Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren & Ava Raley
Darren & Ava, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We started out as a military family that moved to the Charleston area in 2011. Darren retired after 22 years as a Green Beret. Ava was a military dependent most of her life and worked as a Child Development Associate on the bases she was assigned. Both of us have no food service experience but have traveled the world and have the love for food.
One day while enjoying one of the many festivals and enjoying the food trucks, an idea that Ava could do that for a business was discussed. The mobile food truck industry quickly caught her eyes while at one of the music festivals. The idea for what kind of food was the food we love to eat which is street style Thai food. The process took over a year of research into different styles of food from cooking to serving it. The decision went from a cart to a concession trailer as we noticed that there was a lot involved in making this happen. It took literally hundreds of concept drawings on sheets of napkin and various pieces of paper of how it would look on the outside and how it would be laid out on the inside. The name came from a combination of the simple word “THAI”, but we couldn’t leave it with just that. Thailand is also known as the land of smiles and that’s because everyone is happy, therefore the name “HAPPY THAI” was born. We created Happy Thai from the bottom up with customizing the build of the concession trailer and many months in creating the menu to perfection.
We chose to keep it simple and learned to not make the menu so large that you couldn’t support it. We remember throwing away so much food and sauces while researching the perfect taste that would represent us in Happy Thai. Today we are now pretty set in our menu, but we are still ever improving it. In the almost 9 years we have been in business the menu has only changed a handful of times. Where is it now is evident by our customers love for our food.
This past year we decided to give the business a face lift along with the need to keep it simple (transportation and operationally). We decided to go big and move into a new purpose built food truck. Since we have transitioned into the new truck, keeping product on hand (even for the big festivals) we rarely run out. Like all businesses, sometimes a change in look will catch the eye of new customers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With zero to none in the food industry experience, it was a bit of a struggle and we had to learn everything quickly. As a husband and wife owned and operated business, we had to learn to work together with different views. It wasn’t easy but the love for the food and the dream kept us grounded to the same goal.
There was a lot of learning to be done on how to basically run the business from day to day. Just the logistics of it all from the basic needs of power. Who would have thought that you had to know the amount of power you used versus the capability of the generator. Then the standard eardrum breaking generator or a quiet one (preferred). Then the fuel needs of the generator to the fuel needs of the cooking appliances.
Learning the business wasn’t easy and there was no one there to guide or mentor. Every aspect of being a new owner of a mobile restaurant was a new learning experience and lucky we are quick learners. Today we are very happy that we have learned these lessons and to find that we have been successful in our dream. In turn, we do pay back to the food truck industry with our lessons learned and try to help those move forward with their dream. In all, it’s hard work but also very rewarding.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Happy Thai Food Truck went into business in April 2016. Our very first gig was very exciting for us. Hours of preparation was conducted and when it was time to cook, Ava was so nervous that she requested that the service window stay shut until the cooking was done. In the business, that doesn’t stay that way very long as it gets very hot and the window went opened and the world got to see the magic that Ava does when she’s cooking, she always cooks with perfection and with her heart. Thailand is known as the land of smiles and we greet all our customers and friends will a smile. It warms our souls when we see our customers enjoy our food with a smile in return.
Happy Thai is a family run business with Christian values and as many of our customers see, our son greets customers with his great big smile as he takes their order very professionally. He has been helping take orders since he was 6 years old. He has been a very popular fixture at our service window and when he isn’t working, customers are always asking for him. They would say, “Where is the little guy?”. This business has taught him great work ethics and that hard work brings great rewards (Service with a smile!).
We arranged our menu in a way we see our customers enjoy the food we make. The primary dish has and probably will always be the Pad Thai. We serve it with the basic protein of chicken or shrimp. Then it evolved to being served with our Sweet and Sour Chicken to the Pork on a Stick. Happy Thai offers lunch and dinner services, corporate events and festivals.
What does success mean to you?
We define success in basic hard work. Nothing in life is easy and if you do your research and try and do what seems impossible, you would be amazed at what can be accomplished “PUSH THROUGH AND NEVER QUIT”. The Roman Emperor Seneca once said,” Luck is when opportunity meets preparation”. So in our case and advise to others, when an opportunity presents itself, be prepared! Don’t let pride get in the way of experience and knowledge. Prepare for it now so when the opportunity presents itself, you’ll be ready and enjoy the rewards.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Happythaitruck
