Building a business in a food truck

When Paulette Myrick's husband died in 2010 of liver cancer after 32 years of marriage, she began looking for other ways to support herself, and came up with baking. She had grown up around her grandfather's bakery on 22d and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia and had developed an aptitude.

On Wednesday night, she took one more step toward that goal: She finished a section of a Community College of Philadelphia course called "mobile food truck management."

"After all these years, I liked the fact that I could work for myself and not for anyone else," said Myrick, who earned a culinary arts degree from CCP in 2012 but still works as a housekeeper. "And I enjoyed cooking my baked goods, so I figured that I should expand and let other people taste them and see what they think."

She hopes to set up a cookies-and-cheesecake truck when she completes the certificate program, which is divided into three five-week sections.

Course instructor John Olsen said each section teaches the basic skills of operating a food truck, including "coming up with a concept name, building a brand, developing a logo, and a menu."

Section 2, which Myrick and the other four students in her class completed Wednesday, covered federal, state and local regulations, zoning, licensing and permits. Section 3, which begins next week, will focus on design, budgeting and other aspects of the business.

On Wednesday, Rob Mitchell, owner of the Cow and the Curd food truck, talked to the students about branding. His 23-foot 1999 Chevrolet P30 step van has a distinct logo: a cow riding a bicycle.

"Brand is one of the most important things," said Mitchell. "To me, I think your branding is arguably behind the quality of your product."

Students will not only learn the basics of the business, but will also get financial guidance. The school has partnered with Beneficial Bank in a program that loans graduates $25,000 to $100,000 to set up a truck.

The college began offering the course in September after the networking group Philadelphia Mobile Food Association and the Food Trust, a local nonprofit that aims to end hunger, began showcasing hundreds of food truck vendors around the city.

Assistant Dean Waverly Coleman said the program could be a way for people of limited means to get into the culinary business.

"There's less red tape because you're not asking for a building. You're not going to need as much capital to get started," Coleman said.