Robert Salt is a 21-year-old entrepreneur from Green Hill Drive, Bramley, who is living the dream of running his own business. He’s just launched a fundraising campaign with a difference – can you help him convert wat’s believed to be the only van of its type in the country into a kitchen?
At the end of 2015 I bought a 1976 Fiat 238 Coriasco over the internet with a small budget, a lot of imagination and a bucket-load of ambition. The van arrived in late December after being transported 1000 miles all the way from the Italian city of Milan.
I’m Robert Salt and I am the creator, owner and operator of the Street Food business that is Mr Pitta. I started up in my hometown of Leeds in early 2015. One year on and I have traded all around Yorkshire out of my small food trailer.
the van from milan from Robert Salt on Vimeo.
The best place to find me is in and around Leeds or local markets, events and festivals. I have received such great feedback and lovely compliments on my pittas, which I like to call Proper Pittas.
They’re large round flatbreads and not the oval shaped type which are typically seen on supermarket shelves. I make the Greek Pitta Bread from scratch and roll them up with fillings and sauces inside.
With my current set up I am limited to the amount of Pittas I can roll out and cook. This has meant over the past year I have lost out on customers due to inconvenient waiting times.
To have a customer choose you over the other food traders is a privilege but not being able to cook the Pittas fast enough to keep the queue moving nicely is very frustrating. Over the past year this has lost me customers and with your help, I would like to put this right.
The small trailer I am currently using is only 1.8m wide. To put it into perspective… I can touch both sides of the trailer at the same time when stood inside! The van will provide much needed extra room for bigger and better equipment!
Where will the money go?
Plans are being put in place for the 238 to be transformed by a specialist conversion company. The van from Milan will provide 3m of space and this will allow me to double the amount of baking stones which means I can bake more pittas!
Cost Breakdown:
Equipment – £1,000
Bodywork – £2,500
Paintwork and branding – £1,000
Kitchen interior – £1,500
I would also like to welcome non monetary investments such as valuable info and ideas, suggestions, advice etc. in order to keep growing the business throughout 2016 and beyond.
Thank you for reading and see you on the road…
Check out the crowdfunding appeal here.