Detroit, July 18, 2011 – El Guapo, Detroit’s first city-sanctioned food truck, will open for business at the corner of Randolph and Monroe in Greektown on July 18.
The owners, Anthony Curis and Douglas Runyon, have a six-month temporary special use permit from the City of Detroit to begin operations. They have been working with the city for several months to make certain they meet city standards. They hope to feed about 200 customers a day during lunch and dinner.
“We’ve been working on this for more than a year,” said Curis.”We visited other cities with successful food truck operations such as Austin, New York, Washington, DC, Portland and Cleveland. We know it can be a success in Detroit as well. Everything is coming full circle here. Urban farming and the local food movement is taking hold in Detroit and our food truck is another part of that reinvention.”
El Guapo will sell tacos, burritos and other Mexican specialties as well as local desserts. Two kinds of all natural taco shells will be offered, neither of which have additives. One is gluten-free, made solely out of corn, lime and water. The second is made from washed wheat flour. Chips are also made from corn and lime. All food sources are based in Detroit and include:
-Fairway Meat Packing
-Hacienda Mexican Foods
-Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company
-Pink Elephant Cupcakes
-Faygo
-Michigan Green Safe Products
“We believe food trucks are just what Detroit needs,” said Runyon. “We are pleased the city is giving us the opportunity to prove ourselves and create model for the other food trucks that will follow us.”
Both Runyon and Curis are native Metro Detroiters with a passion for the city. Runyon just returned from a year in Las Vegas opening the four-star Jean-Georges Steakhouse and has most recently been operating Michael Mina’s Saltwater and Bourbon Steak.
“I wanted to come back to Detroit. My family is here. I have a great appreciation for the people and city. Detroit is a real city,” he said.
Curis is a Detroit real estate developer, who is also developing a project Downtown and is on the Board of Directors for the Heidelberg Project.
