The founders of Aioli Gourmet Burgers are reshaping Phoenix’s food truck scene with a growing fleet of trucks and trailers.
By Mike Madriaga
September 17, 2024
Kyle Hollenbeck and chef Tommy D’Ambrosio are reshaping the food truck scene in metro Phoenix with an innovative business model. In 2019, they established BLT Kitchens, a 14,000-square-foot North Phoenix hub combining a ghost kitchen, commissary kitchen and resource center. In 2022, they launched Food Trucks PHX.
The two endeavors were a perfect match.
Food Trucks PHX includes a fleet of 12 mobile units ranging from a school bus to food trucks and trailers that serve hungry crowds across the Valley, from Arizona State University students to festival-goers and people on the go.
BLT Kitchens provides space for the food truck owners to prep, cook and store their trucks as well as operating as a location where customers can pick up takeout.
This multi-faceted business venture began when Hollenbeck and D’Ambrosio launched the Aioli Gourmet Burger truck in 2014. Since then, the duo has relentlessly innovated.
The start of a food truck fleet
Hollenbeck has a background in corporate sales. D’Ambrosio went to culinary school and, in 2018, won “Chopped” on the Food Network. Over the past decade, they’ve developed multiple food and drink brands and introduced a rotating food truck concept, giving BLT Kitchens flexibility to cater to various events.
This rotating truck is critical to their success. Four core brands — Aioli Gourmet Burger, Modern Tortilla, Super Mac Bros and Protein & Poke — rotate within the same truck based on the event. The truck has decals of the four restaurants wrapped on three sides. Then, on the front, across the windshield, they swap out that section with a sign held by magnets of what business the truck represents that day.
The truck serves as a “ghost kitchen” on wheels, seamlessly switching between burgers, tacos and seafood. Customers can check the truck’s location on social media, place their orders online and pick up their food where the truck is parked.
“If we sell a bunch of Aioli Burgers at an event, the rig becomes Aioli Burgers,” D’Ambrosio explains. “Then, we might switch to Modern Tortilla for Cinco de Mayo when everyone’s craving tacos.”
This flexibility allows them to cater to diverse crowds and boost profits without being tied to one concept. The “ghost kitchen on wheels” idea emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and the inspiration came from restaurant ghost kitchens, where multiple concepts were offering takeout from one location.
“I’m like, ‘ah, that’s an interesting idea. I wonder if we could do that with the food trucks,'” he says. “People don’t care what the truck looks like as long as they know what they’re eating. It’s been wildly successful.”
In addition to the rotating concept truck, each of the eateries also has permanent food trucks dedicated to each brand. D’Ambrosio explains that has to be the case for some businesses that require specific equipment, such as the pizza oven at Oakwood Fire Pizza.
“That style oven is only in that food truck,” he says. “We’ve talked about doing baked pasta or something to try to play into it, but just haven’t got there yet.”
A home base for Valley food trucks
BLT Kitchens, which also has locations in Mesa and Glendale, isn’t just a playground for Hollenbeck and D’Ambrosio’s endeavors or a spot to park and prep their trucks — it benefits its tenants, too. It provides resources to help entrepreneurs start their food businesses, including handling health department approvals.
Maya’s Cajun Kitchen and Loopy Whisk Bakery & Café are some of the many tenants of BLT Kitchens.
The collaborative food truck hub and ghost kitchen also offers truck rentals for their tenants, providing the same flexibility that has driven their own success.
“We’ve rented trucks to tenants before, and they’re available for anyone who needs them,” D’Ambrosio adds.
The childhood buddies’ success hasn’t come without challenges. Issues like axles breaking under heavy loads and plastic parts inside the trucks becoming brittle in Arizona’s heat were among the early hurdles.
After 10 years, they’ve learned how to properly layout food trucks, balance equipment weight and keep operations running smoothly — no matter what. Sharing these hard-earned lessons is a core part of their mission.
“We want to help others avoid the pitfalls we’ve experienced,” Hollenbeck says. When fully booked, Food Trucks PHX offers leads and outsourcing opportunities for seasoned food truck operators. This collaborative spirit has also led to the creation of their most popular food truck — a converted school bus.
“A chef I knew built a food truck out of a school bus and asked for pointers,” D’Ambrosio recalls. When the chef left the industry, he sold the duo the bus.
“I wasn’t sure we needed another truck, but when I saw it, I was sold. It was a diesel engine with all the right equipment. We turned it into the Aioli Gourmet Burger school bus, and it’s been a hit, especially at graduations,” D’Ambrosio adds.
The Aioli Burger school bus is now a staple at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. On weekdays, it’s parked in front of the ASU bookstore, with other trucks from their fleet rotating around campus during lunch.
“As ASU grew, they realized they needed more food options,” Hollenbeck explains. “They wanted to implement a food truck program.”
After lunch, the trucks from ASU spread across the Valley, returning to their North Phoenix hub for cleaning at night. Meanwhile, the BLT Kitchen team is already prepping ingredients for the next day.
New places to park
In addition to parking on campus, the trucks have recently made appearances at local sports stadium events. The fleet now serves food at the Phoenix Rising FC Stadium, and recently earned points with Phoenix Suns players.
“Aioli Gourmet Burger, Modern Tortilla and Oakwood Fire Pizza were at the Suns’ practice facility on Camelback,” for the team’s gathering and unveiling of the Suns’ “El Valle” lowrider, Hollenbeck says. “Devin Booker was there with his lowrider (plus) Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and everyone. We were feeding them.”
Aioli Gourmet Burger’s namesake burger was a hit, featuring aged sharp cheddar, applewood bacon, caramelized onion and roasted garlic aioli. The players enjoyed Modern Tortilla’s carne asada and chicken tinga tacos. And the pizza truck’s hot pies, inspired by D’Ambrosio’s Italian roots and Hollenbeck’s Chicago heritage, brought it home.
“We’ve done a few events for the Suns, and it’s always a thrill,” Hollenbeck says. “Tommy and his wife Viviana are die-hard fans, so it was a big deal. We even served them our AZ Lemonade Stand lemonade.”
The fruitful lemonade business, another of the duo’s ventures, now offers 15 flavors at their food trucks, restaurants and convenience stores around the Valley, and at Aioli’s brick-and-mortar stores.
As Food Trucks PHX and BLT Kitchens expand, Hollenbeck and D’Ambrosio remain focused on creating opportunities for others in the food truck industry.
“We’re here to support vendors and give them a chance to succeed without taking on the enormous risks that come with starting a food business,” D’Ambrosio says. “We provide the equipment, the space and the know-how so they can focus on their food and their customers.”
With their rotating truck concept and commitment to helping others, Hollenbeck and D’Ambrosio ensure that culinary dreams can come true — all on four wheels.
Read the original article here.
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