Cupcake Food Truck To Hit Fort Collins' Streets

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - Matt Kenfield gives credit where it's due.

His girlfriend and business partner, Kati Anderson, recognized a growing trend two years ago and wanted to jump on board; he dragged his feet.

Now, Kenfield and Anderson are embracing the mobile restaurant trend sweeping both coasts and cities in between. Come mid-February, their mobile cupcake truck will hit the streets of Fort Collins.

"I was the idiot who said it was a bad idea and didn't think it would do well," Kenfield said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Then, he noticed the proliferation of cupcake trucks in Denver. "People went crazy for them," he said. "Kati said Fort Collins had to have one."

Thus, the Cupcake Cruiser was born.

Anderson, a Fort Collins native, operates Pisa Cakes, baking and decorating wedding cakes.

She'll take that expertise and transform it into cupcakes when Cupcake Cruiser debuts.

The couple now lives in the Denver area but plan to move back to Fort Collins when the business launches.

They are investing about $25,000 in the business, including buying and converting an old mail truck and working with city and county officials to ensure the truck complies with all health and zoning regulations before it hits the streets.

So far, the process has not been a piece of cake.

Regulations are proving to be more complex than they expected.

The city classifies mobile trucks such as the Cupcake Cruiser as fast-food restaurants for zoning purposes. That means they won't be able to park on just any street corner and start selling their cakes even though that seemed to be the way similar trucks in Denver operated.

They have to find private property zoned for fast food, get permission from the property owner and make sure the property complies with code including a parking lot and landscaping designed to meet standards, according to Peter Barnes of the city's zoning office.

"When looking at temporary vendors, we suggest they look for property that already complies," Barnes said.

Denver recently cracked down on the trucks, virtually shutting down most of them, including the popular Denver Cupcake Truck that closed this month until they could clarify where they could legally be located.

When Kenfield and Anderson saw that, "We knew we were doing the right thing by working with zoning and understanding that first."

Several businesses already have expressed interest in collaborating with Cupcake Cruiser, including Odell Brewing Co.

Brewery staff is meeting with Kenfield and Anderson today to discuss partnering cupcakes with the launch of Odell's new raspberry cherry ale around Valentine's Day.

"We will have a tapping release party, and I thought it would be fun to have cupcakes," said Lynsey Perry, who does marketing for the tap room.

"They are eager to rise to the challenge," said Perry, who will be taste testing cherry almond and raspberry chocolate cupcakes to see if it will all work out.

And when the weather warms, the Cupcake Cruiser might be a regular feature. "We have such a beautiful patio; I thought it would be a great idea. Who doesn't like cupcakes and beer together?"

- By PAT FERRIER, The Coloradoan

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