COLLEGE STATION COMING NOV 2024!
COMING SOON
COCO SHRIMP
Follow our adventures
INTRODUCING THE KEIKI (KIDS) PLATE!
FEB, 28, 2023
We included a quick video of the condition in which we found our second food truck, and a little about how we have transformed it thus far. It had been abandoned in a field for 30 years when we found it, so needless to say we had to put a lot of work into it! Shout out to Richard and Dave for all your help and expertise!
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For those interested in what it takes to get a food truck going, and maybe interested in starting one of your own, we have included a basic list of things we wish we had known when we built our first truck. And we will start with this preface; When we started our venture of opening Coco Shrimp, we had very few funds. This gave us the opportunity to be creative and find ways to cut costs. This has given us the unique feel we have today.
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1. THE TRUCK – A lot of people think you need to buy an already built out truck that has an already functioning commercial kitchen, but there are other options - we took the route (as we are doing now with our second truck) of finding a vehicle that can be converted into a food truck. Fun fact: when we purchased Coco Shrimp truck No.1 we found out pretty quickly that Isaac (one of the owners) couldn't even stand up straight in it, so make sure you find a truck with enough room for your needs! In order to outfit your truck with a kitchen, you can find a certified mobile kitchen contractor to do your dirty work. This will be one of your larger expenses so shop around, get quotes and compare prices!
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2. KITCHEN EQUIPMENT – You can definitely budget to buy your equipment new, but if you want to save a little, you can find a resturant equipment auction in your area and buy refurbished equipment. This equipment often comes from restaurants that are closing that still have perfectly good stuff. This helped us save a ton! For example a brand new fryer can easily set you back $1000, but at an auction you can find one for around $200.
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3. COMMISSARY - This is a place you dump and fill your water. Also if you don't have much room on your food truck, this is also the place you will need to store products used on your truck. So either get really good at predicting how much food you need for the day so you don't have any product waste, or use your commissary to extra store products.
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4. GENERATOR - Have a good generator. A generator is how you will supply your truck with electricity and it allows you to be mobile. We suggest looking for an Inverter generator. They are a fairly new technology and are not as loud as traditional generators. This way your atmosphere is not nearly as noisy and your customers can carry conversations. They are a little more pricey but worth the extra few bucks because they are safer for your truck and 5 times quieter.
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5. TRUCK EXTERIOR - Have fun decorating your truck. Every other food truck is shrink wrapped. Not only did we save a lot by hand painting our truck, but it has really helped it stand out. We have gone to many events with big industrial food trucks and ours is always unique. We get tons of questions about it and people are often drawn to our truck because of its not-so-typical look!
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6. PERMITS - There are a few, and they are pretty accessible online in most areas. They also differ depending on your area of operation so take some time to research what they are. Also be sure to stay in touch with Consumer - Health throughout your buildout. This is especially important if you have a more unique concept like we did. After we were finished outfitting our food truck and ready to be approved we were told that in the city of Fort Worth you are not allowed to cook raw shrimp in a mobile truck. We ended up having to go through a lot of appeals and a lot of trips to consumer health in order to get our concept approved.
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7. LOCATION - A great place to start is in a local food park. This is a place where you can find a lot of food trucks parked in the same place. Here in Fort Worth, we have The Fort Worth Food Park and the Clearfork Food Park. Chuck, the owner, is a really great guy and is always looking for new trucks to put in the rotation. Its a great community and you will learn a lot from the other vendors . Its an awesome place to start out, especially if you don't have a ton of cash. You don't have to pay rent to park there, you just give them a small percentage of your sales at the end of the night.
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8. CASH VS CARD - Cash only is a thing of the past. Nobody caries cash anymore. You will get a lot more customers if you go to a bank and open a business account. Just go and tell them you want to run credit cards. Banks will be wanting your business so do your research and compare rates.
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9. OPERATIONS: Food trucks are known for having long wait times because of the limited staff and the limited space. Find THE most efficient way to cook and prepare your food. This is even something we struggle with still. We make our food fresh, cooked to order and this can increase wait times. So explore all your options, do dry runs on friends and family before opening.
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We hope these basic tips will help some of you out there! Let us know if you have any further questions or want us to go into more detail about anything! We are so excited to be opening our second truck and are stoked to share it with y'all!
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COMES TO COCO!
Oct 30, 2017
As a food truck whose roots were formed in Hawaii, we love everything Polynesian! When Disney's Moana came out we were over the moon! It portrays a lot of the culture that is seen in Hawaii today. So naturally we knew a Moana night was a must for Coco Shrimp! Children came dressed in their costumes to stand and get a picture with Moana and we even had a couple mini Moanas! The Children were greeted with a lei, a tradition from Hawaii and from many Polynesian countries. We also had a Polynesian tattoo station where kids recieved "Maui stye" tattoos! It was a night of fun and good food!
We are so greatful to those who came and hope everyone has a safe fun Halloween!
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Find your picture below and click to download!
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY COCO
Mar 9th 2017
Coco Shrimp’s one year mark is officially behind us! We celebrated our first successful year with a Hawaiian Luau. The Toloa Polynesian Dancers performed all night bringing a piece of Hawaii to Texas. Upon rolling over this momentous occasion, we were reminded not only of the many people who helped and encouraged us but of the struggles we encountered during this awesome adventure.
It all began way back in August 2015, when we took the plunge and bought a food truck…well, not exactly a food truck, it was originally a beat-up 1970s ambulance. Throughout the next few months, Isaac completely gutted and converted the truck into what you see today. And if it looks like it was made in someone’s back yard, thats because it was. (Shout out to our parents! Thanks for letting us destroy your back yard!) Fun Fact: The wood used on the truck is from our back yard fence that a storm blew over the day before. *perfect timing huh?!*.
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After finally getting the truck converted and no longer looking like an old ambulance, it was time to get the permits and the truck inspected. Opening day was just around the corner, or so we thought! Unfortunately, our converted ambulance was still better suited to help wounded people than to serve shrimp. Coco Shrimp was denied permits four separate times before getting the go ahead to open. Fun fact: When we eventually got our permit, we were told that it is against city policy to cook raw seafood on a food truck. As you can imagine, this is where we thought our journey had come to an end. But! Thanks to Isaac’s determination, he wrote a proposal to the city and literally changed the law in Fort Worth to be able to cook raw seafood on the truck. We are now the first and only seafood mobile vendor in Fort Worth.
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BOOM. Fast forward to opening day! WE DID IT! Not. Opening day seemed perfect. Friends and family came from miles around to be there to support us and just as we went to turn on our fryers, the propane refused to work. This truly was one of the most discouraging set backs but we refused to give up. Opening was pushed back a day while Isaac spent the whole night working on the propane lines. The next morning however, went a lot better. Not so fun fact: Isaac and his family had spent all of their savings and maxed out their credit cards to open the truck. If they weren't able to open that weekend they wouldn't have had enough money to stay open the next weekend. Things definitely were tight but I think its safe to say someone was rooting for us.
Over the next few months Coco Shrimp took off. After much convincing, Isaac persuaded his brother-in-law, Jordan, to quit his corporate job in California and join the Coco Shrimp team! Together, our two families were able to grow Coco Shrimp into what it is today. Coco Shrimp won Dallas A-list's “Best Food Truck of 2016” in North Texas and was also awarded “Best Food Truck in Texas” by People’s Choice Awards. Today we have over 100 reviews on Yelp and have a 5-Star rating. In the beginning we were open only on the weekends at food truck parks and the truck was ran by Isaac and his siblings, Anna and Dallas. Now, we have a permanent location where we’re op en six days a week with nine awesome employee's. Coco Shrimp is currently working on opening its second truck. Does anyone have a broken fence we can use? Just kidding.
We are grateful to everyone who has helped and encouraged us along the way. And lets not forget about our loyal customers, we wouldn't be here without you!
We look forward to our upcoming adventures! Stay tuned!
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ISAAC HADLEY
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Isaac is the Founder and Owner of Coco Shrimp. He is over operations and ensuring every person and every plate behind our window lives up to the Coco Shrimp name.
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• Future Pipe Pro Surfer (he wishes...)
• Once broke both his knees cliff jumping
• Played college tennis & ran cross country for BYU-Hawaii
• Can quote any line from every Disney Movie...(Don't believe me? Test him.)
• His morning jogs aren't complete without listening to Enya.
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LAUREN HADLEY
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Lauren is Head of Social Media. Taking pictures has become her new hobby. If you're wondering who's responsible for our beautiful food photography and lifestyle shots, it's her.
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• Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada
• Half Filipino
• Loves celebrity gossip
• Could survive off of Coke Slurpees and McDonalds. All day, 'er day.
• Her dream is to be a judge on Food Network's Chopped.
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MEET THE CREW
Oct 6th 2016
JORDAN BARRUS
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Jordan is the Co-Owner of Coco Shrimp and specializes in Marketing. He is in charge of promoting all that is Coco Shrimp. He left behind his corporate job to join his brother-in-law and help expand the business.
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• Lives for Sonic's Strawberry Watermelon Cream Slush
• Can quote every line from The Office
• Speaks fluent Portuguese
• Loves to spear fish
• Likes to pull pranks. See link below.
https://www.youtube.com/jordprank
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MARY BARRUS
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Mary is Coco Shrimp's Graphic Designer. She created the logo as a project in college when Coco Shrimp was nothing more than a dream.
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• Artist and Graphic Designer
• Can spend hours in a Thrift store
• Having trouble getting ahold of her? So am I. Her phone is always lost
• Would have 100 cats if Jordan would let her
• Has candy on her person at all times
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MAILI HADLEY
(Pronounced Miley) Dare devil. Take your eyes off her, and she's climbing up something
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MEA HADLEY
Can never be found without a babydoll
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ELLIE BARRUS
Singing nursery rhymes 24/7
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JACK BARRUS
Pretty much still a blob (only 3m old)
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