Making Rotisserie Chicken Mobile
A European staple, a Bay Area favorite!
Looking at the trucks alone, you’d probably be able to figure out that Roadside Rotisserie sells incredible rotisserie chicken. There’s no clearer sign than the massive roast chicken perched on top of each of the company’s four food trucks, which you can find all across the Bay Area serving up warm, deliciously-seasoned chicken.
Owner Mitchell Newberger began his Roadside Rotisserie business six years ago when he saw an opportunity and decided to enter the near-empty niche of the food truck market to serve rotisserie chicken. With the mobility and independence of a food truck, Mitchell has been able to keep his business efficient and acceptable for all sorts of people.
“I wanted to do my own thing. The food truck thing came into play because it’s an inexpensive entryway into having your own business. You don't have to rent a retail space, spend tens of thousands of dollars and knock down walls. With a food truck, I can go where there’s people,” Mitchell said.
He’s worked all over the world, from London to New York to Las Vegas, before relocating to San Francisco.
Having worked in every aspect of hospitality for over thirty years, Mitchell has accumulated a sizeable amount of experience and knowledge—that even includes sommelier training. All of the skills he’s acquired in his past positions have translated to success in his own business.
“I learned everything that I did prior to starting my own food truck business from the places I worked. Through every trick, every seasoning, every spice, I would build up my own lexicon of knowledge to take with me,” Mitchell explained. “Working for one person then going to work for another, it wasn’t just a job, it was a learning opportunity. It was my culinary university.”
Since 2014, Roadside Rotisserie has been growing nonstop. Adding a new truck nearly every year, the company now operates four food trucks that can be found throughout the Bay Area.
“It’s unique. You don’t see a lot of rotisserie trucks. From an expansion perspective, my brand has great potential,” Mitchell said.
And further development is certainly in the works. Mitchell’s business model is focused on keeping it simple and continue expanding Roadside Rotisserie across the area and into other regions of the country.
“We’re looking at finding partners in different cities who’ve worked for chefs for a long time,” Mitchell said. “I’d be in a position to finance them and get things going, so that’s something in the works.”
For Mitchell, the best part of running Roadside Rotisserie has been the creative and managerial freedoms because he gets the final say.
“I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself. At the end of the day, I am fully accountable for my actions and I don’t have to get permission from anybody but myself to do what I want to do,” he explained.
To check out Roadside Rotisserie, you can find them and a calendar of their locations on the website
here
. Currently, they’re also offering their food through the ordering services,
UberEats
,
Grub Hub
,
DoorDash
, and ChowNow. Roadside Rotisserie specializes in private events too! Whether a family gathering, corporate lunch or dinner or an unforgettable wedding, they do it hella good.
Weitteb by Catherine Hu