Assisted by ASBTDC Lead Center at UA Little Rock
Consultant Eileen Devereux Dailey
Food Truck Brings Venezuelan Flavor to Area
While central Arkansas has many Mexican restaurants, a new Little Rock-based food truck is serving up flavors from even farther south.
Sisters Mercedes and Consuelo Jaimes are natives of Venezuela. They own and operate Tren Al Sur food truck with other members of their family.
“We love to cook and to share and we want people to learn more about our culture and identity,” said Mercedes. “But one of the main reasons to start this business was the realization that there were few Latin American food options, specifically from South America, in this town. In our culture’s cuisine, there are a ton of different flavors and mixtures of flavors, so we decided to make a fusion of flavors.”
The menu lists six versions of arepas, which are grilled or fried corn patties that are crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, and stuffed with different fillings. They also serve five kinds of empanadas, along with tequenos and agua de panela, a sugar cane and lemon drink.
Tren Al Sur debuted at The Bramble Market’s Bramble Harvest Festival Oct. 20 and was at the Night Market at Bernice Garden on Nov. 2. The truck made its first appearance at the new Rail Yard two weeks later and has adopted 1222 W. Capitol Ave. as its regular spot. Tren Al Sur also caters private events.
As the sisters’ plans took shape in spring 2018, Mercedes retired from her job and they both began working on the project full time. While looking for the right truck, the Jaimeses researched the food truck business and reached out to advisers.
“We finally found a small bus used to transport people with disabilities, and without thinking much about it we bought it. It satisfied every requirement we were looking for in our vision for our food truck,” said Mercedes. “We then started working on adapting it right away, making sure we were adhering to all the local laws and standards for this type of business operation.”
With assistance from friends and family, they spent about six months converting the bus into a food truck. A family friend helped retrofit the bus for its new purpose, while a nephew handled the electrical work and a niece found the best deals on equipment.
The Small Business Administration referred them to the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where they connected with business consultant Eileen Devereux Dailey.
She helped them get their plans on paper and, conveniently, corresponded and conversed with them in Spanish, their first language.
“We were guided in the best way to make sure to plan correctly so we would leave little room for error,” Mercedes said. “Because starting is hard, receiving any help goes a long way and made it easier for us.”
They also attended the center’s Starting a Business in Arkansas seminar taught in Spanish, part of a startup series sponsored by the City of Little Rock. Mercedes said the class made her “realize that planning ahead is the best way to start any type of business.”
The ASBTDC “has certainly been a great help, and the best part of it all was that it happened at no cost,” she added.
Tren Al Sur means “Train to the South.”