D.C. Real Estate Agent Interviews Doug Povich, Owner of the Red HookLobster Truck

As a Real Estate Agent in D.C., VA, and MD, in addition to selling houses and helping people find their home, I feel it is my duty to connect to the neighborhood around me.  In this interview, I speak with Doug Povich, Owner of the Red Hook Lobster Truck. (Photos Courtesy of Red Hook Lobster Truck)

Kevin:  Doug,what were you doing before the truck?

Doug:  Beforethe truck my full-time profession was what it still is:  I’m apartner at Squire Sanders LLP.  I have a partner, Leland Morris, whoruns the day-to-day food truck operations.

Kevin:  Howdid the idea for the Red Hook Lobster Truck come to fruition?

Doug:  Myfamily is originally from Maine.  My cousin Susan and herhusband Ralph live in Brooklyn, New York.  Red Hook, Brooklyn,to be exact.  A few years back they were tossing around the idea ofwhat to do with a storefront they owned.   Ralph came up with an idea,saying “Why don’t I drive up to Maine, fill up my truck with live, fresh lobsterand we can bring it back to Brooklyn and sell it on the weekends?”  Theyboth kind of pondered the idea and decided to give it a try.  

Kevin:  Andwas it successful?

Doug:  Everyload of lobster sold out in a day and a half.  It was immensely popularbecause it was so fresh.  

Kevin:  Sohow did their business reach you in the form of a truck?

Doug:  Inaddition to the storefront, Susan and Ralph started selling lobster rollsat the Brooklyn Flea Market.  They received great reviews andinterest from their customers.   One day Susan and I were talking and sheasked me if I wanted to help expand the business to DC.  I told her I hada full-time job but that if I could do a food truck.  I knew someone I thoughtcould help.  I approached Leland who was a Culinary Institutegraduate and in food sales, and I asked him:  “Do you have an interest indoing a food truck and bringing the taste of Maine to the folks of DC?”  Andhe said “Well as a matter of fact, yes, I do!”

Kevin:  Andso it began.

Doug:  Yep. Leland is responsible for operations.  I’m responsible for thetrucks and the finances.  It’s a big help to have two sets of expertise -one for the food and another for the trucks.  There are a lot of trucksout there that have just one person.  That’s hard.  There are alot of varying techniques and expertise required.  There isa technical side to a truck, and there is also the cooking aspect whichobviously requires different talent.  Many people try to start trucksand quickly realize it’s an incredible amount of work.

Kevin:  Themaintenance on the trucks must potentially be problematic to business.

Doug:  Thesetrucks break down all the time.  If you are in a position where you onlyhave one truck, and it breaks down for a day, or a week or longer…well, you’llbe out of business in no time.  Regarding the trucks’ maintenance youpretty much need someone on call all the time.

Kevin:  Soyou have more than one truck?

Doug:  Two. We started August 19^th, 2010. We started in Farragut Square and there was literally a line aroundthe entire square:  300 people in line waiting for us.  Soldout in a few hours.  So we thought, “Whoa!  We may be on tosomething here!”  Within four months we knew we needed another truck.  Webuilt another truck that winter that was delivered in April the following year. So then we gave ourselves the green light:  two trucks andtrying to sync all the social media possible to make ourselves known.  

Kevin:  Whois actually on the truck during the day?  How does it operate?

Doug:  Duringthe summer months there are four people on the truck:  our Crew Chief; ourGrill-Person (because we grill our buns); our Assembly Individual; and theExpediter.  The Crew Chief deals with all the crazy things that happen outon the streets, which isn’t an easy job (laughs).

Kevin:  Andthe rolls?

Doug:  Wehave two styles of rolls.  We have our “Connecticut style:” warm lobstermeat poached in butter; the other is the traditional “Maine style” lobsterroll, which consists of cold lobster meat lightly dressed in our house-madelemon-based mayonnaise. And we recently introduced our lobster BLT.   Inthe winter we do a clam chowder and we add another person to handle that extraitem on the menu.

Kevin:  Whatabout parking the truck?  Issues there?

Doug:  Underthe current regulations in D.C. right now, you can only parklegally for two hours.  Therefore, we have to be fast withthe food.  We want as many lobster rolls in the hands of customersas possible, so our team on the trucks works hard throughout the day. It’s a fast paced job handling the dynamics inside the truck. 

Kevin:  Whatabout your routes?  Are they planned?

Doug:  Whenwe first started the routes weren’t planned.  The whole operation was morerandom.  As momentum picked up our followers demanded a more regularschedule so we came up with a monthly schedule for one of the trucks. The second truck is half-scheduled on a weekly basis so the rest ofthe stops are wildcard.  That's so when people on Facebook andTwitter say “Hey!  Why don’t you come over to our neighborhood!” we cansay “we’re on our way!”  We need to have some flexibility.

Kevin:  Howmany areas do you cover?

Doug:  Weare permitted in DC, Montgomery County, Fairfax County and Arlington County. We are one of the few trucks that has all three states covered. We are working on getting into Alexandria.

Kevin:  Whatis the stopping Red Hook from getting into Alexandria? 

Doug:  Fromwhat I’ve heard there was an experiment in Alexandria with food carts (nottrucks) that wasn’t great because they limited the carts to existingrestaurants.  We really want to be in Alexandria.  We have openedcommunications with the folks there and that process is underway so we'll see.

Kevin:  Isee.  And what do you think is the most enjoyable part about all of this? 

Doug:  Probablythe instant gratification you get when a customer comes up to the truck andthey are so excited, and they have heard so much about us, and they get theirroll, and they’re ecstatic. It feels great to know you have made someoneexcited about their day.  Also, it’s an excitement that may not be availableto them during their work day (laughs).  I’m also on the Board of the DCFood Truck Association.  That is also very gratifying.  We’ve beenworking with the city rewriting the 30 year old vending regulations which needto be updated.  The Food Truck Association is analogous to an incubatorhelping small businesses grow.  We still have got a ways to go withgetting the powers that be to see the light, but we are cautiously optimisticthe right thing will eventually happen.

Kevin:  Andwhat about the Red Hook Lobster Truck five years from now?

Doug:  Wewould like to expand.  We'd like to be in Alexandria, Baltimore, closer tothe beach, and Annapolis.  Eventually, we'd like to get into a bricks andmortar space.  If I'm going to be able to retire I am going to need abricks and mortar space (laughs).  I also hope we can get someregulations in place soon that will show how mobile vending can be awin-win-win for the city and its residents, workers and visitors: additional revenue for the city through reasonable fees and taxes,providing choices to customers in developed areas and bringing great foodto developing areas that may not have any real choices regardingrestaurants, and helping a new and exciting group of small businessentrepreneurs grow into larger businesses with many employees.  Also,we hope to see our trucks continue to be a part of the social phenomenon offood trucks that contributes to the diverse fabric and vibrancy of the city. So, getting the right regulations in place is paramount, and we hopeto have that soon.

Kevin:  WellDoug, I really appreciate you meeting with me and talking about your business.

Doug:  Thanks,Kevin.  It’s always fun to talk about the truck.