How a little convincing from a good pal, and some inspirational time in the kitchen with Vegetarian Epicure's Anna Thomas, put Lauren Smith '08 in the driver's seat of a gourmet food truck.
Today food trucks are a hot, growing segment of the food industry. They are gourmet kitchens on wheels fast, efficient, mobilewith varied menus bringing ethnic flavors and fusion cuisine to a hip, urban clientele. When Lauren Smith 08 graduated from CMC, she had no plans to ever join this industry. Why would she? As an international relations major, she expected that her future career would take her into the field of human rights.
But as she considered her options, Smith became involved with the plans of a fellow grada friend from Pomona Collegethat centered on bringing good-tasting, high quality cuisine (like classic burgers or skirt steak sandwiches with roasted mango and Hatch chile salsa) to Bay Area foodies. The result of their partnership is a new food truck: Doc's of the Bay.
We caught up with the 25-year-old Dallas native before the start of a busy workday as head chef, to ask what it's like to run a small business on four wheels.
CMC: Your post-grad plans changed so much. Do people ask you how you switched from a career in human rights to the food and catering industry?
Smith: Absolutely, that's a question I hear all the time, especially from CMCers! (Laughs) That's because most CMC grads are so wildly successful, and usually in finance or law or government. There aren't too many going into the food industry, that's for sure! That said, everyone's been so supportive. There's a strong Claremont community in the Bay Area and everyone has been great about coming to the truck and getting the word out about us.
CMC: What did you do after graduation?
Smith: I wanted to travel before getting a real job, and then I planned on pursuing a career in human rights upon my return home. I was thinking about working for an NGO or the UN doing international human rights law. I've always loved cooking, but I never thought of making a career out of it.
CMC: Why not?
Smith: All my life I've enjoyed cooking, I even started a catering company one summer during college. But I never thought of it as an end, it was more just a means to make people happy. When I was presented with an amazing culinary opportunity after graduating, however, I figured, why not? I've got the rest of my life to pursue my career goals. One of my friends at CMC, Emery Mitchem '07, is from Ojai, and he and his family are good friends with Anna Thomas, the author of the Vegetarian Epicure cookbooks. I have always loved her cookbooks, and Emery was kind enough to connect the two of us. After meeting in Ojai one afternoon near the end of graduation, she asked me if I would be interested in helping her finish her new cookbook. I moved to Ojai the day after graduation and helped edit and work on recipes with her. I had a fantastic experience that set the bar for my life expectations quite high.
CMC: So that's when you decided to go in another direction with your career?
Smith: Not yet! (Laughs) I did some other things first. I backpacked through Southeast Asia and lived in Cambodia working for a human rights NGO for a while, and from there I went to San Francisco and took a job as a finance paralegal in a corporate law firm. I was still thinking about a career in the legal profession. Ironically, it was the smartest move I could've made before we started Doc's of the Bay. Working there gave me unique insights into what we'd need to run a small businessnot just about which state forms and legal documents were important, but also how to have the right professional attitude. I was working with a variety of people, and my job included speaking with executives on the phone all the time. I learned that I can talk to anyone, and that's the kind of confidence you need when you decide to run a business of your own.
CMC: It took a bit of persuading to get you to join Doc's of the Bay, didn't it?
Smith: (Laughs) Well, yes. My friend, Pomona grad Zak Silverman ('08) was working in a caf? in Berkeley and started doing research about food trucks. The whole industry was just burgeoning and it seemed liked the perfect time to enter into the market. Zak began working on a food truck for research purposes and began to write the business plan. Throughout that process, I was just consulting. But when several microfinance organizations demonstrated interest in the business, I realized it was going to be a reality. Zak (deftly) convinced me to quit my job (I was also working 70-hour weeks and looking for a change) and join him in this endeavor.
CMC: What advantages does a food truck have that a brick-and-mortar restaurant doesn't?
Smith: Your business model is more flexible. You can go straight to the demand rather than supply clientele in one location. To run a food truck, you have to understand your target demographics and then get out there and find them.
CMC: You've mentioned the advantages of running your own business. How about the disadvantages?
Smith: Well, I joined the business a year ago last February, and it's been the longest year of my life! (Laughs) A part of that has to do with the permit situation in the Bay Area. We've had to fight against competitors, the City of San Francisco, and various communities in order to get our permits. We haven't always been successful, unfortunately. Our permit application in The Haight (district) was denied due to community objections. However, the spots that we did manage to get in San Franciscotwo in the Mission and one in the Financial District at TransAmerica Towerwere worth the effort.
Another thing is that when you're running your own business, there's no time card. And the fruits of your labor are very obvious. If you put a lot of time and attention into your food or another aspect of your business, the results will immediately show. Failing to put enough effort into an aspect of your business will also become immediately apparent. It is so different from my previous job at the law firm. There were so many layers between what I did and what was turned out as the final product of a deal. There are no layers anymore!
CMC: What does "Doc's of the Bay" mean?
Smith: We asked friends and family to suggest names for the business, and somebody found this great excerpt from Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. It talks about how Doc, one of the main characters, likes hamburgers and wants to know what a beer milkshake tastes like. It seems a little esoteric, but there is something funny about it that is perfect for us.