Update!

There is not much time to blog when you are the owners of a small business!  Between baking, frosting, packaging, selling, marketing, and checking orders, it can be busy and hectic!

We have had a wonderful start, though, and its been a great few months so far.  We have a website now, Pecan and Charlie's Mobile Cupcakery, which was designed by the incomparable Kevin Mitchell.  You can order directly from our website now, as well as seeing all of our flavors and descriptions!

Lastly, please join us this Saturday, April 14, for the "My Streets, My Eats"  Food truck Symposium.  Here are all of the details:

	Click to download the full, hi-res 11x17 flyer

Do you want Chicago to have a vibrant street food scene?
Do you want the freedom to start a successful food cart or truck?
Are you interested in how mobile food businesses build communities?

Join entrepreneurs, scholars, advocates, government officials, Chefs and foodies on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the University of Chicago Law School, 1111 East 60th Street, Auditorium.

Special Session for Vendors // 8:30 a.m. 
Understanding how Chicago’s Laws Apply to You

 
Symposium //  9:30 a.m.
Meet our panelists 
First Panel
Street Food: An Important (and Delicious) Part of Urban Life
Moderated by Beth Kregor
Sean Basinski, Founder & Director, The Street Vendor Project
John Gaber, professor, University of Arkansas
Heather Shouse, author, Food Trucks

Second Panel
Chicago, What’s the Hold Up? The Need to Reform the Windy City’s Vending Laws
Moderated by Erika Pfleger, Assistant Director, IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship
Willie Cochran, Alderman, Ward 20
Justin Large, Chef de Cuisine, Big Star
Vicki Lugo, Vice President, Asociación de Vendedores Ambulantes
Samm Petrichos, Chef, Spice!

Third Panel
What Would Be Better? How Cities Can Create Economic Opportunity by Knocking Down Barriers to Vending
Moderated by Christina Walsh, Director of Activism and Coalitions, Institute for Justice
Bert Gall, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
Greg Kettles, Deputy Counsel, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Baylen Linnekin, Founder & Executive Director, Keep Food Legal
Gabriel Wiesen, Owner, Beaverʼs Coffee and Donuts Truck 
Meet our panelists!

Meet Up //  1:30 p. m.
 Food trucks will meet up outside the law school to serve lunch!

5411 Empanadas
Beaver’s Coffee and Donuts
Bridgeport Pasty

Cupcakes for Courage

Duck ‘n’ Roll
Forever Yogurt Food Truck
Getta Polpetta
Gigi’s Bake Shop
Haute Sausage
Pecan and Charlie’s Mobile Cupcakery
Schnitzel King
Ste Martaen
Sweet Ride
Tamale Spaceship
Taquero Fusion
The Slide Ride
Wagyu Wagon
Zullo’s Food Truck

First 250 registered attendees receive a $5 voucher to use at any of the vendors above!

We just recieved the layout and estimate for our truck!

It is crazy how fast this is happening and at the same time, how much there still is to do.  Seeing the layout of the van really made it seem real though, and it is just so exciting! It looks wonderful, and we can't wait to "try it on!"

We are meeting with our business advisor on Wednesday the 9th, to hopefully wrap up our business plan, and then 48 hours until we find out if we are approved.  We are pretty confident, and are enjoying even the stressful parts of this adventure.  It helps to keep baking!

Testing testing! And great news from the SCORE Office

It looks like we may actually meet our goal of being on the road by May! The SCORE office has been wonderful, the advice that we've gotten and the help that they have given us have been invaluable.  Our business adviser could not be more helpful, and seems just as enthusiastic as we are about making this happen.

We got together and came up with a few more recipes, who knew that work could be such a confection!

Testing some recipes

Turtle seems to have gotten the most rave reviews so far.  What's not to love about velvety chocolate with caramel and chocolate sauce and salted caramel buttercream?  Today we will try out some different recipes, we want to make sure that we achieve pure perfection before taking it out on the road.

Cupcakes are a coming!!

We are Pecan and Charlie's, and we are really looking forward to opening up in the suburbs of Chicago...we are perfecting everything, from our Chocolate cake, to our creamy caramel sauce and salted buttercream.  Drizzling raspberries upon lemons, and dusting vanillas with a bit of powdered sugar...Velvety dark and milk chocolates are becoming ganaches, and we are maybe enjoying taste testing them just a bit much...

Yes, we are going to be the next Mobile Cupcake truck to hit Chicago...only not really, because we are aiming for the suburbs.  All of those poor suburbanites who cannot make it to the city every day need their share of wonderful goodness, and we are going to try to help them out! This blog is going to be our tool to keep everyone updated on when we are going to actually hit the street, and hopefully share the cupcake love!

 Come and "LIKE" us on Facebook!  
                                  Pecan and Charlie's