#degeest

[scottbcrowley2]

Degeest, Orrino power Central Valley over Lewis and Clark 20-3 - Fri, 14 Oct 2016 PST

Conner Degeest passed for 170 yards with two touchdowns, Braedon Orrino had 210 yards rushing on 33 carries, and Central Valley beat visiting Lewis and Clark 20-3 in a Greater Spokane League 4A game on Friday. Degeest, Orrino power Central Valley over Lewis and Clark 20-3 - Fri, 14 Oct 2016 PST

[vendyawards-blog]

AN INTERVIEW WITH WAFELS & DINGES FOUNDER THOMAS DEGEEST

Thomas DeGeest is the Brussels, Belgium native and former IBM management consultant turned pastry jockey who founded Wafels & Dinges in 2007. At the time of its launch, the gourmet food truck movement in New York City was in a stage of infancy. The crumbs from these tasty Belgium-inspired treats helped to pave a path for an entire movement that would go on to receive international attention. In 2009, Wafels & Dinges was awarded the Vendy Award for Best Dessert, the zenith of two years of bitter work and sweet determination. Like other famous food trucks such as DessertTruck and Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Wafel & Dinges will open a storefront in Lower Manhattan in the fall. Later this summer, a Wafel & Dinges test kitchen with tours and waffle making activities will also be opening to the public, satiating the foodie voyeur needs of the masses.

Here, Thomas DeGeest gives us a rundown on what Wafels & Dinges is up to, and how the business is growing by leaps and bounds.

How has Wafels & Dinges expanded since your 2009 Vendy Awards win? We’re doing very well and we’re having a lot of fun. We went from one truck to two trucks and five carts. One of the most important things that happened is that we got a lot of recognition from the home country thanks to the Vendy’s. Winning the Vendy’s was a very big deal for the people in Belgium to the extent that we got a visit from Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde last year. That was a great recognition for our efforts of improving the waffle quality in New York.

Wafels & Dinges has a test kitchen in the works that will soon be open for tours. What can you tell us about that? We have a prep kitchen which is basically our 6,000 square foot dough production facility in Gowanus, Brooklyn. We’re soon going to be starting tours for people who are interested in seeing how we make the dough and how we get our operations ready at night and things like that. In about a month our so, we’re going to be giving tours.

When people visit the production facility, what will they get to do? You’re going to get a look behind the scenes of how one of New York’s mobile vending businesses operates. You’re going to get to see the process of making Liege waffle dough. You’re going to be able to participate in the process of making the dough. You’re going to make some waffles on site. You’re going to get to see how our storage and loading procedures work for the carts, how seven operations with products are loaded every night. Mobile operations is not an easy thing, so you’re going to get to see how all that works. You’re going to get a close look at our waffle irons to see how heavy they really are. You’re going to learn a little about waffle history and you’re going to learn about different types of waffles in Belgium and the differences in culture between American and Belgium waffles. We’re still putting it together, but it’s going to be interesting.

What is your role within the operations of Wafels & Dinges currently? I still work one day a week in the truck. I love working in the truck still. I think it’s important. One of the things I spend a lot of my time on is figuring out what our store is going to look like. We’re still a growing company, so I’m dealing with some of the more boring parts now of building a business, instead of just operating a truck.

Since the launch of Wafels & Dinges in 2007, how do you think the food truck culture in New York City has changed? There are more trucks, obviously, a lot more than there used to be. There’s also a trend of more carts. I’ve seen some people try to start waffle carts, too, and that’s okay. I think more choices for the people of New York is good. Of course, it brings some logistical problems with it because sometimes there’s a little bit of overcrowding and things like that.

There have been no changes in the regulations for food trucks since I started my business. I know that Street Vendor Project has done some work in terms of lowering fines for vendors, but none of those things have come into effect yet. The main issue is that there are some obsolete laws that are still on the books that the city hasn’t updated and that make it very difficult to operate a truck.

As a founding member of the New York Food Truck Association, how do you think it has influenced the food truck scene? I think it’s a great organization that is very influential in terms of creating a solid culture of collaboration and collegiality between the food trucks. They also try to have a civilized dialogue with the city about what needs to happen in order to improve our industry. Having a dialogue with the city is not always one of the most effective activities you can engage in, but you try.

What advice would you give someone who is interested in opening a food truck? Go to work for another food truck for a year to see if you like it and to get acquainted with the reality. Get acquainted with what it is like to work 16-17 hours a day. If you want to be successful, a lot of times that’s what it is going to take. My best advice is to try it, see how it feels, and if that’s what you want to do, pursue it.

Where is your favorite location in which Wafels & Dinges operates? One of my favorite locations is Park Slope. We’re been going there since the very beginning. We’re been extremely loyal to that spot even though business slows down sometimes during the summer. We make a point of going there and always serving our customers there. The numbers may be higher in Manhattan somewhere, but we have such a great customer base in Park Slope that, for me, its one of our best spots. There’s a lot of history there, five years of going there every single Saturday, being in the same spot consistently. I don’t think there are a lot of food trucks that get celebrated like that.

Editor’s Note:  Lauren Cannon blogs at UpendED, an intensive program for budding entrepreneurs who are interested in launching their enterprises as small-scale mobile units. She also contributes to Inc. and entrepreneur.com. We would like to thank her for her engaging interview series for the Vendy’s Blog. Stay tuned for more interviews with finalists.