially lead to loss of sales," he said. "The prospect of consumers being confused by the use of the same or a similar sign can also potentially damage the reputation associated with a trademark." Yang's business has taken off on social media. Photo: Supplied And while a teenager's food truck may be small, there are bigger principles at stake, Cain said. "The size of the business which is enforcing their rights is really irrelevant in this context - small or big, no one likes a third party copying their IP, so every business should take enforcement of their rights seriously. If a business doesn't, it can lose bottomline value in its IP rights by what is called 'loss of distinctiveness'." Batty noted there have been many cases where a trademarked term loses its uniqueness and becomes a generic term, such as aspirin, trampoline or escalator. "It is possible that a prolonged failure to police a trademark by a registered trademark owner could lead to genericide," he said. "Genericide describes a situation where a trademark loses its distinctiveness entirely, and becomes the common descriptive term of a particular good or service." Cain said that Yang's design ultimately comes too close to the more famous logo. "He's done something he shouldn't, perhaps naively: he's emulated the KFC name, logo and brand colours and as a consequence received a standard letter from a business asking him to stop and change. Such a letter is standard practice for a company the size of KFC - not calling an alleged infringer and saying 'hey, please stop'." Yang told RNZ he was surprised to get the legal orders. "It's quite shocking to see that KFC, this really big brand, would find out about this small food truck that's just parked down the road ... and just send legal documents without ... talking to us beforehand, without any communication," he said. A spokesperson for KFC earlier refused to comment on the YFC case to RNZ. In the age of social media, it doesn't matter how small or remote your business is. YFC's logo, prominent on Instagram and other social media, was eventually spotted, and "someone saw his branding and told someone who told someone", Cain said. "Larger organisations may have specific individuals whose responsibility it is to monitor for conduct like this." The takeaway shop Popeye's in Manawatū had to change its name after the US food chain objected. Photo: WARWICK SMITH / MANAWATŪ STANDARD Small New Zealand businesses running afoul of bigger companies is nothing new. "'Policing' a registered trademark can protect against 'dilution'," Batty said. "This is where the distinctiveness of a trademark - that is, the ability of a trademark to be identified by consumers as marking out goods and services as having a particular trade origin - is weakened or eroded." The takeaway shop Popeye's in Feilding changed its name last year to North Street Takeaways after the US fast food giant of the same name objected. The American Popeye's opened its first outlet in New Zealand last year. In 2023, New Zealand homeware retailer Bed Bath & Beyond lost a trademark battle in the High Court against the Australian Bed Bath 'N' Table over a number of intellectual property-related claims. Back in 2015, the Christchurch cleaning firm Minions and Me ran into trouble with Hollywood's Universal Pictures for using images of the animated characters featured in the movie series Despicable Me. The business continues to use the name but had to drop all reference to the animated characters from its branding and advertising. Another famous copyright battle in the 1980s ensued between Harrods department store in London and a Palmerston North restaurant, which drew global media interest, while Australia and New Zealand had a long-running stoush over who could use the name mānuka honey. KFC first opened in New Zealand back in 1971. Photo: 123RF "Being first matters," Batty said. "When you have come up with a new brand name or a new logo for your business, you should check whether the same name or logo (or a similar name or logo) has been registered as a trademark by another trader." The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand offers assistance in searching for and registering trademarks. It can also do "distinctiveness reports" to see if your name or logo comes a bit too close for comfort to another. Cain also suggests getting help from a professional intellectual property expert. "The first thing you should do is ask an IP lawyer to conduct a clearance search of identical and similar trademarks of all the countries you're intending to trade in. It's tempting to do the searching yourself but unless you are experienced it's not a good idea as there are many pitfalls. "Many start-ups and small businesses don't do any searching before they choose their name and come unstuck," he said, and they then lost time and money dealing with rebranding. The New Zealand Trade Marks Act 2002 also looks at situations where a person started using a trademark before another person registers or starts using a similar or identical one. "The first user will have a defence to trademark infringement," Batty said. KFC, originally calling itself Kentucky Fried Chicken, first opened in New Zealand back in 1971. "Some traders register their trademarks in New Zealand well before they start using them," Batty said. "For example, an application to register the words KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN was filed in 1981 (trademark registration number 139149). A logo (showing a portrait of Colonel Harland Sanders) is recorded on the Register as being filed in 1964 (trademark registration number 76669, now expired)." Yang has chosen to rebrand his fledgling business, rather than engage in a lengthy legal battle like some of those other examples. "Your options are pretty simple: fight back or change," Cain said. If you had a good defence over your trademark claim and can afford legal fees, it could be worth the battle, but ultimately boils down to how far you want to go, he said. "If you have no or a poor defence, don't quibble about it - just agree to change and change. Consumers will move on and accept your new brand before you know it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Teen seeks new logo after ‘shocking' KFC demand
KFC wants 17-year-old Ben Yang to change his logo. Photo: Supplied A 17-year-old entrepreneur has launched an appeal on social media to find a "unique" design for his fried chicken business after being instructed to rebrand by fast food giant KFC. High school student Ben Yang runs Yang's Fried Chicken from a food truck selling Korean fried chicken, bubble tea and dessert in Riccarton, Christchurch. Yang started the business in a physical store last year before moving it to a food truck in February. The teenager would work in the food truck after school every day and during the holidays, with his mother - and occasionally his grandmother - involved in the operation. The food truck's logo features an illustration of Yang wearing a red suit on a red background with "YFC" in white font. In June, Yang received a stack of legal documents from KFC that left him stunned. The teenager was surprised to receive the package. "It's quite shocking to see that KFC, this really big brand, would find out about this small food truck that's just parked down the road ... and just send legal documents without ... talking to us beforehand, without any communication," he said. Yang was initially given a deadline of 2 July to rebrand his operation and cease using "YFC", but it has since been extended to early August. Ben Yang and his food truck in Riccarton, Christchurch. Photo: Supplied Yang has called on designers to submit ideas for a new logo before 13 July, promising the winner a lifetime supply of free fried chicken. He said followers of the campaign could vote for their favourite design on Instagram. "It's pretty good to see that there's a lot of involvement within the community towards this," he said. Yang hoped to franchise his brand in future, wanting to open stores in Auckland and other cities. Born in Christchurch, Yang has been raised in the Garden City by his Chinese mother. Yang's South Korean father died when he was just 1 year old, and he would often visit his grandparents in the port city of Busan. The fried chicken his grandparents made him on such visits inspired Yang to start his business. "There's a bit of me just learning online and ... I kind of perfected it, like taking some parts of that one, mixing it with my one and then making an overall better recipe, I guess," he said. KFC Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers Ben's mother, Kathy Qiu, said Yang had worked hard from a young age. Yang had opened the fried chicken operation partly to give Qiu a job after being out of work, she said. "He's very busy with the shop," she said. "He had to go back to study, and he still does well in his studies." She said the logo did look a little similar to KFC's iconic design. "If we need to change it, we will," she said. "We're preparing to change the logo." KFC said it was unable to comment on the matter.
