– By Kerry Hannon (New York Times) / May 24 2021
The COVID pandemic hit California hard. It has seen well over 3.5 million cases and over 60,000 deaths. Scores of businesses have closed. But for Ana Jimenez, the owner of Tacos El Jerry, a small fleet of food trucks in Santa Cruz County, it provided an opportunity to bring her business into the 21st century.
Jimenez’s four trucks began taking orders through an app and a website, delivering directly to customers, and cultivating a customer base through a new social media presence. All of that added up to a significant increase in sales.
“Our business grew,” said Jimenez, 50. “We even added a new truck. Credit goes to my son, Jerry, who is 23. We didn’t have anything on social media. He said, ‘we’re going digital on all of this, Mom.’”
Half of her orders are now placed online, she said.
Jimenez’s son created Facebook and Instagram pages for the food trucks, and a social media advertising campaign, and the trucks began accepting credit card purchases.
