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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recently released the results from a 12-month study of the $2.7 billion American food truck industry. Despite being part of the fastest-growing portion of the broader food service industry, many food truck owners grapple with heavy regulatory burdens and high compliance costs, the Food Truck Nation report's authors found.As the owner of Makina Cafe, New York's first woman-owned Eritrean-Ethiopian Food Truck, Eden Gebre-Egziabher has dealt with these issues firsthand. ABC News and Good Morning America interviewed the MBA holder about her experiences, including receiving as many as four parking tickets in a single day while simply trying to serve hungry customers.
"I'm very thankful that GMA took the time to highlight Makina Cafe and draw attention to the regulatory burdens and high costs for food truck owners," Gebre-Egziabher said, "I'm passionate about introducing people to all the intricacies of Eritrean-Ethiopian cuisine and hope they enjoy the vibrant mix of aromas and tastes that I grew up with. It has been a dream of mine for many years to own a food truck, and the experience has been truly rewarding. At the same time, much more can be done to make it easier for food truck owners in New York and elsewhere in the country to safely serve the many who are interested in what they have to offer."
Born in Ethiopia to parents of Eritrean heritage, Gebre-Egziabher was exposed to Italian cultural influences throughout her formative years. The experience of growing up in such a vibrant, diverse environment instilled in her a deep conviction about the value of bridging cultural divides to foster understanding, tolerance, and appreciation for the backgrounds of others.
After receiving an MBA in Marketing, Gebre-Egziabher decided to open New York City's first female-owned food truck featuring Eritrean-Ethiopian cuisine. Along the way, she was forced to overcome many seemingly unnecessary regulatory hurdles, with New York ranking ninth among the cities studied in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report with regard to the difficulty of starting and running a food truck.
With a year of highly successful Makina Cafe operation under her belt nonetheless, Gebre-Egziabher was recently featured in a Good Morning America television segment and in an ABC News report on the Food Truck Nation study. Despite having been the single fastest-growing part of the food service for years, the food truck business is increasingly seen as needlessly hostile to newcomers and veterans alike.
"We are seeing a real slow-down in growth," U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Carolyn Cawley was quoted as saying in the recent ABC News story. "Some of the owners said they might hang it up. It's too hard... It would be a real shame if regulation and red tape ended up stalling this revolution in American cuisine."
For her own part, Gebre-Egziabher maintains a highly positive outlook despite the obstacles she has encountered in the course of Makina Cafe's first year of operation. With New Yorkers eagerly seeking out the truck's Habesha cuisine, she hopes to bring the experience to other cities and to use the platform to pursue a number of community-oriented charitable goals in the future.
About Makina Cafe Inc.:
The Makina Cafe food truck serves healthy, nutritious Eritrean-Ethiopian Habesha cuisine to New Yorkers in search of something different and delicious for breakfast or lunch.
Contact Info:
Name: Eden G. Egziabher
Email: Send Email
Organization: Makina Cafe Inc.
Address: 34-18 Northern Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: +1 (917) 426-5649
Website: http://makinacafenyc.com/
Release ID: 323400
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