Apr 28, 2017Potatoes USA’s Blair Richardson gives a Spud Nation update
As part of the Potatoes USA annual meeting in March, the Denver Spud Nation food truck made a curbside visit so board members and passersby could taste its globally inspired potato cuisine.
“It’s been a great experience. We’ve been able to reach out to a lot of different consumers and the local media in the Denver region,” said Blair Richardson, president and CEO of Potatoes USA. “The Spud Nation food truck has evolved over time. We’ve learned how to operate a food truck, it’s essentially a restaurant on wheels, and restaurants on wheels have a lot of challenges.
“We’re operating the food truck as an independent business, and we expect it to cover its operation costs, after an expected period of time. Right now, we’re running it at up to 12 shifts a week, and we’re adding staff to make sure that as we’re moving into the spring and summer months when we have even more activity, that we’ll have enough people to keep the truck operating and on the streets and in front of consumers.”
Spud Nation is a non-profit, farmer-owned food truck venture that Potatoes USA unveiled to the industry during Potato Expo 2016 in Las Vegas. The truck has now been on the streets for a year, and there is also a Spud Nation food truck in Washington, D.C.
By David Fairbourn, managing editor
