Comments on: Students to Launch Campus Food Truck

By: James A Pierce

James A Pierce — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:42:54 +0000

Regarding Steve Borukhin’s comment about food trucks being “the latest craze” in New York City, allow me to quote one of Yogi Berra’s malapropisms: “It’s deja vu all over again.” Food trucks, aka “roach coaches”, have being around New York for a long time, albeit in not such an upscale and trendy milieu. They have been around for decades, usually in industrial zones and catering to a definite blue collar crowd. Kearney , New Jersey had several, and they were found on Fish House Road near the truck parks. I wish Steve and his fellow entrepreneurs all the best in their venture and look forward to sampling his wares.

James Pierce ’69

By: rgoldfin

rgoldfin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:14:44 +0000

The graphic artist is Ruiqi Li ’13.

By: ann sullivan '06

ann sullivan '06 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:16:22 +0000

GREAT logo! designer?

By: mary Ellen Johnston

mary Ellen Johnston — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:50:15 +0000

Please don’t forget to cater to the more health-conscious students at Bowdoin, who may be vegetarians or vegans. There are lots of easy options for them, and they get hungry too! Hamburgers and hot dogs? Be creative!

By: George Sheldon

George Sheldon — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:59:17 +0000

“We’re not doing this because we want to be profitable …” Really? President Mills’ call for entrepreneurship “resonated” with you and inspired you, and yet you don’t want to make a profit? Sounds like the idea of entrepreneurship embarrasses more than inspires you. It shouldn’t.

As economics students (at least Steve and Eric), you might have said that while you intend to make profits, you don’t expect to given that many businesses cater to the food demand of students (including Bowdoin College.) Suggesting you are not interested in profits is probably a good marketing approach to take with both the College and potential student customers. But, this claimed goal doesn’t mean much beyond that and shouldn’t – – with no apologies needed or demanded by your hopefully satisfied customers.

And finally, don’t dismiss profits in a way that suggests earning them is trivial. Most start-ups find this is quite definitely not the case and go broke – -and that happens when profits are the stated goal.

Seeking to not make profits is setting the bar so low that you cannot help but succeed. Be a little more entrepreneurial. And, I’m guessing you will be anyway. You have been so far.

By: George Maling '52

George Maling '52 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:22:44 +0000

The students ought to talk to Peter Buck ’52. When you walk into a Subway, it looks like a pretty simple operation. But Pete’s genius was to see how the operation could be scaled up to a the very large internation franchise operation it is today.

When thinking of expansion of food trucks to other schools, the Subway model might be a very good (and profitable)way to go.