SAVANNAH FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL PART 1

     Interest was high when the City of Savannah hosted a Food-Truck Rollout meeting on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at the Savannah Civics Center. Susan Broker, the Director of Permitting for Savannah’s Leisure Services Bureau, moderated this event. 
     A standing room only crowd expressed deep concerns in many areas, including the legality of a business from another county, bringing a food truck into Savannah, and the use of an independent commercial kitchen to support and supply a food truck operation. 
     Looking around the room, it was obvious this topic had generated lots of passion. On my right, I saw hope. On my left, I saw doubt. I glanced behind me and saw careful scrutiny of every word. Attendees asked the panel probing questions, some of which brought to light the significant effects of city government policies. Panel members replied within the limits of their responsibilities. While most of the answers seemed helpful, others led to more uncertainty- all giving way to the obvious conclusion that a clear and well-defined policy was crucial to the success of this undertaking, especially for those like Chaz Ortiz.     

    From bending metal, popping rivets, and building aircraft with the precision and skill required to keep passengers and crews safe… to owning and operating a food truck. In this instance, the “…” symbolizes many years of significant decisions made by Chaz Ortiz, the owner of Chazito’s Latin Cuisine Restaurant in Pooler as well as two food trucks.  Ortiz described culinary influences and his transition from aircraft manufacturing to the food truck business. 
     Chaz is working with passion for his passion to make money from his passion. “This is my step towards a dream,” he said. “That’s why I had to leave my job in aircraft manufacturing.” 
     He has financial, physical, spiritual, and emotional investments in his food trucks. Most of them took place in his driveway, where Ortiz and his family modified both of his food trucks. Each step in building the trucks became a step back in time to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where Ortiz grew up. 
     “My experience was not what some might call the “typical” American experience,” he said. “I tried a lot of different foods in that neighborhood, coming from different traditional kitchens– Filipino, Japanese, and Korean. Then there was, like, a little Spanish Harlem– Dominican, Colombian, Venezuelan. I was in middle school before I was in what some might see as a typical American classroom.” 
     “I was always in my grandma’s Puerto Rican kitchen, always asking what was going on,” he said. “We ate rice every day. We made it 20 – 30 different ways. They could not get me out of the kitchen, always asking questions. My grandmother always cooked a lot of food that took a lot of preparation.”
     Chaz moved to Savannah when he was 17 years old.  “In high school, I moved down to Savannah to be closer to my father,” he said. “I didn’t really know him at the time, though people always told me I was like him and that I shared his love of cooking.” 
     In Savannah, Chaz worked in hotels, restaurants, finally landing in the aircraft industry. About 5 years ago, he put up a tent at Savannah’s annual Latin Festival on River Street. “Friends encouraged me because of the huge parties I gave where I prepared food.” 

Read Part 2 and Meet Other Food Truck Owners

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