Latest news with #foodtruck
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
YouTube star Spanian's surprising response to arsonists who targeted his kebab truck in Melbourne
YouTuber Spanian's foray into the Melbourne food scene seems to have ruffled a few feathers with one of his kebab trucks targeted by arsonists. Firefighters were called to Bell Street in Preston about 4am on Saturday following reports the truck had been set alight using flammable liquid. The blaze was extinguished and the damage confined to the trailer, which had been moved to the site in early May ahead of a grand opening on May 16, which Spanian, 38, said was 'the biggest turnout we've ever had'. The ex-career criminal, turned filmmaker and entrepreneur - whose name is actually Anthony Lees - launched Spanian's kebabs in Sydney which has since expanded to multiple locations. In a video shared to his social media on Saturday, he seemed unfazed by the attack. 'They burnt the front wall, but it's not an issue, there's another truck already on the way,' he said. 'We've got a factory of trucks, we'll get this one rewrapped.' He then explained it is locals, not him, who owns the trucks. 'I just want to get that out there. The trucks are part of your community, and those people from your community save up for these trucks and they have to pay for it. They're your people,' he said. He then changed the subject to his successful Melbourne launch and suggested competitors might have been responsible. 'I thought Spanian's Kebabs were shit. Well guess whose kebabs they're trying to burn down?,' he said. 'Guess who's got the best kebabs in Australia? Melbourne will be back open soon.' The Sydneysider has built a large online fanbase following a rocky start in life. Spanian spent a total of 13 years in prison before the age of 30 for various offences including a ram raid on an ATM, assaults and drug distribution. After his release, he briefly tried his hand at a career as a drill rapper before finding a large audience posting videos on YouTube. He released an autobiography in 2021, but it was quickly dropped by his publisher over controversial comments he made about the LGBTQI+ World Pride events, claiming that an agenda was being pushed to children.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
TikTok star Spudman serves 5,000 jacket potatoes at Suffolk Show
TikTok chef Spudman said the Suffolk Show was the "best two days of the year" for his business after selling thousands of jacket potatoes to whose real name is Ben Newman, used 5,000 potatoes to produce more than 3,300 portions from his food truck during the two-day agricultural event at Trinity Park in Ipswich, more than 4.2 million followers on TikTok, did Spudman's presence help or hinder other food vendors at the show? With the average cost of a jacket potato from Spudman being £8, the social media star would have made an estimated £26,000 worth of sales at the Newman, who took time to pose for selfies with fans, said the most popular order at the show was his cheese and beans jacket potato, but his pulled pork offering also "absolutely flew out"."We prepared for it to be busy but this was manic, it was the best two days of the year so far," he added."Everyone was warning me that the event gets like 75,000 people through the gates, but you always take that with a pinch of salt, but it was packed."It's a brilliant show and the people of Suffolk are lovely - I will absolutely come back." 'It's been quieter' Jill Hales, of Jilly's Jacket Potatoes, told the BBC her number of customers had "definitely gone down" this complimentary of Spudman, Mrs Hales said she had to throw away 75 potatoes after not being as busy as she had anticipated."It has been quieter on the potato front, I must admit, and I do wonder if a lot of people have gone over to the Spudman instead of coming to me," she said."We used to have a bit of a rush at tea time, but that didn't happen and friends on the other side [of the event] said they didn't have any customers by 14:00 BST because [Spudman] had affected them."He is a really nice man and he came and introduced himself, but I am going to be at the Norfolk Show and if he is there then I would ask for my money back and not go." 'He gave us a shoutout' Shaun Sabiny, from the Highland Crispy Duck, said the arrival of Spudman in the county had attracted more people to the Suffolk Show and more customers to his added Spudman had been great for the event by attracting large crowds and promoting other traders on his social media pages."Him being here has worked to my benefit because he put a shoutout [about us] on his [social media] feed and we had a queue after that, so it's great, and he is a great guy," he said."It's crazy, the guy is literally serving jacket potatoes with anything else that your local cafe would, so it's completely different and I don't see any competition at all."At the end of the day we are all traders here and we're all here to achieve the common goal, which is make money and give the good people some good food." 'Spudman was great for show' Kevin Reade, of Reade's Hog Roast Event Caters, said he would usually sell about £10,000 worth of food over the two days of the he spoke to the BBC he said takings were slightly down compared to previous years, but stressed that Spudman was "great for the show"."I think it's a bit of a gimmick, but he is a really nice guy and I met him this morning and he had one of my hog roasts and said it was excellent," he said."Even my grandson wanted a picture taken with him, how bad is that? I have been doing this for 40 years but he has never wanted one with me." Spudman told the BBC he wanted to use his platform to help elevate other small businesses."We are here to support the other traders, we make videos with them, we eat their food, and we try and support as many of them as we possibly can," he said."If you go on my TikTok there are videos from other traders - I love going into other businesses and showing my followers something other than jacket potatoes."We are here to promote, we're not here to take anything away from other people - it's not about us." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Long-time Sudbury chip stand location will not reopen this summer
Northern Ontario Watch The original location of the Silver Bullet, a popular Sudbury food truck, is not opening this summer after the lease was not renewed.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Stolen Oasis Cardiff charity truck found 60 miles away
A food truck stolen from a Cardiff charity has been found by police - 60 miles away in west catering truck was taken from the garden of Oasis Cardiff in the early hours of 6 it has been returned to the refugee and asylum seekers charity six weeks later after being found by a member of the public near Ammanford, chief executive Susie Ventris-Field said: "We are delighted to share that South Wales Police have been successful in tracking down our food truck." She added: "There has been some damage which will need attention, but we are glad it has been returned and have had a hugely positive response from the team and community."Police are carrying out forensic examination as they continue their investigation into the up in 2008, Oasis Cardiff in Splott has helped hundreds of people who have fled war or political persecution from places including Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Albania, Libya and centre provides a "safe haven" for those in need as well as providing meals, clothing, language classes, advice and activities aimed at helping people settle in the truck was used for delivering training and employment opportunities to refugees and asylum seekers.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The great American ice cream truck is roaring back with on-demand desserts delivered to a street near you
Once a nostalgic staple of American summers, the ice cream truck had all but disappeared — a casualty of changing tastes, tighter regulations, and the rise of delivery apps. Now, one New Jersey startup is reviving the tradition with a digital-age twist — letting customers summon sweet treats on demand via text. Scream Truck operates 17 vans across select neighborhoods in the state, alerting fans when they're nearby and letting them reserve a stop with a simple 'Y.' It's a far cry from the old-school trucks that were a beloved fixture of American neighborhoods from the 1950s through the early 1990s. The company has big plans to expand nationally, aiming to roll out 1,000 trucks within five years. Each truck ditches the old-school jingle for 'actual music,' blasts bright LED graphics, and serves up seasonal sundaes, shakes, and cones — many dreamed up by founder and CEO Eric Murphy himself, who calls it a 'really fun part of the job.' 'Our business model is built around impulse buying, where we text our customers when Scream Truck will be visiting their neighborhood,' Murphy told 'Customers can simply reply Y (for yes!) to reserve a stop at their house. Who can say no to a text message for ice cream?.' Murphy launched the company in 2020, after selling his previous ventures to Condé Nast in 2017. With little ice cream experience but a deep background in experiential marketing, he set out to create something new. 'With a 30 year career in experiential marketing and entertainment, I had always dreamed of creating a whole new experiential food delivery concept,' he said. 'Food delivery has become a behemoth (especially after Covid), but it's a pretty terrible experience.' That is when he decided to create a food truck with a twist, providing customers with goodies via text message request. All of the technology that powers the Scream Truck experience runs on IMPLSE, a proprietary logistics platform developed by the company. 'Scream Truck, and our customer experience and logistics software, are building the foundation for a much larger initiative to deliver 'surprise and delight' food and beverage experiences to people's homes,' he stated. However, the company is also concocting items through partnerships with collaborators to create one-of-a-kind treats, and has also rolled out its first pizza truck concept. 'We are targeting premium, 'not available everywhere' kind of brands like Pat LaFrieda, Levain Cookies, and treats made by celebrated chefs from around the country,' Murphy revealed. Over the last five years, more than 100,000 individuals have signed up for alerts. It also ended 2024 with nearly $4 million in revenue, a 25 percent increase from its 2023 sales. With its popularity soaring, Scream Truck is now slowing down to work more on improving its technology and preparing for a nationwide expansion. 'We just signed our Las Vegas deal, so they will launch their first truck later this summer, and plan to launch 10-15 trucks over the next 18 months. It is the perfect market for Scream Truck,' Murphy said. The business will also be making its way into the tri-state area of Long Island, Florida. Other areas Scream Truck hopes to do business in are 'key hospitality and entertainment cities' like Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville, Miami, and Denver.' Although the business is booming, the CEO revealed that there will not be any new owned and operating trucks hitting their current routes. Scream Truck still expects modest revenue growth this year and massive sales growth starting in 2026. Besides expansions, Scream Truck provided a sneak peek into the promotions it plans to offer this year. Murphy revealed the business is working on a partnership with a 'very big slasher franchise' for Halloween and will bring back its fan-favorite 'Santa Social's' special this winter. Some items included in its Santa-themed special are holiday music, a holiday menu, and hot chocolate. Other specials and discounts will be revealed at later dates on Scream Truck's Instagram and Facebook pages.
