Kickstarter

Hi everybody, 

Wanted to share a little update with you guys.  We wanted to let you know the T Shirts are in and we are in the process of getting them packed up and shipped, you should have them soon!  The prints are ordered but have not come in yet, but hopefully very soon.  I think you'll really like them. Thank you for your patience.  The last month has been a whirlwind!  We have had the Oki Doki truck out to a few events and they have gone really well.  Thanks to your support, we are in business!

We were at the "Mayor's Food Truck FIesta" in downtown Tampa today, which is a monthly food truck rally for the downtown lunchtime crowd.  We had a great time and it was a very successful day.  We served everybody good food and it was affordable and fast.  Here is a link to a write up from the food writer for the Tampa Tribune.  He tried the Chuka Soba today!  Thank you everybody.  We did it!  Everything is Oki Doki!

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/life/comments/new-food-trucks-in-tampa-ask-me-how-im-doing-...-oki-doki/

Thanks to each and every one of you!  Check it our success made the papers!  The Tampa Bay Times interviewed me about the Kickstarter project.  Thank you again for all your help.  The truck is currently in the shop for a huge repair on the rear end, but should be up and running in about a week or so.  

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/corporate/more-entrepreneurs-turn-to-crowdfunding-to-start-their-businesses/1234423

While I am excited about the publicity from the above article, I am dissappointed in the misstatement of facts.  As all of you know, I DID NOT do this Kickstarter project to raise money for truck repairs.  I did it for the sole purpose of raising funds to get Ruben Aquino's artwork on the truck.  I am sending a letter to the editor of the paper to set the record straight. 

We are in the process of ordering the printed items for the rewards and will have them out to you soon.  The t-shirts are in and we are just waiting on the prints and the thank you cards.  Thanks for your patience!  Can't wait to get out there and start selling some noodles!

You guys are OKI DOKI!!!!

Again, thank you for your overwhelming support!  As you probably have seen by now, we not only met our goal, but far surpassed it!  Just thought I'd give you an update on whats been happening.

The artwork is about 80% completed on the truck.  We had enough of it done to have a "launch party" on May 20th.  This was a great opportunity for us to have a trial run on the truck and get some feedback to see what works and what doesn't work.  We had a great turn out.  I would estimate we probably served about 80 to 100 people in a 4 hour period.  We served spring rolls, gyoza (potstickers), chuka soba (cold noodles), soki soba (hot soba noodles in broth w/pork sparerib and vegetables), and Korean short ribs and kimchi rice.  Everything was a hit for the most part.  The item we had the most trouble with was the gyoza.   We went back to the "test kitchen" and we believe we rectified those issues.  We can't wait to serve some up at our first official booking on June 16th!

We've been working with the contractor doing the artwork and can't wait til its finished. We ran into a few "blips" but they are working to fix the situation.  We should have the completed artwork done this week.  Unfortunately we also ran into a severe issue with the rear differential (?) on the truck.  Our trusted mechanic is on a nation wide hunt for parts.  The bill for this repair is going to be about $2000, so thank God and you for your contributions, as we are already dealing with our first unanticipated expense before we even get on the road.  Our first job is about 30 miles away, so its vital that the truck is in top running order.

I am including a picture of the truck so you can see how it looks, which I believe its AWESOME!!  We are so excited about it and can't wait to get out there and start serving up some Okinawan treats to the people of the Tampa Bay area!

Also, we will be sending out a survey from Kickstarter regarding your rewards and what the next step is.  We hope to have all of them fulfilled and out the door before the end of June.  

Again, thank you so much for your financial support, friendship, and prayers.  Please continue to pray for us as these coming months will be challenging and a bit frightening, but exciting!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!  To each and every one of you that backed us, a million thanks.  Never in a million years did I think we'd hit $10,000 on this project.  All we were hoping for was enough money to get Ruben and Nat's creative genius a proper mounting on the truck.  We now have enough money to get some other necessities and fund our inventory for our first booking.  We have incredible friends, family and supporters.  We will not let you down and we will keep you updated on our progress.  While the money is important, the most meaningful thing coming from this is the number of people that have had faith in us and our endeavor.  We will never forget what you have done for us to help us make this happen.  It is beyond my wildest dreams.  

We are amazed and grateful that we made our initial goal so quickly (in just about 24 hours).  We thought, why not have a 2nd goal?  With 5 days left on the project, we only need $193 to finish up with $10,000!  So, can we do it?  I think we can, but again, we need your help!  Spread the word to anybody you think would be interested in checking out our project.  Remind them we do have incentives, we don't want something for nothing!  If you are excited to visit Renny's Oki Doki and you plan on bringing a friend, you don't want to be the only one that gets free food, tell your friends they can get free food too! For just a $10 donation, they can be a "backer" and get free spring rolls when they visit the truck!  Get the word out and know we are beyond thankful for all you have done for us.....  We can't wait to get on the road!