Wake Tech course aims to get food truck operators rolling

Geronimo Blancaflor is one of them. He retired from the Army a few years ago and soon decided he'd try something different for his second career.

"I really wanted to be my own boss," he said.

"Getting the licenses...I wasn't aware that there was a safety course I needed to attend," he said.

Running a food truck is more complex than many think, and it's certainly about more than fixing and serving delicious food.

A new course being offered at Wake Tech teachers people the basics of starting their own food truck.

Sameer Pawa, an instructor at Wake Tech, said the course covers everything from county health regulations to city zoning requirements.

"What we are doing is giving you an overall image of what life will be like when you sign up to do a business in food trucks," Pawa said. "This is a very hot market for food trucks. We are one of the top 10 in the country. If your product is good, people are going to find you and come to you."

Rebecca Robbins, an environmental health specialist with Wake County Environmental Services, said the class has helped get the word out on what it takes to run a successful food truck.

"Instead of having people calling each of us individually, all of us can come together so they can get a huge amount of information," Robbins said.

"Hopefully, my business will flourish, and the name and cuisine will be out and about through the Triangle area," he said.