Help the Goulash Pirate Rebuild After a Stolen Food Cart

On August 23rd, my husband Philipp and I launched our food stand in Old Town, Fort Collins--a long-time dream we'd been actively working towards since late last year. We were so encouraged by the enthusiastic response to Goulash Pirate on our opening weekend, and even more so by the excitement that had taken hold in the community by our second weekend, thanks to an article in the Coloradoan, a Reddit post about our food, and some social media posts about our small business.

On September 5th, Philipp and I loaded up the goulash in our car, ready for another night feeding hearty stew to late-night revelers in Old Town. When we went to pick up our trailer and goulash cart from our parking place, we discovered that both had been stolen.

We filed a police report immediately and are working with the parking property manager to see if there is any way to figure out when the theft took place (please get in touch if you have any information!), but as of now, our dream has come to an end.

Both of us completely understand that this is a very small challenge compared to all the suffering in the world right now, but for us it is completely devastating. We put thousands of dollars of our hard-earned money into this business, and more time and energy than we had to spare in making it run. I watched from my home office (where I run my freelance writing business) as Philipp spent hours on his days off from his restaurant job putting together the goulash cart using parts he ordered online and an old countertop from a professional kitchen. We patiently went through the process of finding a place in Old Town where we could set up shop, getting a vendor's license, and making sure we had the proper certification in place.

Philipp spent more than 8 hours in the commissary kitchen that first week, chopping dozens of onions, carrots, peppers, and more to creating the slow-cooked base so many of our customers raved about. After both of us had worked full-time at our day jobs each week, we spent from 10pm until 3am selling goulash in Old Town and until 4am washing pots and cleaning up from Thursday-Saturday. We were both deeply exhausted running the cart and keeping up with our demanding jobs. But we were also giddy at the thought that we were making a dream come true. We talked about our plans for growing the goulash cart, the positive feedback and excitement we'd gotten from the community, and how our side business might be our way of making a living and affording a house some day. We started planning our first vacation in three years, which we were supposed to take in October.

All of that effort, all of that money, all of that time was rendered useless by a thief. Now, we are out thousands of dollars, completely humiliated, and faced with the very expensive and daunting prospect of starting anew--building a fresh cart, investing in the equipment, getting it certified again... So we're turning to our community.

Fort Collins, if you stopped by our cart for a free sample, if you enjoyed a goulash, if you were excited about coming by and supporting our business, consider sending a couple of dollars our way. We know this is a lot to ask after only two weekends of running our business, but we can't rebuild without help. (Our only insurance payout will cover a fraction of our investment.)

We hope to return to curing hangovers with goulash in Old Town in the not-too-distant future!

(Here is a picture of the trailer. The goulash cart was under a tarp on top. If you have seen this or have any information about its theft, please let us know.)