FROM the owner of the PGH Taco Truck: I was approached in May to run the kitchen at Gus's as a business within a business, 7 nights a week, in exchange for the use of their kitchen as a commissary and parking. This was an opportunity I could not decline. I met with George Haritos, the owner, and we discussed a list of operational concerns. It looked like a mutually beneficial relationship, and we shook hands on this arrangement, agreeing to re-visit any of these points if they became a concern, and to formalize the agreement in writing when we felt it would be a long-term arrangement. For me this was a big commitment of time and resources, expanding my payroll by approximately 150%, creating two new full time jobs, in addition to two existing full time and various part time employees on staff. We opened with a simple menu of 7 gluten free tacos, 2 which were vegan. Big menus at first cause big problems. I wanted to make sure we could execute a basic one quickly without issue. Gus's afforded us extra space and equipment to make more elaborate foods that require longer prep and cooking time, like slow roasted pork carnitas. This was great. I was excited and inspired to be back in a full kitchen again. I invited Pittsburgh food trucks to park in front of Gus's on Mondays to help develop a street food scene (and give us a night off in the kitchen.) People could order food from a truck and enjoy it inside or on the patio with drinks and friends. June was a rainy month so it sadly didn't catch on. The kitchen, however, was busy, and we definitely brought a lot of folks into Gus's. Just as things were progressing, I was in a bad car wreck that totaled my vehicle on Stanton Ave. (Oncoming driver texting--I swerved into guardrail and flipped--they drove off unharmed without stopping.) My injuries were painful, but I crawled from the wreck to the ambulance. I continued to injure myself as I did not give myself adequate time to recuperate. But I couldn't let my team down, I couldn't close the business, but I could barely do anything useful. Counting Gus's staff, there were over a dozen people who I had promised I would do my best to make Gus's work. Every day and did what I could to make sure our bills were paid, and we not once missed a service at Gus's. Often this was at the expense of canceling a much more profitable service with the truck. Gus's staff was great to us. There were hiccups, slow service, and mistakes. It was kind of like the Brady Bunch running a bar / restaurant, but we figured it out. George, the owner, was more than amenable to suggestions and we rarely had disagreements. We knew this was never going to be a "luxe" restaurant, but maybe it could be a nice place you could hang out and drink and eat reasonably priced food without pretension. After a month or so we "expanded" the menu a bit to include other items, but it wasn't huge. Again, small steps; we focused on a menu that wasn't easy per se, but that we knew we could execute quickly. My absence from the kitchen and truck took its toll on all of my staff, but they soldiered on and made it work. Most chefs consider an 8-hour day a "half day." We had few "half days." We had no time for family, and several long-term relationships ended. Even with the addition of another full time employee, we were beyond the point of physical exhaustion. We DID HAVE SOME FUN! It was awesome seeing the patio full of people hanging out enjoying themselves. We met some wonderful people and had some great conversations. Open Mic on Sundays was one of my favorites. *We did not pay rent, but we did pay $500/month toward utilities which was the deal George offered me. I financed all of the food and the kitchen staff were on my payroll. It wasn't like we were frolicking with someone else's money. The truck has $1,000s of overhead a month too, though nobody believes that. Sales slowed, and despite a push to re-brand the menu with more options, morale was low. If I didn't leave Gus's, to focus on the food truck, our core business would go bankrupt. Since we had no lease to break, I gave George two weeks notice, and said we would help in the transition in any way we could. He understood, and was amenable to the deal. Three days later, last Saturday night, I was outside the back door of Gus's arguing with an employee who took on a conflicting job without providing notice. I can't say this was unexpected--shit like this happens every night in kitchens. (We have since made up, and he was given his paycheck on time.) What I wasn't expecting was two men, unrelated to Gus's, approached me in the alley and one struck me in my head so hard that I fell immediately onto the asphalt, skinning both my knees. I tried to get up and they immediately ran away. My ears were ringing and my vision was blurry and I called 911 on my cell, barely able to talk as my jaw hurt so much.

That was it. I limped into the kitchen and ordered my staff to "shut it down, we're done here. No more." This was not because of George, or any other issue than that of my health. When the police arrived, I was in a daze, barely able to speak, the employee was long gone, but the officers were able to identify the assailant (who bragged about hitting me on his Facebook). I was not arrested. There are citations for disorderly conduct being sent to the three of us, because from what I was told, there was no reliable witness that could describe what had happened. Understandably, George was pissed at 9:30PM on a weekend night his kitchen was closed two and a half hours early. He had every right to be. I had given him my word on working out the two weeks, but I had to throw in the towel. At 4am George texted me that he'd changed the locks and that I would come retrieve my items at noon, however the truck was booked for a wedding reception at noon. I showed up with a friend at 6:30AM and knocked on the door of Gus's, where George was visible through the window. He ignored me and called the police, telling them I "was trying to break in." Three police officers showed up immediately, asked me if I was armed (I was not). I explained the situation and asked them if they could ask him to allow me to remove food and equipment I needed so that I could cater this wedding reception. Thankfully, I was given fifteen minutes to offload about 750 pounds of food and dishes into the truck. My friend and I loaded the truck and headed off to my alternate commissary, where my dependable staff convened to cater the wedding reception without a hitch.

I rattled off some neutral tweets about ceasing operations at Gus's and then some very unprofessional tweets about the situation. I had had no sleep, was in a lot of pain, and hell, this hurt. I deleted some, apologized for others, and yet I continue to read slanderous and blatantly untrue allegations hurled from "the other side." Yes, one should take the high road, but sometimes one needs to shine a beam of truth on hearsay and slander. I sincerely wish George Haritos the best of luck in creating a place that our neighborhood will enjoy and will bring him profit for his considerable investment. I appreciate that he reached out to the food truck community for help. I only wish I could have been more capable in my role as an entrepreneur.

Sorry if you didn't want to read this long, whiny exposition on the history between Taco Truck and Gus's, but I figured at least a few people wanted the details from my side. -James