Tweets and Eats

A few days ago, I briefly discussed the fact that some small businesses are better suited to exploit the Twitter social media platform than others. But for some businesses, the power of Twitter is considerable--perhaps even inconceivable.

Area of Koreatown in Central Los Angeles

In a recent episode of currently-running CNN mini-series, Parts Unknown, noted chef and "life connaisseur" Anthony Bourdain examined the Koreatown area of Central Los Angeles. During the rioting in the aftermath of Los Angeles police officers beating motorist Rodney King and the subsequent acquittals in court of police officers and brass, Koreatown was under seige.

Korean-American store owners defend their livelihoods

Faced with an obvious lack of police presence, store owners of Korean descent banded together, armed themselves, and tried to defend their businesses, their homes, and their families. Some were successful in doing so, but not all. Many businesses were looted and/or set on fire by rioters. (If you're interested in exploring this further, you may wish to listen to the painful story recounted in this audio interview with Korean-American store owner Kee Whan Ha.) Mr. Ha describes the incredible frustrations associated with feeling abandoned by the Los Angeles Police Department, and then later by the failure of the Los Angeles Fire Department to respond either to their reports of buildings on fire or the death of the security guard of Mr. Ha's store.

Considering what Koreatown suffered during the riots--during which 58 people were killed--the area hardly seems that it would be a likely setting for the emergence of an enormously successful food truck business owned by a young Korean-American only two decades later. But this is exactly what has happened. During Bourdain's examination of Koreatown, he highlighted the tremendous success of Roy Choi, a food truck entrepreneur who later became a world-famous chef and multi-location restaurant owner. (Note: especially pertinent footage begins at the eight-minute mark of the segment)

And what has helped Choi to become so successful--and just as important--to maintain his success? TWITTER! As Bourdain describes Choi's Kogi truck business:  "Every lunch shift and every evening, the trucks' locations are sent out over Twitter. The locations change every day, and people flock quickly to find them, as the lines can get long--VERY long." Indeed, the video shows lines forming even before the trucks open for business, and Choi estimates that his trucks have had lines of as many as six hundred people at times. Bourdain also points out that food trucks allow talented individuals without substantial amounts of money to start food businesses and to introduce creative new products to the markets. Implicit in his message, though, is the enabling power that Twitter and other social media platforms can have in fostering the success of these entrepreneurs.


This business model of food trucks reaching out to potential customers via Twitter is hardly confined to Koreatown. Indeed, where I am based in the Baltimore metropolitan area, I can quickly find the constantly updated locations of my favorite food trucks. I can do so by one of two ways, sometimes depending on the actions of the food truck businesses themselves. First, if a vendor that I like has a Twitter account, I can simply become a follower of that business. If not, though, there are a number of Twitter accounts (such as @CHOWagons or @BaltimoreGal) set up by individuals ostensibly disconnected from the businesses themselves who use their accounts as platforms for food truck vendors to post their locations.

One of Roy Choi's trucks, open for business

What makes the operation of mobile food trucks so conducive to using Twitter as a social media platform? First, there's the undeniable fact that food has a limited life span as a product. Once it expires, so does its economic value. This fact provides incentive to food truck vendors to reach out to as many potential customers as possible as quickly as possible. Second, the disadvantage of not having a fixed location is effectively overcome by communicating to the customer base via Twitter. Historically, mobile food trucks have enjoyed the advantages of lower overhead costs (those associated with operating in a fixed location). But these advantages come at the cost of conceding the advantages of customer loyalty given the inevitable fact that customers will be less likely to know where to go to be a patron of the business. Consistent use of Twitter allows a mobile food vendor mitigate the tradeoff of "location ambiguity" while still enjoying the advantages associated with reduced overhead. Third, the medium acts as an enabling tool for mobility and spontaneity, increasing the odds of revenues being driven higher and also further perpetuating the popularity of the mobile vendor business model.

Again, Twitter is not going to offer the same potential benefits to various businesses. But clearly, mobile food vending and Twitter is a combination that was formulated somewhere along the path between the kitchen and the bank.