In this episode, Terry and Nicky talk with Washington BEP Director about Jim Hemmen about that state’s first mobile vending facility.
Music (00:00):
Nicky (00:26):
Terry (00:54):
Hello, Nikki. Doing well. Little tired. Been on the road a lot. Been working hard. A lot of things happening, a lot of things coming up. But, uh, I'm doing well and thanks for asking. And, um, you know, we're winding it down. We're, we're, we're, we're very, very close. We've been talking about it for, you know, eight or nine months or longer, and Blast is almost here.
Nicky (01:20):
It sure is. It's only, uh, two weeks away. And it's unbelievable. We still have people register. That's fantastic. I think this will be our biggest blast ever. And it's great to see the enthusiasm and people excited to come. And I think we put together a good agenda, and I'm excited to get it over with
Terry (01:39):
(02:27)
We're gonna let people just show up and, um, you know, and, and, and, and experience it. But I just want you to know there's gonna be some wow moments. There's gonna be some fun, there's gonna be some entertainment, there's gonna be a lot of education, and there's gonna be a, uh, terrific trade show. But Nikki, I, I, I need to, I need you to clear up something for me because I'm getting too many questions. You, you've made the statement that this is your last blast. And so I I, people come up to me and they say, is Nikki, is Nikki retiring? Is Nikki quitting? Explain to folks, are, are you quitting?
Nicky (03:05):
No, I'm not quitting. And what I've said was, uh, this is probably my last big blast. It's just so much work involved. And, and, and, you know, we've talked about, um, you know, a couple weeks ago, we, we got, we have like 32 purveyors coming to the trade show. Now we're up to 53. And it's just a, a lot of work. It, it's always worth it when it comes down to it. But, you know, people calling up, I need a room, I need this. Get me in the main hotel. This, and, and the fact that we have two paid employees, you and Barbara, which everyone knows you guys do a phenomenal job doing this. So I said, you know, I think, but I could be talked into it. Um, you know, we got an offer in Louisville to come to Louisville, which city of which I love.
(03:45)
Um, but you know, I said next year we're gonna do a lot of mini blast, um, around the country. We've been offered to go back to USI, we've been offered to go to, uh, cantaloupe at River Falls, Wisconsin. Um, and we're doing the mini blast at Vegas with, with the nma. So it's, it's, it's not my last blast, but it could be my last big blast. And, and you know, you know, that we got this offer from Tennessee to come there a few years ago after, uh, the Chicago one had to get canceled because of Covid. So I'm not retiring, and this could be now my last big blast, but we will have other blasts coming up in 2025.
Terry (04:22):
Yeah. We do need to give a special thank you to Tennessee Business Enterprises, Raven Pulin, who was, uh, the director at the time and may made, made this event happen, happen. And, uh, we, we really appreciate it. But, you know, we get so much positive feedback when we do those smaller regional conferences. I mean, yeah, blast is gonna be, you know, people are gonna be, you know, blown away by, by, by this conference. But, you know, Atlantic City, Orlando, Iowa, we really get positive feedback from those. And, and, and some people can get to those who can't get to the big blast. So, I get it. Uh, I'm, I'm, I'm all on board and, uh, I want people to right now put on their calendar the first week of May. 'cause we will definitely be at NAMA in Las Vegas. So, um, you know, you can't get to Vegas very often, but, uh, this is one time that you wanna wanna be there, Nikki, we're recording this. Uh, uh, and, and to be transparent with everybody, it is the 29th of, uh, October. And, um, Halloween is, um, just around the corner. Two more days. We are there. I'm gonna be with my grandkids. First time ever being with the grandkids. Well, it's not, it's the second time, uh, that I was with the grandkids on Halloween. So I'm, I'm, I'm looking forward to that. Uh, do you like Halloween?
Nicky (05:44):
I do like Halloween. I like all holidays, but I like Halloween holiday. Um,
Terry (05:49):
What's your favorite trick or treat candy?
Nicky (05:51):
Um, you know, I like, I I, I hate the fact that we get those little candies now, you know, and I just eat many of them. Um, you know, the Reeses Peanut Butter and the Snickers, all those little ones. I, in fact, I, I had one today just waiting around
Terry (06:19):
Yeah, I, I, I tend to go with, uh, the Reese's Cups. That's, I, I I, I'm a peanut butter and chocolate kind of guy, and I'm not a, I don't have a real sweet tooth. Fried foods are my, are my downfall. But I, I do like them. And it seems like as I get older, they seem to lock 'em even more. And that's not a good thing. It's not a good combination. Um, but, uh, yeah, I, I do like the Snickers too. But I would say the Reese's Cups are the, are the ones I like. Um, you know, last year when we, we, we did the podcast, we looked at what the top Halloween costumes were, and I, I, I did a little Google search again this year. And, uh, I'm not gonna go over the list of all the, the top costumes for 2024, but just a, just a couple of things that did surprise me about that list. Out of the top 25 costumes this year, Beetlejuice has four characters from Beetlejuice are in the top five costumes for Halloween. I, have you ever heard of Shrunken Head Bob?
Nicky (07:21):
No.
Terry (07:24):
Well, shrunken Head Bob is from Beetlejuice, and that is the number one costume. But more surprising than that was the fact that the, have you ever the movie Inside Out? It's a Pixar movie, and it's about a, a young girl and all of her, her five emotions and like the emotions that are inside her, they play, you know, they're, they're different characters in the movie. Uh, envy, anger, depression, um, anxiety and Joy. Those are the five Anxie. And, and all five of those characters are in the top five, um, the, uh, characters being costumes for, for 2024. And I think it's interesting that envy and anger and depression are one, two, and three. But Joy comes in number five. Now, what does that tell us about the state of the affairs? That joy is the last of the emotions that, uh, is, is, is being celebrated, um, in, in, in this, um, movie. Um, Nikki, I also wanna bring up, um, something else that's happening in November for those that don't know. And I'm not talking about the election. Um, the, um, uh, although I'm, I will be glad to get it over with. I'm not gonna tell you who I voted for it. I want this thing to get political, but I can tell you this. I voted for the Loser, and I've already voted. I voted for the Loser because I wanna be able to blame somebody else for the next four years. 'cause it's
(08:55)
So whoever loses the election say that's who Terry voted for. Um, but that's not
Nicky (09:01):
What, you know, and I'm, I can't wait for it to be over these commercials. And this, every time you turn the TV on the radio, especially back here, it's just crazy. And I can't wait for it to be over. But we'll put this message out. Please vote. It's important, it's the right that we have in the country. So I hope that everybody will at least vote, you know, that they'll get turned off from it and vote. I did vote yesterday, and I'm excited about it. I always like to vote, and, um, but I hope everybody vote.
Terry (09:30):
So, but that's not what the big event I was talking about. Coming up in November, on November 12th, people Magazine will be announcing the Sexiest Man Alive. Uh, now, now I got a feel, and you and I are probably not gonna win this year, but they're, they're announcing different categories this year, and they've already started announcing, I'm like the, the, the sexiest singer and the sexiest actor and the sexiest husband of a celebrity. I got all these different categories. And yesterday they announced the Sexiest Podcasters and Nikki, we did not win. We lost out. Can you believe it? We lost out to the Kelsey Brothers. The Kelsey Brothers are the sexy, oh,
Nicky (10:22):
Get paid a lot more than we do.
Terry (10:24):
What's that?
Nicky (10:27):
They get paid a lot more than we do, too.
Terry (10:29):
Oh, yeah.
(11:14)
I, you know, they, they, they've, um, dominated regular season three years in a row and haven't, haven't made it. I don't think they'll be there again this year. And I, that will make me very happy. Although I'm a big Mookie Bets fan, but I don't like the Dodgers. So, um, Nikki, it just goes, uh, goes to prove again and again and again that my prognostications are not worth the time of day. I said the Dodgers would not be there. They are there. Uh, I picked the Braves and the Astros, what a, sorry, picked two picks. Those were, uh, you, you, you picked Mets. The Mets almost got there, almost. You, your, your New York Mets almost made it.
Nicky (11:58):
Well, if you're a Met fan here, or used to be a Brooklyn Dodger fan, my mother coming born and raised in Brooklyn as a kid, um, uh, as long as the Yankees moved, I'm, I'm happy with that, you know, so that's okay. Uh,
Terry (12:10):
That's, that's me. I'm a anti Yankee.
Nicky (12:14):
The brewers that did beat the Phillies, they almost got there after starting out Oh, and five, and being 10 games under 500. So it was a good run. And it fun September October that we had part of it. And, um, I'm just glad that's over. It's, uh, time to move on college basketball and pro basketball, and
Terry (12:31):
Yeah,
Nicky (12:32):
Right in the middle of football season, public side.
Terry (12:34):
So, Nikki, let's get to the section before we get down to some business about, um, uh, this is where you get to tell me what's up with you and take 10, 10 seconds to talk about what's up. So, Nikki, what's up?
Nicky (12:46):
Well, there's another holiday in, um, in November two, Terry's the 11th. Uh, it's Veterans Day. And, um, me and my, both of my parents were veterans. I hope that, uh, people respect our veterans on that day and, uh, give a shout out to all that served and our serving in the military. I think that that's important. And I, and I, I gotta say one other thing too. You know, we talked about the political rhetoric that's going on, and I'm just, um, we talked about, in Kentucky, we talked about trust, um, and how important that was. And, um, I just don't understand, and I still, and I'm gonna talk about this a little bit, that why there's still two consumer groups with Randall Shepherd. We, I just don't understand it. Why we split and why we're the other group is still supporting a, a, a buying group that is not as good as the one that we're supporting.
(13:38)
Um, when we do things, we do it for all blind vendors. That's what I've done. That's what we've done. Um, we try to help the program in general. We work with state agencies, we work with all blind vendors, and I think it's time that, uh, we bring work together to do this and, and then not be split and giving bad information to blind vendors. I mean, I don't tell you who to buy Coke of Pepsi from, and I'm not telling you, but I can tell you this, that the buying group that, that we are down to directly with Sodexo and Taper is the best buying group out there force. And I hope everybody will get on board so that flying can be together and stick together and support our veterans. And that's my November message. What's up with you?
Terry (14:16):
Well, what's up with me is, um, I'm, I'm, I'm getting old, apparently. Um, I was, um, I've, I've always done my presentations and I use note cards, and I've been in, and I write 'em in Magic Marker, and I can read 'em and all that kind of stuff. And as I've gotten older, it's gotten harder to read those note cards and sometimes impossible to read those note cards. So I got a pair of those reader glasses, you know, you just buy on the counter at the, at, at, at, at the grocery store or Walgreens or wherever. And my wife wears 'em all the time just to read with. And I said, let me try a pair of those. So I got 'em, uh, and I took 'em to the Kentucky meeting, and I said, 'cause I had my note cards, and I, I can just pull these glasses out and I can look at my cards real fast.
(15:02)
And, and, and I, so I was in the room practicing and looking and, uh, it really did help. I mean, I got a, I I was really surprised at how, how, how much it improved. Uh, but then I went into the bathroom and I said, I wanna see how I look with these glasses on. And so I put the glasses on and sort of got up close to like, I'm like, I was, and, and I did not know who that old man in the mirror was. And so now I understand why people keep asking me, when are you going to retire? Because, because damn, I'm old
Nicky (15:37):
Uh, well, like, like that age is just a nu a number. And I think, um, I think around the rest of our community, we, we might be in the middle
Terry (15:47):
That's true. That's true. We're young. Um, Nikki, I'm glad you brought up the thing about the buying group. We need to get down to talk about some Randolph Shepherd stuff here. Um, but, um, the, um, uh, you know, I, I, I, the point I wanna make about the buying group is that those folks with Integra, um, are, are, are, are, are willing to, you know, get on calls and talk to state agencies. They're, I I think they're gonna be on one of the future committee chair calls. Um, and, um, you know, it, it, it, it is a different day for the buying group, you know, with, with John Myrn now, you know, no longer being part of it. We appreciate what John did in putting this thing together and, and what you did in putting it together. Uh, but it's a new day gonna be a lot more money for, for blind vendors. And I think that's the main thing. And you know, that's the one thing that I've always given you credit for is that you're out there looking for ways to make more money for, for blind, for all blind vendors. And as you said, it's not just NABM members, all blind vendors. And, uh, I think this is just another step in, in, in that direction.
Nicky (16:57):
It is. And there'll be a blast also to do it, you know, being part of the trach show. And they'll be, um, major part of that. They'll be a, um, on Tuesday, uh, breakout to, uh, discuss the, you know, just not just not purchases for rebates, but if you buy certain cups, you save this much. If you're buying pop, it's a 17% rebate, things like that. So, you know, and also we'll be getting data for the first time in a long time on our sales. And if you need to buy so many cases of something to get an extra 50 cents a case rebate for the year, they'll be able to help you out with those things. So I'm very excited about this. Everything always gets better as we move on. Again, we want to thank John for helping us put this thing together years ago, but it's a new day and very excited about this new opportunity as we get, um, again, to make more opportunities, provide vendors and to work, uh, the Sodexo team for opportunities too. We're very excited about that opportunity. And, and like you said, um, they'll talk with any state. They be talking to North Carolina. They did speak in Mississippi, um, they did speak in Texas. So we're very excited about that.
Terry (18:06):
Awesome. I mentioned it's been a busy month, Nikki, October Wow. Was, was, was, was really something. Um, um, we, I was in Mississippi while you were in Texas. We actually contracted with Mississippi to do their annual training conference for the second year. And, you know, that was a huge success. And I know you had a lot to do with, um, the, uh, some of the speakers in Texas and the trade show they had out there. So, uh, um, we were, both of us were in Kentucky, uh, and, uh, that group up there, they do a really good job with their annual training conferences, I think. And, uh, had a really nice trade show. In fact, we picked up a couple of exhibitors from, uh, from the Kentucky show that are, that didn't know about Blast, who are coming. So, uh, um, and then there was a Georgia meeting with D Jones and I went to, so, uh, I probably left one or two out, but wow.
(19:01)
It was a, it, it was a busy month. And then to top it off, um, you and I both were in Seattle at the N-C-S-A-B National Conference, national Council of State Agencies for the Blind, uh, meeting. And you and I presented on innovation and, uh, uh, I, I think that went well. Uh, I think we're probably gonna be doing the similar presentation at the California meeting in December, is sort of like, what if. And, um, uh, uh, Nikki talks about what if we hadn't have done this, and what if we hadn't have done that? And then I talk about what if, you know, moving forward, what if we do this and what if we do that? And, um, I thought it went well. And Nikki, I think we, uh, maybe after the first of the year, we ought to probably just make that a podcast in and of itself, sort of the what if podcast and sort of, uh, you know, let that thing sort of play out and, um, um, you know, just have a real good discussion about what if, what do you think about that?
Nicky (20:00):
I, I like that. And I do wanna give a shout out to Corey and Team Kentucky for putting together a great show up in Kentucky and Manny for all the work that he did with the committee down in Texas. And, uh, November gets busy too, Terry, I think we got, uh, Oregon this Saturday, uh, by Zoom. And then we got, um, North Carolina the following week. Um, and then we're going to Illinois together to support them and our merchants and our, and our blind entrepreneurs from Illinois, uh, November 8th and ninth. And we have that is, is, and then all of a sudden we'll see a lot of people it blast. So it's a busy month coming up, and it was busy, but, you know, it was good to be back on the road. It was good to interact and, you know, getting people, some people back to work and, you know, talking about their good energy in, in the meetings.
(20:46)
So that, that, that, that's what keeps you going a little bit. It keeps me going, stuff like that. So, very excited. And I like the watch if, and something I read on the Daily Coach, you know, it came from, um, the Godfather where, um, Michael Corleone was punched by a corrupt New York City cop, and he was not part of the family, but so they had a meeting about what to do, and Michael said, well, what if I'm the guy that goes to the meeting and what if, and what if I'm the one? They said, you know, that's not a bad idea. And that's how that became the story of what the what if. And, and I think we did a good job on how we got to where we are and where we're gonna go with innovation with Randolph Shepherd. So I, it was a good takeoff, and I look forward to doing that. And I think the podcast of what, what if would be a great idea.
Terry (21:29):
So, uh, at at, at the N-C-S-A-B meeting when, when you and I spoke and, you know, we, there were some, we, we talked a little bit about the technical assistance circular that, that, that RSA has, has issued, the, the, the two tur, uh, uh, attacks that they've issued. And, uh, you know, we talked about what if states really did some of the things that were, that were mentioned in that technical assistance circular. And one of those was to, to buy a food truck. And, um, you know, uh, and so we were talking and, um, Jim Heman from, um, from Washington was, was at the meeting and they have actually bought a food truck. Now, it, it's a trailer, so you have to, you have to pull it, but it is a food truck. Um, you know, with a full kitchen, I think it cost about $200,000.
(22:25)
And, um, you know, for them to step out and do something like that, I think is, is, is, is outstanding. And, um, I want to go to a very short interview with Jim, uh, talking about, uh, their, you know, what happened, how they bought the food truck, and what their plans are. And so, um, uh, this is, this is me talking to Jim Heman, the BEP director from the state of Washington. Welcome, Jim. I guess I should say welcome back. You're a veteran. We had your own, um, back, uh, last year sometime. So appreciate you joining us on, uh, this episode of the We are Randolph Shepherd podcast.
Jim (23:07):
Glad to be here, Terry.
Terry (23:10):
Jim, you guys are doing something, uh, really creative and something that really excites me. Um, and there, there in Washington. And, um, you know, you've, you've always been an innovator and, and, and big picture kind of guy. Uh, tell us about this idea. You got, um, a about a food truck.
Jim (23:31):
Uh, sure. Um, well, you know, food trucks aren't new to, uh, food service. They might be in need of Randolph Shepherd, uh, or our customers, you know, our blind entrepreneurs that, that are out there. But, you know, food trucks, the food truck craze started, oh boy, I wanna say 20 10, 20 11, 12. And they just really exploded 2015 to 2018, all pre covid. Um, so I, I'd been following them. I'd actually, prior to this position, have built two food trucks and two other municipalities, um, in two, in a different capacity before joining, uh, services for the Blind and the capacity of, uh, being a business, uh, manager, uh, for the Randolph Shipper program. So, in the back of my mind, I'd always had this idea if we could get a mobile vehicle and take food to people, um, then we could minimize lines in cafes and we could offer things differently.
(24:31)
Um, so as it continued to grow in the greater Northwest, Portland has a huge, Portland, Oregon has a huge food scene. Seattle started seeing more, and then lo and behold, COVID hit shut everything down and restaurants had to find a way to pivot. And what start, what didn't have to pivot was mobile vehicles. After the economy opened up in about three weeks, smart restaurateurs just filled it with food and went and found people. Um, and we weren't finding people, we were closed. Um, so there, the idea was born of, do we get a food truck? Do we get a food trailer? Uh, what's our capacity? Um, and we began, uh, a small feasibility study and looking into, uh, how we might go about it and where we might get funding. And, uh, it was a multi-year process. And, uh, last December, I was given, uh, uh, orders, if you will, or the director said, I want you to do this. And, uh, away we went.
Terry (25:34):
I think the, um, I think the impressive thing is, um, RSA recently issued a tac, a technical assistance circular, and it basically says that, uh, federal funds can be used for a, uh, food truck and that a food truck could constitute a vending facility. But that had nothing to do with your decision. You, you, you were way down the road before that tack even came out. Isn't that right?
Jim (25:59):
That is correct. We actually, um, oddly enough, the tack came out about halfway through our process. Um, and we had already submitted, um, our idea for, for that, oh, well over a year ago. So I wanna say summer of 23, we knew we wanted one. We had, uh, we were remodeling some of our facilities. We had already asked for state funds for two federal trucks, or, or I mean, two food trucks or trailers. Um, it was in our package. The ledge steered us tor focusing on government buildings. And so the director and I were like, okay, well, there's a different way to do this. I wonder, I wonder if, uh, federal VR funds could used for a trailer, uh, to create a job opportunity under the rad, you know, with Ol Shepherd Funds. And so we developed a brief and we submitted it, and they sat and chewed on it for a while, and they chewed on it for a while, and then there was some back and forth and we're like, look, it is a mobile kitchen.
(27:01)
It can be placed on government property, it could be placed in the community, and it qualifies under, um, you know, the program. And so why not? And, uh, so we just kept, kept on 'em. We kept asking the question, and the folks back there, half of 'em were in, half of 'em weren't. And then I think what finally got it over the hurdle before the tack was when we explained to them the value of the trailer from, from a training perspective, that you didn't have to have this massive kitchen in a facility. You could have a small kitchen, you could individualize, uh, the training to a new entrepreneur and teach them how to use equipment safely, carefully, in a confined, in a confined space. And it also wasn't a, a huge investment. So, uh, all that said, it led to this idea, let's do it. We kept pursuing, uh, RSA and asking for assistance, and along the way they issued the t and, um, we were literally halfway done with it by that time.
Terry (28:07):
Well, I love the question, why not? I wish we had more state agencies and blind vendors asking that question. Why not? Um, you're using the term trailer and, um, I, I, I don't want people to get the misimpression that we're talking about a small trailer that you just, uh, you know, that, that, that, that's not very sophisticated. That's the exact opposite of what you have, sort of, sort of describe to us this, uh, uh, the, the, the food truck or the trailer that you have.
Jim (28:34):
Sure. It is actual trailer. It's not a truck. It doesn't have an engine. So that's the difference. It's a, it's, it's a trailer to be pulled behind, another vehicle, um, similar, you know, to a motor home or a small, um, people have gone to a carnival or they go to parades or, uh, a football games. And, and you see a food truck that's just on a trailer being pulled behind a truck. Um, so it's 24 feet. It's 24 feet long. Uh, of course it has the tongue, which is, you know, another six or seven feet. But the body of the vehicle that we designed is a full, uh, is a contained, uh, it's a container on a trailer. It's 24 feet long, eight and a half feet wide. And the interior space is, I believe, 10 feet high. Um, so that's the dimensions of the vehicles.
(29:26)
You can buy these vehicles and have them made anywhere from, uh, the manufacturer that did ours makes food concession trailers anywhere from 12 feet to, uh, 26. And we ended with 24. The reason we settled on 24 is once it's fully loaded, uh, it's gonna be on or around 12,000 pounds. And so you can pull it behind a suburban or an F two 50. Uh, once you get past 12,000 pounds upwards in that, then you need to get a bigger truck, a, a full, you know, big Dodge Ram, uh, 3,500, something like that, a one ton vehicle, which is really expensive for, uh, individuals to pull. Or you may have to hire a commercial service to move it, move it around. So we wanted something that was a little bit portable, um, and it could be moved. The idea is it could be moved every day site to site, to site you.
(30:23)
I don't recommend that you go to a government site and you do do, uh, breakfast and pack up and then move, uh, you know, to go do it, uh, at another site the same day. You probably want to find a route or a site and go a couple days, uh, at that site and then move, uh, 'cause it does take some work. But the vehicle itself, as I said, 24 feet long, eight and a half feet wide, it's, uh, outfitted with, uh, uh, shore power. Uh, so it has a huge shore power cord, so we can plug in just about anywhere and get electricity when we don't have that. It has, uh, a fairly large generator, probably enough to power, uh, power, a 25 square, a hundred square foot home, uh, huge, I think 60 gallon reserve tank for the diesel fuel. And then we have two propane tanks next to it.
(31:16)
Um, on this is on the outside, on the front, 200 pound propane tanks that power all the gas. There's a full hood system inside. Uh, so walking through it, we have a deep fat two basket deep fat fryer. We have a 24 inch griddle. We have four burner stove. Uh, we have two hot wells next, or prep table, about a 36 inch prep table. We have two hot wells. And next to that we have a turbo chef, kind of that fancy convection microwave technology you see at a Starbucks. And then we have, uh, a four wrap convection oven, half sheet pan convection oven. In there, we have a hot box to hold all the hot food that comes from the commissary, or that was just cooked, uh, that's full size, um, meaning, um, five rack or 69 inches high. And next to that is the equivalent of a refrigerator, same size.
(32:13)
And then on the end, we have a four foot, uh, maker's table, or a prep table with 16 slots in it so that you could quickly make foods to go in the turbo chef or, uh, all the mi uh, all the fixings for flatbreads or pizzas to go into the, into the high speed convection oven that's in there on the opposite side of the truck that would face the customer. There is another five foot prep counter underneath it, two door refrigerator for extra backup product. Next to that, um, would be the as, uh, small assembly area. And then, um, we have a five three foot by five foot window with, uh, glass window, uh, vinyl. And it has two openings, one for order, one for pickup, and then hand sink and big three compartment sink. And then, uh, above everything on that particular side, we have, and this is all stainless steel, by the way, on the inside diamond plated floor. And, uh, all along the top carrier of the cold side that I just described, uh, there are hinge stainless steel cabinets to store things, um, all the way around the vehicle. And then underneath all the cooking equipment, stainless steel, uh, cabinets to store pots and pans and things like that. 'cause when you're on the road, you can't have that stuff bouncing around. Um,
Terry (33:35):
It really, it really is a traveling restaurant, isn't it? I mean, that, that, that, that, that's quite impressive. And was, was it a one stop shop kind of deal or was it a two step process where you bought the trailer, then you equipped it?
Jim (33:47):
Uh, no, it was one stop shop. And, um, so first things first, uh, we did quite a bit of research, uh, to, to find and vet companies that were capable of doing the work. And then we sent out an RFI, um, out into the community, uh, through the western United States. I think there was, um, the state requires you to do certain things. So we went and we put together a database of, or list of every company that built them. We talked to people that owned them to get names. And so then we sent out a list for interest. We had, I don't know, seven or eight companies that said, yeah, we can do this. And then we, um, from there we developed a, a full blown RFPI don't know, 50 something pages. But, uh, when, when you do it, you cannot, uh, it's advisable not to create a drawing for what you want.
(34:40)
So, um, I had some good ideas from designing kitchens for our, for, uh, our facilities. And I'm like, okay, what do I absolutely want in this thing? What have I seen on the great food truck race, uh, on tv, uh, that would make this thing just make, make money? And so, uh, we kind of went from there and we wrote all the things that we wanted in the vehicle, and we kind of sketched it out. We measured it, we got specs off the internet, and we were hoping we were right. And then we had to, uh, build a written list of all the specifications, uh, for the vehicle. And then we actually, our food service consultant that we used for some other stuff, gave us a few ideas to make sure that we didn't overlook, um, some of the other components. And then we can talk more about the regulations that ha that were involved to actually get it built. 'cause that was another phase, but that was the first phase. Finding a company or a bunch of companies that could actually do it in, in one slew is a verse A versus two. And then, um, creating the document that we could, um, ultimately do a procurement with that would lead to success.
Terry (35:51):
So, go ahead. Everybody that's listening is wants what's gonna, they're gonna right in their mind, they're asking how much, how much, how much what, what was the, what's the price tag
Jim (36:01):
Well do to do a trailer, right. Kinda what I just described. And then, and not go Cadillac. Um, I mean, Cadillac would get you north of 400, but I, I would tell all my peers out there, anybody listening, you, if you want a mobile vehicle, 20 to 24 feet, you're gonna need to spend about fully loaded with equipment one 50 to two five. Ours was somewhere in the middle of that.
Terry (36:27):
Okay. That's, I know lots of vending facilities that have cost more, more than that. Uh, and, and, and this is, uh, the, the state is retaining title to this, correct?
Jim (36:36):
That is correct. Yeah. We, um, we chose to do a trailer, by the way, not a truck, uh, for liability. Um, our state is self-insured and the, and li uh, retaining title and license and, and then create an operating agreement for one of our owners to go out on the road and drive it and stuff like that, post some additional risks. And so the legal teams advised us not to do that. Um, and then we also looked at other states that already were doing vending and buying small trailers for their operators to pull behind a vehicle so that while we, while it was li uh, we remained, uh, title owner to that, we could, uh, they could pull it behind their vehicle, which may, which means they would buy a specific, uh, liability for it. So there's a little bit less risk, if you will.
Terry (37:28):
Right. So now, uh, la last question I wanna ask you is, uh, is, are you treating this as a vending facility that will be assigned to a, uh, a blind vendor as their primary location? Or is this gonna be something that a vendor will use as an extension of their current facility?
Jim (37:46):
Well, that's a, Terry, it's a great question. 'cause it can go bo it can go both ways. Uh, initially the trailer was purchased because we had some funds that need it was use it or lose it funds. Uh, we had a combination of state and federal funds. Fortunately, RSA said yes, um, you know, through the process. And we convinced them, you know, after they issued the tack and before we received it, we, uh, uh, used state funds to pay for it initially, um, to get it started, and then a variety of federal on the backend. Uh, the goal and the goal was to get it here. And the first thing that we're gonna do is use it as a training tool to expose our operators to the idea of having a mobile kitchen or mobile food operation. And from there, um, our hope, uh, would be to, my hope would be to create the business plan, uh, with a local consultant, uh, which we're starting to work on now, and some curriculum, and then, uh, train some people that are interested and then put it out to bid.
(38:46)
Uh, there are some spots around the state that are ideal where we wouldn't build a normal kitchen on government space where we could actually plant it and, and turn it into a business opportunity. Uh, the last one that you offered is it could actually end up being like a vending route. It could be a truck route, uh, seasonal truck route in our state where, um, it could go to a variety of places that we know that are private and public, where there's a large congregation of Washingtonians and visitors to Washington Grand Cooley Dam we used to operate many, many years ago, has a tourist center for months out of the year. We're no longer there. We could go back with this trailer and somebody could make a lot of money. They can move over, uh, go down to the Tri-Cities, Hanford area where Department of Energy's doing all kinds of, uh, recovery for, um, on the old nuclear site.
(39:43)
Uh, you know, they wouldn't be exposed to some of that stuff, but there's a lot of activity going on around cleaning that area up. And there's limited food service. So there's a number of opportunities like that. There's government buildings that are only really open two days a week. You could create a route, um, that way as well. Uh, the last thing I would offer is because it is designed the way that was designed. It's a fully mobile kitchen. And so if one of our big kitchens went down, uh, like at our, uh, police training academy and they lost a chunk of the kitchen, we can mobilize this thing in 48 hours and get it there and they can use it as a fully, uh, uh, as a full backup kitchen. Uh, and then they just make all their own food and then go, you know, makeshift service line in the, uh, in the dining room somewhere. So it has that capacity. Um, we think it could go any one of those three ways. We are just not sure which one, but we're planning, uh, all options,
Terry (40:39):
Flexibility. That's good. So I know, Jim, you're gonna be at blast in Nashville. I'm, I'm, I, I hope people will look you up. I don't wanna, I don't want them to bug you, but I hope they will look you up and ask you about this and, and, and we're gonna have an SLA round table, and I wanna make sure that the other directors have an opportunity to, uh, to, to talk with you about this. And I know that you're willing, if, if anybody, any directors out there that are really seriously looking at this, um, they know how to get in touch with you and that you'd be more than happy to sort of give them some pointers. Am I correct?
Jim (41:13):
Absolutely. Um, you know, I can't do this by myself. We're, you know, our, uh, beautiful thing about this program is it's just one big family. And, uh, you know, the more we share, the more we give back to one another, uh, the more the whole gets stronger. And I've heard you and Nikki talk about that, you know, for the six years I've been here and, uh, our, our way out of this and our way of, of, uh, creating a better future is by, is by sharing.
Terry (41:39):
So, uh, awesome. Well, Jim, we appreciate it. I'm gonna, uh, uh, I'm gonna hope to check back in with you maybe next year and, uh, sort of see how it's going, get an update from you. And, uh, we're gonna, we're gonna be watching and wish you the best of luck, and thanks for joining us.
Jim (41:56):
Yeah, absolutely, Terry. My pleasure. Happy to help anybody. And yeah, hopefully in the next time we talk I'll be, uh, sitting with an owner operator and the thing will be, uh, up and going.
Terry (42:06):
Awesome. Thanks.
Jim (42:08):
You bet.
Terry (42:09):
Well, Nikki, I told you I was gonna do a five minute interview with, uh, Jim and you, um, you wrote back and you said five minutes question mark. Okay. We didn't do it in five minutes, uh, but, um, uh, we came close, but really exciting things. I, I mean, what would love to see, uh, every state out there, uh, do something, do something like that though? Uh, wouldn't you?
Nicky (42:34):
Yes, I, I would, it was good spending time with Jim out in Washington. I applaud him for the things that they're doing out there, getting people back to work and doing different things in different buildings. And, um, very excited about the innovation that Jim always brings to Rph Shepherd. And, uh, his energy is, is, is great and, um, wish I could spend more time with him, but you know, he said we're busy and work is busy and myself, but I'm glad that Jim was able to do the interview with us, and I hope that people get to meet Jim at last and spend some time with him and say hello and ask those things.
Terry (43:07):
Well, Jim will be there. And, um, um, there is going to be, in addition to the SLA training on Tuesday, there will be an SLA round table so that, um, uh, and, and I'm gonna just about insist that, uh, he be part of that and discuss the, the what, what, what they're doing up there, because we, that's the kind of stuff we need, we need to see. So appreciate it, Jim, and, uh, um, look forward to seeing you in Nashville.
Nicky (43:37):
And Terry, one more thing before we leave. Um, again, I know we've done this before and on the podcast, but I think it's time that we need to do something else. We're getting a lot, a lot of calls about nominees. Again, a lot of states are asking about that. It seems like some SLAs are starting to lean that way as they're short staffed and whatever. Um, so I think that that's been a hot topic, uh, for us and with us, and I think we need to, to have more of those discussions. I know we're looking at some nonprofits now to see how we can move this forward, but very interesting that there's a lot of states, 4, 5, 6, 7 states that are asking about that. So I think it's something that we'll either discuss and as we move forward with innovation and, and, and stuff, and, you know, for topics for the next mini blast, or not so many anymore coming up in 2025,
Terry (44:27):
Yeah, I was, um, on a conflict resolution call North Carolina and the committee, um, this week. And, uh, North Carolina seems to be truly committed to going the nominee route. Um, the transition is a bit of a problem, um, because they're not hiring staff, so, um, because they're in anticipation of going the nominee route. So a lot of things aren't happening that need to happen over there, but I think once they get to the nominee, a lot of their issues that they're having problems with will, will go away. So, uh, you're, you're right. I mean, I've said it many times. If I was a state agency director today, I would go the nominee route in two seconds. I, I wouldn't even think twice about it. Um, but, um, you know, and so it's an old concept that may have found its way back, and you, we'll, we'll, we'll have to see, but if we can get some, you know, some really good nominees out there to, to working, you know, then it may, maybe we can move this program even even more.
Nicky (45:32):
Well, you know, what, if we had done national not many years ago, who knows where we'd be and what type of things we'd be able to do, but you know what, let's look forward and let's, let's, let's get that discussion because states are out there, and again, if I was, um, a state agency, I would do the same. I'd take a nominee and let them run with it and let them look for expansion and let them look for purchasing and so many other things that they can do. So, good topic to talk about. We get close to the Christmas holiday season for our next podcast.
Terry (46:02):
Sounds good, Nikki. So, uh, let's wrap this thing up and take it to the house and, uh, I hope you have a, um, a good one and looking forward to seeing you in Illinois and seeing you again at blast in Nashville. So, uh, we appreciate everybody joining us and, uh, uh, we will be talking soon.
Nicky (46:25):
Thank you. Everyone. Be, be in Nashville. Be in Nashville,
Terry (46:29):
Nashville. All right, man. See ya.
Sponsors (46:31):
The, we are Randolph Shepherd podcast. Would like to thank our sponsors, the National Association of Blind Merchants, Coca-Cola, Blackstone Consulting, Southern Food Service, Siteline Wealth Management, Sodexo in Reach, Tyler Technologies, FSIG. You selected Cantaloupe Keurig, Dr. Pepper.
How to become a sponsor (46:55):
If you would like to support the We Are Randolph Shepherd podcast, we would love to have you on board. Corporate sponsors may contact Nikki jacos@nikkicolorado.netscape.net. Individuals who would like to support the podcast may do so by donating to the National Association of Blind merchants@www.blindmerchants.org. We would love to have your support.