KICKSTARTER

Dear Friends,
We've finally done it! Pierogi Wagon is officially the 24th licensed "cook on board" food truck in the City of Chicago!

Through an entire year (nearly to the date) of countless obstacles, daily problems to solve, hours and hours spent underneath the truck on busy Ashland avenue, stringent & confusing city regulations, major budget issues, and the coldest winter in the history of the city, we finally received our license yesterday!  

We've been elated and humbled by this great adventure.

We've learned that everything takes 10x as long as you'd expect and twice as much money as you'd think you would need.

We've become plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders, mechanics, gas spring engineers, graphic designers, automotive painters, truck design wrappers, epoxy experts, and chefs.

We've spent so many nights burning the midnight oil, evenings and weekends, holidays or not--- but it's been SO worth it.

And we'd be nowhere if not for you.

So, again we say- Thank You. So much!

---Now- let's get to the good stuff :)---

We will be on the streets for lunch service Monday through Friday and will be available for events, catering and private parties starting now. Let us know if you know if there's anywhere you'd like to see us!

In the weeks that follow, we will be at Hyde Park every Tuesday and Thursday as well as Clark & Monroe on Fridays, Other days are TBD, please check the Pierogi Wagon Twitter or Facebook for upcoming schedules.

Unfortunately, we haven't quite mastered the art of web development- so the website is coming shortly. 


---Now- for the rewards!---
We've just sent the survey for T-Shirt sizes and Designs :) If you're a backer who got a t-shirt, please fill it out as soon as you have the chance so we can get the t-shirts printed.

The cookbook is still a work in progress- but we're working on it and expect to have it ready for you soonish. We will send it out to those who have digital cookbook and physical cookbook with the apron the moment it's ready!

As to the Pierogi Rewards- we have a backer list on board the truck. Just bring your smiling face and introduce yourself (with ID, for verification purposes) to grab the most amazing lunch you'll ever have!

For the backers with Catering rewards- please contact us at damian@eatpierogiwagon.com to work out scheduling.

We assure you- your rewards do not expire. You can pick up pierogi rewards whenever our paths cross.

As you can imagine, Izzy has grown in the past year. She's still small enough to fit in a pot, though!

 
We hope to see you at the truck soon! We'll be in touch.

 Thank You!

Damian, Jessica & Izzy

Here is yet another update of the status of the Pierogi Wagon so far. Up until now there was not really any good, confirmed news that I could report back to you since the last time I wrote. It’s been very frustrating to have the food truck built but yet not on the streets. There is not a minute in the day when I don’t think about it. I wanted you to know that I am in this business with all my heart and hope to get it all up and running very soon. Since the last time I sent the update I mentioned all the problems that are preventing us from going forward. The two stalling components were the generator and the shared kitchen. I do have good news on both fronts. The old generator did not start working with the new electric control board and after troubleshooting we discovered that the voltage controller also needed to be replaced. To have the generator taken care professionally, get the new component installed properly and everything else fine tuned; we outsourced this task to the local company that specializes in generators. With everything replaced, the generator ran great for about 15 minutes and then suddenly started smoking from inside, ruining the generator and making it unsalvageable. Personally, this is one of those moments where you want to give up knowing how much money time and hope is invested in. We then decided that purchasing brand new commercial generator, even though extremely expensive, would be the most beneficial decision. We are expecting this 3k generator to be delivered this Tuesday. We also have received good news regarding our shared kitchen: It will be fully operational and ready for our use in January. All in all, it is finally coming together and things are starting looking brighter. As soon as we get licensed, there are a lot of changes coming. Although it will be a massive change, I will be quitting my day job and committing all my time to running the food truck. We will also host the long awaited launch party and fulfill all other rewards as soon as possible. Thanks again for all your support! If you have any questions, comments or simply want to talk, you can always call me at 312.291.1902 Regards

Hello to all you amazing people!

We've made progress by leaps and bounds since the last time we spoke and we're excited to say that we're nearly there!

What have we done? Tons. Electrical, epoxy flooring, painted the truck, redesigned our branding, plumbing, wrapped the truck (!), and finished buying our equipment. All of those were done with our own labor and each discipline has included a steep learning curve. But, as we all know, small business owners have to wear many hats. And we've been doing our best.

What's left to do? The in-line generator needs to be done by a licensed mechanic. That's this week's task. After that, it's just a matter of tidying up loose ends, making the truck nice and shiny and going to the city for approval (wish us luck!) We're also planning on applying for a Dupage county license, so suburbanites: look out for us!

We're currently looking for a covered and/or fenced parking space in wrigleyville, ravenswood, or northcenter. If you know anyone who has a parking spot for rent in those areas, let us know!

Our budget is extremely tight, so we want to be sure that we are able to get the truck finished before we print t-shirts and other rewards. But we are constantly thinking about you guys and will absolutely fulfill your rewards as soon as physically possible. Your patience has been astounding. Thank you.
We've included tons of pictures and videos of the progress so far: painting the truck (that was quite the adventure), wrapping it with Mark Your Space, Inc, cutting out the table for our 4 compartment sink. Enjoying a cold one from Revolution after a long day's work. The hot box and equipment boxes that have been taking up half our living room. Treasure hunting at the metal scrap yard. Izzy's fascination with our newly yellow truck and her patiently playing while we tag-teamed working in the truck.

Your support means the world to us and we can't wait to burn some rubber on the streets!