ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque chef took what she learned from a television competition and used it to change her business plan. That means switching from a food truck to a food trailer.
Chef Marie Yniguez isn’t afraid to tackle a challenge. First, as chef and owner of Slow Roasted Bocadillos and then as a competitor on “The Great American Food Truck Race”.
“The day before I left I was about to purchase a food truck,” said Yniguez. Now, she’s on a new adventure.
“When I was gone I realized everything I did not want in a food truck,” said Yniguez. She changed a once-solid plan and personalized it. “I got back and I decided I am going to build out my own,” said Yniguez.
She turned a regular 5-foot by 8-foot trailer into a full-blown truck without the engine. “I know exactly what I want, I know what I need. I have a vision in my head that I need to do,” said Yniguez.
The project took about four months, as pieces were welded together, a smoker installed, and enough room for two people inside. The limited space isn’t an entirely new concept.
“When you are in a kitchen and you are in your position and when you’re where you are supposed to be in that kitchen you have to have a box and I literally built a box,” said Yniguez. The mobile space gives Yniguez the freedom to get creative.
“I want to do different things. I’m still learning the truck, I’m still learning how to smoke,” she said. She hopes the smell of smoked meat and goodies will invite the community to come out and connect safely.
“Just make it an event so we can bring our community back together. Our community got so far apart that its going to be nice to be a part of getting our community back together,” said Yniguez.
The trailer can pop up anywhere. Smokin’ Freds 46 will be outside the Wells Fargo building in downtown Albuquerque during the second weekend in May. If you want to see where they will be next, visit the Smokin’ Freds 46 Facebook page.
