ST. LOUIS – Thieves are targeting food trucks in south St. Louis. At least two trucks were struck Saturday at a food truck facility in the Tower Grove South neighborhood at Rogers Place and Utah Street.
FarmTruk had a generator and a few coolers stolen from inside its truck. The farm-to-table food truck set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to replace the generator. Owner Samantha Mitchell said it can’t operate without the generator, so not only is the small business having to replace it, it was forced to cancel events, meaning lost income opportunities.
In the same lot, on the same night, Tyler Garcia said thieves took from his business. He operates Locoz Tacoz food truck. The thief or thieves didn’t break into his truck, but they stole two large propane tanks and a commercial burner being stored outside.
You can see the scratch marks left behind on the pavement from the thieves dragging the heavy tanks off the lot.
The commercial burner is a big loss. Without it, they’re having to prepare 100 pounds of meat a day in smaller pots, meaning a lot more time and labor expenses.
“Something that would take us 40 minutes to do takes us five hours to do,” said Garcia.
Both Garcia and Mitchell are amazed at how the community is reaching out with support.
“We’ve been getting a lot of response,” said Garcia. “They want to help, it’s awesome.”
Locoz Tacoz has set-up a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/supporters-for-locoz-tacoz) for those wanting to help.