Now here’s Part 2 and the conclusion of this prolonged double issue…
…
“You need to guarantee a certain amount of business, otherwise it won’t be economically feasible for us….”
The haunting words any Food Truck will tell you, when it comes to private catering. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand where they’re coming from. Given the volatility of the Food Truck Industry, it can be pretty cutthroat.
One wrong deal (and/or location) and your business will sink faster than the Titanic or any Modern Marvel in history known to man. Although TapaBoyLA‘s time-bomb was averted in an earlier week.
It was a chilly night for myself and Bernadette (the manager of GameStop) and together with TapaBoyLA we probably threw the biggest Hail Mary gambles, when positioning ourselves for the best case scenario: 500+ pre orders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 150+ attendee expectation for the pick up of the game, what can go wrong? Plenty, but we were hopeful and just like the cliche of everything comes in 3s, this is no different; in what I would begin as nothing short of a miracle and spectacular conclusion to the Bits and Bites trilogy.
We wanted to pull out all the stops. Therefore, we gave the fans what they clamored for; Not one, two but THREE chances to win the highly anticipated game (if they already paid for their pre-order they also had an option to put it towards their next game). As well as trying some tasty Manila munchies from the original TapaBoyLA food truck, providing the more entrees they grubbed upon, the higher chances to win and here’s a timeline of photos showing what went down:
The Initial Line Up for MW3
Want the MW3 Jeep? Hopefully you entered their official sweepstakes.
TapaBoyLA arrives to Save The Night (of Hunger)
TapaBoyLA Ready for Business. Feeding the attendees.
TapaBoyLA's freshly made Arroz Caldo (Filipino Rice Porridge) for those Nippy Winter Nights
The night started slow and we didn’t know if as many people would show up for the event. We (Bernadette and I) were worried of wasting TapaBoyLA‘s resources and time considering the attendees of the event. So as we scrambled for some more last minute PR, TapaBoyLA shows up in good ‘ol Filipino time fashion. After 40 minutes of prep, they were finally opened and many customers got a hold of the following tapa dishes:
Arroz Caldo (pictured above), the porridge was soft, flavorful, a good ratio of green onion and chicken, w/ just enough of a pinch from the ginger, gives it an aromatic pool of winter goodness.
Their Spam-silog (not pictured, due to hunger pangs), was hearty, filling and reminiscent of classic Filipino food consumption. Their desserts were more impressive (which sold out, by the time I finished coordinating the event sadly enough). Everything from their two types of Turon (Old and New) to the Pun filled Flan B, gave the sweet tooth seduction many attendees fell for, when finishing their tapa bowls.
TapaBoyLA continuing service through the night.
The best part of all this, was the joy brought to TapaBoyLA for making their evening a successful venture by sharing the Flair of Filipino food and the attendees (or winners I should say) that got a real kick out of this event:
With The 3 Raffle Winners of the MW3 Giveaway: Trevor Martin, Chris Blanchard and Elias Barajas (Very Lucky, Second time winner of our Foodoofus contests)
With Bits and Bites Bonus Raffle Winner: Mark Yubili $40.00 GameStop GiftCard
When asked about the reasons why people come out in such a late hour at this particular location of GameStop, winner Elias Barajas by stating,
“The location, the people… it changed a lot since I was a kid. I remember these things being real small, now you got hundreds showing up… what’s even better is that this place made me a loyal customer, for all their hard work and customer service, I drive down from Alhambra just to support this place.”- Elias Barajas, GameStop patron and Bits and Bites #2 and #3 winner of the Raffle Giveaway
For the staff of the GameStop at Cerritos Towne Center, it is this undying devotion many customers have to their establishments. The same could be said of many of the local food places I’ve tried over the course of this website’s development. On a final note, I would again like to thank TapaBoyLA for coming out in such late hours and believing in our cause. GameStop: Cerritos Towne Center location, for providing me the opportunity to work with you all. And last but not least, the supporters of this run on the Bits and Bites collaboration.
Sadly, this series of events must come to an end for now. Until future discussion (or financial/administrative support) will take place, I’ll be moving on to a new event concept/project to work on in the future. Like gambling, you have to know when to walk away from the table. It can be very difficult as non-profit event coordinator (without a staff), to produce more stuff like this for the community without a pillar of support.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, at least for me and until I hit it big, I’m just like everyone else of the working class (99% as the Occupy movement likes to put it). Putting in long work hours, earning an honest buck just to get by and continue this passion of mine. If you do want this series of events to continue, then please submit your feedback on making the next one or any future events better (who, what, when, where, why and how) on any of the contacts listed here. Thanks for your support and I look forward to sharing with you another event or post in the near future. Cheers.
P.S. As of this week, Foodoofus will be taking another break due to special celebratory reasons, find out on any of social media outlets as to why. We will resume regular issues next week.
-Foodoofus
Location
GameStop:
Cerritos Towne Center
17550 Bloomingfield Ave. Ste. F.
Cerritos, CA 90703
Foodoofus 
Discussion
No comments yet.