What better way to make a splashy statement at your next event than a food truck?  Food trucks offer unique menus, quick turnaround times and reasonable rates for events of any size.  Some events that you can find food trucks at include weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, employee appreciation lunches, small gatherings and more.

Here are a few tips to help make your decision easy when choosing a food truck:

1.  Catering Information Online

Does the truck you’re interested in have catering information online?  Is the information detailed and informative to help you in your decision making process?  If you cannot find any catering details on a food truck’s website or social media pages, it might mean they aren’t organized enough to successfully pull off your event.

2.  Budget

One of the most important factors when selecting a food truck is your budget.  Many trucks have an $800-$1,000 minimum in order to book the truck.  Consider your budget before you reach out to a food truck so that everyone has realistic expectations going into the process.

3.  Occasion

What type of event are you having?  Different trucks and different cuisines fit with different occasions you might be celebrating.  A swanky corporate event might want something more upscale and gourmet than a child’s birthday party.  Be sure to consider what type of food and vibe you are seeking when making the decision about which food truck is right for your event.

So best of luck in your search in finding the best food truck for your next event in Atlanta!

This just in, the food truck season slows way down in the winter.  It has been a cold, bitter winter and us food truck owners have felt it more than most.

Like golf courses and amusement parks and other outdoor-based businesses, food trucks slow way down in the winter months.  If you don’t want to eat outside on a patio or hang out on your back deck for a few hours then chances are you probably don’t want to eat off a food truck either.

The truck has traveled out a few times over the last few months and luckily a few kind Atlantans have braved the cold to eat with us.  For instance, here we are in Buckhead with our menu board perched on high above.

Much of our focus this winter went towards planning for a big 2013 and setting up our commissary as a restaurant space.  We have taken the truck out when possible and will start to be taking it around Atlanta much more frequently starting soon.

We just wanted to check in and let everyone know that we are still rocking and rolling and looking forward to feeding you in 2013.  Whether at a catering gig or from our truck or at our restaurant, we hope that you’ll brave the cold (or the extreme heat) with us in the coming months to try some of our modern southern cuisine.

Happy eating,

Juliana & Tyler

Freckled & Blue

Just so everyone knows, we are always open to feedback and ideas to how we can make our guest experience better.  Soon you’ll be seeing booster seats, recycling bins, office catering menus and more!  If you have any feedback or suggestions for us please let us know at info@freckledandblue.com.

Our current hours are Wednesday thru Friday from 11am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 9am-3pm.  We also feature special gameday caterings, office caterings, culinary classes and more!

Here are a few pictures that we had a chance to snap over the first few days of opening!

Thanks,

Juliana & Tyler

Freckled & Blue

Tyler and I were both very lucky to grow up with parents whom were able to provide us with everything we needed and more. Both of our Dad’s have very impressive tenures at two major food companies (and congratulations to the one and only, D!, for finally retiring!) From our fathers, we learned strong work ethic. Our Mom’s nurtured their kiddos, and worked hard at their jobs. From our mothers, we learned the importance of caring and compassion.

Upon starting this business, we thought long and hard about what we wanted our message to be. Since we were a food truck, our message had to be food related. We are passionate about Southern food, so that was a natural fit. Also, we are passionate about bettering our community.

We had our first “Give Back” event recently with the Atlanta Women’s & Children’s Day Shelter in Midtown. We had the great pleasure of feeding over 100 women and children during our lunch visit and hopefully brought some holiday cheer along the way. Please check out their FB page here  to find out ways you can contribute to their cause.

This event will be the first of many more and we expect 2013 to be a big year in our giving efforts. We hope that you have a great holiday season and a great end to your 2012. Remember, the best way to make an impact is to give to those in need.

Give your time.

Give your talents.

Give your love.

Happy Holidays!

eat. give. grow.

Juliana & Tyler

It is important to have an idea of the following before reaching out to us or other potential caterers:

Date of Event
Expected Number of Guests
Specific Menu Needs
Budget

After we have this headline information, we like to have a brief phone call to discuss other relevant information to craft a custom solution that will fit with your budget and event needs.

The key to any successful partnership is communication so be sure to choose a caterer that communicates and makes everything clear from start to finish.

Happy catering search!

eat. give. grow.
Juliana & Tyler

We are adding a counter and re-doing the floors and adding furniture as well.  The space will be open for casual dine-in or carry-out and hours and the opening date are to be determined.

Please stay tuned for pictures and specifics here on our blog or via Facebook/Twitter!

Can’t wait to see y’all soon with our new restaurant space

Eat. Give. Grow.

Juliana & Tyler

That said- we wanted to take some time to thank everyone who has helped us get to where we are today.

We wouldn’t have our great truck without David Ford and his awesome team at Food Trucks South. A huge thank you to the entire team there- our truck rocks!

Thank you to our friend Daniel Owen at Owen & Associates, LLC. in Marietta, GA. Your team is kind, thoughtful and so prompt. We hit the streets safely thanks to your help on all of our insurance

Thank you to taste. restaurant branding for our graphics. We so enjoyed working with you every step of the way. Our truck is the sharpest looking truck here in Atlanta!

Finally, thank you to everyone who has eaten with us so far! We’ve enjoyed meeting each of you and look forward to feeding you time and time again. We hope that you’ve enjoyed some of the menu items that we’ve served up so far:

 Chicken BBQ Sliders with Smoked Gouda Cheese

Catfish Tacos with Roasted Corn Salsa 

Southern Steak Sandwich with House Recipe Jalapeno Bacon Pimento Cheese

Thanks to everyone! Be sure to keep up with our weekly schedule so that we can serve up more great food for you! Also, never hesitate to contact us for whatever you might need… food truck related or just to say hey. We love hearing from all of you.

Eat. Give. Grow.

Juliana & Tyler

Here’s a throwback picture!

Queue the negative (but sometimes positive, who are we kidding… mostly negative!) feedback we have received from friends, family and internet columns when we told them we were going to start a business together.  BUT, you aren’t married!? BUT, it won’t work! BUT, this isn’t the normal things people your age do!  WHY do y’all have to be so different!?

We’ve been in business for a month now. We sure have learned a lot. We learned that the path less traveled is filled with many bumps, detours and path paving.  First, learning how to be in a relationship and be business partners is tough.  Relationships are fun.  Laughing.  Heavy petting.  Sharing a DVR together.  Relationships are also tough.  Constant belching and farting from a person who would never burp or fart around you had you only been on two dates.  Pressure from other people to either move the relationship along faster or take it slower but never go at the pace you both are going right now.  Learning to communicate in the right tone at the right time in the right voice in the right frame of mind so as not to make someone rightfully pissed off for not doing so.  As all of you know, relationships have their ups and downs. Business is fun. Sweating, working, long hours. Sharing email accounts. Not getting enough sleep. Selling over $1,000 in a shift. WOOHOO! Business is also tough. It has ups and downs. Sometimes we prepare way too much food, sometimes not enough. Sometimes it rains and ruins a shift. Sometimes you drop a $11 Steak Sandwich on the floor and have to start over. As we’re sure you can see… we’ve entered into quite the balancing act!

This is without a doubt, the hardest thing that we’ve ever done: learning to balance our relationship with growing our business.

Being business partners are kind of like relationship partners except you go home separately to other lives.  You are attached to a certain extent but it ends once you close the front door at home.  You don’t always have to answer the phone because you can probably come up with some white lie that they might actually believe.  You care more about making the dollars and the business work than remaining good friends in the end (hopefully you do end up friends or else that’s a sad way to about life).  But hey, it’s a tough life so you got to look out for yourself, right?  But business partners can also share more meaningful bonds outside of business.  But how close can you get without mixing business with pleasure?  Well you could go all the way and jump off the deep-end diving board together and just go into business with your significant other.

So the biggest thing that we’ve learned so far?  Over-communicate.  Listen more.  Leave it at the door later that night.  Don’t forget to walk the dog because our long work hours stress him too. Learn and clearly identify your roles in the business. Plan, plan, plan! Laugh. Admit when you mess up. Compliment your significant other when they do something well. Remind them to step it up if they aren’t giving 100%. Take time for the relationship. Make cheap frozen pizza and watch football. Go on a walk in the park.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on this crazy adventure of being together in life and in business.  If you have any advice for us from experience please feel free to drop us a note.  In the meantime, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you as you hopefully share some ideas and stories about you along the way.

eat.give.grow.

Juliana & Tyler

It was an up and down week just like we are sure they all will be.  We made our first sale and we had our first generator shut down.  We came home to dog poop and got woken up by 6am catering request phone calls.  We laughed at Tyler when he kept calling the Country Time lemonade Minute Maid lemonade.

All in all, it was great.  We learned a lot.  We fed a lot of people.  And most of all we had fun!

Here are a few pictures we managed to snap along the way and we promise to get better about capturing some more of these moments going forward!

Tyler got the mustard open!

Juliana dishing it out!

Driving the tank around

Hair always looking good

Night time on the Truck!

See you on the streets soon!

eat. give. grow.

Juliana & Tyler

So if you are contemplating hiring one of these hot commodities for your next private event, how do you choose the right truck?

We’ve outlined 3 keys below to make sure you consider before choosing a food truck for your event:

1.  Professionalism:  In order for your event to go smoothly, you need to ensure that the truck you hire is a team of professionals.  Be sure to pick a truck that knows how to be on time and prepared.  Also, you might consider some of these questions when checking them out in person or online:  Do their workers appear clean and tidy?  Do they carry themselves in a mature manner when interacting with customers both online and in person?  Does the truck’s overall appearance seem planned and put together to impact the overall brand message?

2.  Individuality:  All trucks have a brand identity.  All trucks have a story.  When selecting a truck for your event, ensure that you are choosing a truck with a specific image that you want presented at your event.  Are you looking for down-home BBQ or upscale tapas?  Late night bites or breakfast eats?  What makes the truck you choose stand out from the rest?  It might be a certain type of cuisine or their ability to customize their menu to your needs.  It might just be that you like the owners or you’re related to them.  Whatever the reason, know that food trucks have a personality and the one you choose will help to tell the story of your event.

3.  Great Food: What’s a party without great food?  The final key to choosing a truck is the food.  At the end of the day, food trucks will only survive if they serve great food.  Be sure that the truck you choose is capable of serving the menu you desire.  Some trucks might only serve menus they do on the truck while others might be able to customize their offerings to fit your needs.  Also, find out in advance what happens to the leftovers.  You never know when that post-party food might make for a great lunch the next day!

So, go forth and choose a great food truck for your event.  Just make sure you take these things into consideration so the food truck you choose can take your event to the next level.