Vorrayut Jiranuntiporn (left) and Wasinee Tantiveerabut (right) in their food truck.

It started slowly, with a lone man strolling casually down Hamilton Street. Catching his attention was a brightly painted truck parked curbside, which was wafting spicy, exotic aromas towards him.

A woman poked her head through the truck’s window and asked the man if he would like to try a new drink – Thai iced tea. This released a flood a memories of his long ago trip to Thailand.

She smiled as the man walked away, iced tea in hand. She had made the day’s first sale and had found a new customer. Within moments, a dozen more were standing alongside her window.

The woman inside the truck is Wasinee Tantiveerabut. She, along with her business partner, Vorrayut Jiranuntiporn, are the proprietors of Rimfoodbaht, one of several vendors who have opened new food cart operations along Vancouver’s downtown streets.

Over 50 applications were submitted when the city opened the process. A panel of judges was then tasked with selecting the 12 businesses that were ultimately awarded the coveted business licenses. The judges considered cultural and menu diversity, as well as sustainability, as key criteria in their selection process.

“Since the city expanded the program to provide more nutritious and ethnically diverse food in 2010, the program has become increasingly popular with local residents and visitors,” noted Mayor Robertson in a recent media release.

Rimfoodbaht opened their doors, or rather their window, for business in May 2012.

“In Thailand, street food is very, very popular,” says Jiranuntiporn. “You can see it on every block in Bangkok, so we thought why not bring Thai street food here to Vancouver?”

Both Jiranuntiporn and Tantiveerabut arrived in Vancouver just over a year ago. During that time, Jiranuntiporn applied his passion for food into working in the kitchen of an Asian restaurant.

Wasinee Tantiveerabut, meanwhile, spent much of her time in school. Now the two of them are hoping to apply their knowledge, but like many entrepreneurs, face a steep learning curve.

“We have a lot of responsibilities,” says Jiranuntiporn as he describes the countless hours spent preparing ingredients, cooking, cleaning, ordering supplies and everything else that goes along with running a small business.

“We have no time for internet or television. All of our time now is about finding ways to help people to like our food,” says Tantiveerabut.

“The first thing we had to worry about was if customers were going to think our food was healthy for them, compared to a restaurant, because it comes from a truck on the street,” says Jiranuntiporn, “but we have the same rules and food safety as any restaurant.”

Polling some of their customers, Rimfoodbaht is gaining positive reviews for their “unique, home-cooked flavour.” As it stands, many customers are seeing the offering both as a convenience and a novelty.

It is clear, however, that the business has a long way to go to build the size and scope of repeat clientele that will sustain them in the long run.
“We have this great opportunity with our food truck,” says Jiranuntiporn.

Vorrayut Jiranuntiporn (left) and Wasinee Tantiveerabut (right) in their food truck.

“We are very proud, [and] if we get a chance, we will do more to let people in Vancouver know about Thai food. For us, this truck is already changing our lives.”

The food cart business is also changing the lives of Salvadoran-born Noemi Canales and her brother Jose Manzano, the co-owners of Guanaco, a food truck that serves traditional Salvadoran food. Guanaco specializes in pupusas, a cheese and pork filled tortilla that serves as a quick lunch for busy workers on the go.

“People here don’t know a lot about Salvadorian food, so sometimes we have to explain it to them a bit, but it’s very good and we’re getting a lot of new and regular customers,” she says.

Prior to Guanaco’s launch, Canales worked as a housekeeper in the hotel business while Jose worked as a camera assistant in the movie industry. Now they are calling their own shots.

“Working at Guanaco is better but harder than my old job,” says Canales. “Our family has a restaurant back in El Salvador, so we have great family recipes that we knew people here in Vancouver would love.”

Noemi Canales (right) can found in her food truck, Guanaco, along Saymour Street.

Canales adds that she hopes the business will allow them an opportunity to send more aid to family members in El Salvador.

Canales explains that the business thrives during the break in Vancouver’s lousy weather.

“We are new and we need to establish ourselves and get more customers. It’s hard when it is rainy all the time.”

Soon, they will also be up against new competition. The city plans to introduce an additional 30 food carts to our streets over the next two years.