The Grilled Cheese Truck
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The Grilled Cheese Truck is a
food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...
company serving gourmet "chef driven"
grilled cheese sandwich A grilled cheese (sometimes known as a toasted sandwich or cheese toastie) is a hot sandwich typically prepared by heating one or more slices of cheese between slices of bread, with a cooking fat such as butter, on a frying pan, griddle, or san ...
es. The company started in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 2009, and has since expanded throughout
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
,
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
and
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.


Overview

The Grilled Cheese Truck started as a joint venture between Dave Danhi (a Los Angeles-based chef) and Michele Grant (chef and
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
). Danhi devised the idea when he competed in the 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, a grilled cheese competition that takes place every Spring in Los Angeles, California. As he left the competition and saw the food trucks lined up outside, as well as the interest in grilled cheese from the competition, he got the idea to open the "grilled cheese food truck". After several discussions with Grant, they decided to open up a gourmet grilled cheese truck together in Los Angeles. Referencing both of their culinary backgrounds, the tag line for the truck is: "Chef driven Grilled Cheese, ‘cause that’s how we roll..." The Grilled Cheese Truck has been awarded accolades including "10 Best Grilled Cheese Trucks" and one of the "Top 10 Sandwiches in LA". Grant, Danhi and the truck have had television appearances on ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
,'' ''
Unwrapped ''Unwrapped'', also known as ''Unwrapped with Marc Summers'', is an American television program on Food Network that reveals the origins of sponsored foods. It first aired in June 2001 and is hosted by Marc Summers. The show leads viewers on tou ...
, House of Food,
Be Our Guest "Be Our Guest" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991). Recorded by American actor Jerry Orbach and English actress Angela Lansbury ...
,
The Rachael Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in Broadcast syndication, syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea St ...
, The Joan and Melissa Show, ''and
The Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting p ...
. Danhi's grilled cheese recipes have appeared in talk shows, magazines, blogs and cookbooks.''


History and business activity

2009 - 2012: In 2009, The Grilled Cheese Truck was launched in Los Angeles by Hollywood chef and entrepreneur Michele Grant and celebrity chef Dave Danhi. The company got its start with only one truck, but from the very beginning was a huge hit in the burgeoning Los Angeles Gourmet Food Truck scene. Within six months Grant and Danhi had added a second truck and were expanding not just their physical reach within the greater Los Angeles area, but their social media reach as well. By the third anniversary of the truck's opening, it had well upwards of 170,000 followers via Twitter and Facebook spanning the entire globe. The Grilled Cheese Truck had become a go to destination for tourists visiting Los Angeles, with several couples "meeting their match" while waiting in line to buy food from the truck. During this time, according to Mr. Danhi who co-owned the business, the trucks generated gross revenues of $12,000 to $15,000 per week ($624,000 to $780,000 on an annualized basis) and net cash flow of $112,000 to $156,000 on an annualized basis. At the time of the completion of sale of The Grilled Cheese Truck to TRIG Acquisition at the end of October 2012, the company was on target to earn 1.4 million dollars in revenue by the end of the year. 2012 - 2016: On October 18, 2012, TRIG Acquisition 1, Inc., a Delaware Form 10 company, acquired The Grilled Cheese Truck brand. The company subsequently changed its name to The Grilled Cheese Truck, followed by another name change to American Patriot Brands (APB). In 2012, when Grant left the company, the company merged with TRIG Acquisition 1, Inc., forming Grilled Cheese Truck, Inc. This merger helped to expand the company to other markets and they have plans to become the first publicly traded food truck. The company also enlisted General Wesley Clark (USA, Ret.) to help bring The Grilled Cheese Truck national. His primary focus is to help promote, identify, train, support and help franchise return service veterans with their own Grilled Cheese Trucks. APB never completed its franchise filings with the Federal Trade Commission or the State of California. At its peak, APB operated 10 trucks, eight of which were company-owned and two of which were licensed. APB did not disclose any per truck financial information in its SEC filings. During the period that the eight company-owned trucks operated, the company generated $3,650,021 in revenue and a net loss of $7,712,208, as disclosed in its last 10-K filing for the period ending December 31, 2014. APB is not current in its SEC filings as of January 18, 2017. 2016–July 2020: Big Cheese, Inc. was incorporated in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
on September 16, 2016. On October 4, 2016, it acquired the Grilled Cheese Truck brand with the attendant trademarks pursuant to an Intellectual Property Rights Purchase agreement with Dave Danhi, founder. Danhi had reacquired the rights on September 23, 2016, from APB, which had originally acquired the rights from Danhi. APB had re-positioned itself in the cannabis business, which created the opportunity for Danhi to reacquire the brand. July 2020: On July 14, 2020, over social media, Danhi announced via
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
that The Grilled Cheese Truck was to permanently close by the end of the month.


Crowdfunding Endeavors

Big Cheese Inc., owner of The Grilled Cheese Truck brand, filed a Form-C on January 18, 2017, to raise capital through JOBS Act securities regulations on Microventures. The Grilled Cheese Truck successfully closed the first ever Reg CF equity crowdfunding campaign by a food truck on Microventures with 332 investors investing $199,186 on April 1, 2017.


Spotlight and awards

The Grilled Cheese Truck has been awarded accolades including: * Los Angeles Hot List: 2011 #1 Food Truck in LA * Los Angeles Times: Reader's Choice 2012 - Best Food Truck * Culture Cheese Mag's 10 Best Grilled Cheese Trucks" * LA Weekly's Top 10 Sandwiches in Los Angeles * Grant, Danhi and the truck have had television appearances on ''
The Price is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
,'' ''
Unwrapped ''Unwrapped'', also known as ''Unwrapped with Marc Summers'', is an American television program on Food Network that reveals the origins of sponsored foods. It first aired in June 2001 and is hosted by Marc Summers. The show leads viewers on tou ...
, House of Food, Be Our Guest,
The Rachael Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in Broadcast syndication, syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea St ...
, The Joan and Melissa Show, ''and''
The Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting p ...
. '' * Thrillist Los Angeles' Best Food Trucks * Relish: America's 10 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches * The Daily Meal: Los Angeles 15 Best Food Trucks of 2013 * 2013 #1 People's Choice Award at the Grilled Cheese Invitational * Danhi's grilled cheese recipes have appeared in talk shows, magazines, blogs'' ''and cookbooks''.'' Including ''The Wakey Bacon Melt,'' The Cheesy Mac 'N Rib, and others.


See also

*
Food cart A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind. Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit o ...
*
List of food trucks A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, roach coach, gut truck, catering truck, or (in Austin, Texas) food trailer, is a mobile venue that transports and sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others ...
*
Mobile catering Mobile catering is the business of selling prepared food from some sort of vehicle. It is a feature of urban culture in many countries. Mobile catering can be performed using food trucks, trailers, carts and food stands. Many types of foods may be ...
*
Street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
*
List of food companies This is a list of food companies, current and past businesses involved in food production or processing. Africa * All Joy Foods * Bakers * BOS Ice Tea * Cevital * Choppies * Clover * Colcom Foods * Distell Group Limited * Famous Brands * ...


References

13. Goldstein, Peter J. ,US Foods VS Grilled Cheese Military, Inc 16K07489, FINRA Examination 20140407552, SEC, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, CASE 98-20914-RBR


Further reading


Heather Taylor: Chef Speak: LA Street Food Fest
Huffington Post. * Usheroff, Marni

' '
Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...
' ', Los Angeles, 10 November 2013. Retrieved on 13 March 2014. * *


External links

*
The Grilled Cheese Truck Launches New Company Website at www.thegrilledcheesetruck.com

Join the Grilled Cheese Truck Revolution: Solid Team + Big Expansion Plans

The Grilled Cheese Truck Surpasses Minimum Funding Goal on MicroVentures and Unleashes Amplified Stretch Goal Perks

The Grilled Cheese Truck Wins "Best Melt" Award from Time Out LA Magazine in Citywide Competition

Chrissy Teigen Just Bought a Grilled Cheese Truck for Her Entire Production Crew

American Meltdown's success comes from complicating the grilled cheese



The Daily Meal - Wakey Bacon Melt


{{DEFAULTSORT:Grilled Cheese Truck Food and drink companies of the United States Food trucks Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants established in 2009 Companies based in Los Angeles 2009 establishments in California