Behind the Food Truck: Bohemian BBQ & SXSW Recovery

Posted on 03/10/2020 by Tammie Nolte, Big Fat Writer

SXSW is usually a sure thing and a dream gig for a food truck. Until it’s not. Until there’s a pandemic and SXSW 2020 gets shut down. Some food trucks pre-paid $5K for a spot and pre-funded orders for tons of food, supplies and inventory. Now what?

MEET BOHEMIAN BBQ

Food truck owner Lance Speck from Bohemian Barbecue walks through the financial pains and plans of just one business when the one of the world’s biggest events is canceled.

Bohemian Barbecue started in 2015 with one food trailer. The boho menu targets carnivorous foodies who adore Austin’s TexMex and BBQ fusion. Crowd favorites are brisket tacos, brisket nachos, plus the Frito pie topped with both brisket and pulled pork.

All-rounder Lance Speck is an experienced food trucker, networker, planner and fixer. But he was numb and quiet when the decision to cancel SXSW went public. Bohemian Barbecue has a 3-truck operation which generated $70k in revenue from SXSW 2019. “This might not be a lot for some, but it’s a lot to us. SXSW is about 15% of our annual revenue,” says owner Lance Speck.
A TON OF FOOD & SUPPLIES

“We had most of the month blocked out for SXSW. We also lost Explore UT on Saturday. We were supposed to move in for SXSW EDU Monday. Every year, SXSW makes us financially healthy after a slow January and okay February. We need it.”

Lance was more than generous with information, sent pics and gave a run down of how much inventory is in the cooler.

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BOHEMIAN BARBECUE'S INVENTORY FOR SXSW
SXSW AS A DREAM GIG FOR FOOD TRUCKS

SXSW is a 34-year-old legendary media-music-tech-startup-launch monster event contributing $355.9 million to the local Austin economy in 2019. For food trucks, preparation is everything. 280,000 attendees are looking to eat, drink, snack and graze several times a day for 10 days. A giant helping spent at SXSW goes to catering, restaurants, bars and Austin’s famous food trucks.

REPORT: ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN FROM SXSW 2019

“During SXSW, we work on two different corners of the Austin Convention Center, one on Cesar Chavez one on Trinity and 4th. The third truck is flexible and mobile and can be used for other events. Because so many trucks are fully booked, last minute opportunities usually pop up and companies are willing to pay.”

Lance was feeling SXSW 2020 might be his biggest ever. He was negotiating a lucrative deal for his third flex-truck. “We were in talks and about to close a deal with one of the big companies that backed out early. They were going to pay to completely rewrap our truck with their brand.”

When whispers started and a few companies pulled out because of the coronavirus outbreak, Lance cautiously scaled back pre-orders from last year’s take. With smaller than anticipated crowds, the conservative estimate was to bring in $55K.
DOESN'T INSURANCE COVER THAT?

Rumors had been swirling that the event organizers were covered by insurance if the city cancelled the event. But the within hours of the decision, the Austin Chronicle confirmed with both co-founders in the article SXSW Cancellation Not Covered by Insurance.

“We have a lot of insurance (terrorism, injury, property destruction, weather). However, bacterial infections, communicable diseases, viruses and pandemics are not covered,” said Co-founder and Managing Director Roland Swensonin a text to the Austin Chronicle.

Food truck insurance does not cover a pandemic either. The event was scheduled for March 13-22 and Bohemian Barbecue had pre-events on the books leading up to the kick off.
THE SXSW RECOVERY PLAN

Being $55K to $70K up in March means a food truck can pay for the best festival spots and not sweat out weather, dips and a slow season. But that’s not this story. One food truck is sitting on more than 2000lbs of beef, chicken and pork with no giant event with eaters 3 times a day. This could be financially devastating for a startup truck.

“Since the news was out that some big names were canceling, we didn’t want to be naïve. We waited and ordered conservatively just 2 days before the City of Austin called it off. We now have a ton of inventory that we need to use or lose,” says Lance. That’s not a ‘saying’. Lance ordered more than a ton of meat.

For sure, Bohemian Barbecue has the legs, experience and the go-getter attitude to pull off at least a break even moment. They are leaning on reputation and memorable menu items. Lance started reaching out early to regulars the morning after the news broke and is offering a Boho Box in his new webshop.

“We’ve been able to book a few thousand immediately in catering for people who know us. We are looking to our community and our fans to buy catering for the next two weeks to help us out. We already set up a site at www.bohoboxatx.com,” says Lance.
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…

The good news is that the recovery plan is starting to work. “We have a conference booked for Tuesday and Wednesday. We are trying to book Thursday at a brewery in Cedar Park, and we booked Saturday at the Bluebonnet Beer Company in Round Rock. And we brought in about $1000 in orders off of the website yesterday. Won’t replace the loss, but it will help a little."

As the cases of coronavirus increase, no SXSW 2020 seems like a sensible, but painful decision. Many are still evaluating next steps.

“I get it. But waiting to cancel until so many people ordered all of their inventory really hurt,” explained Lance. “I can imagine that some trucks were hanging by a thread and were looking to SXSW to right the ship. For many businesses, this could kill them.”

The unexpected gift for any food truck family is the extra time. “I might weld a BBQ pit and sell some equipment I don’t use. Then go on the camping trip with my wife and kids that we couldn’t have done before.”

Bohemian Barbecue's motto for SXSW 2020, “When life gives you a pandemic, make some BBQ."

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