Potato Potato

Potato Potato Mobile Foods started as a joke between friends. Kevin Johnson, Owner/Operator/Emperor of Potatoes knew that poutine (the mobile food’s specialty), was popular in Canada but not the United States, and mostly unknown in Colorado. It was then; Kevin thought that an “International House of Poutine” style concept would be both successful and unique in the Colorado market. Kevin visited the SBDC to help make his idea a reality. “SBDC counseling has helped me by provided me with an overview of the regulatory parameters and requirements of opening a retail food establishment” said Kevin.

Opening a mobile food restaurant has had its challenges including mechanical breakdowns, negotiating red tape, learning to be as self-reliant as possible, cash flow and not to mention the physical and mental fatigue. Kevin has been able to overcome the challenges by focusing on each individual moment and the task at hand. “It’s important to not get overwhelmed by circumstances outside of your control.” Kevin brought developed service skills and both interpersonal and business correspondence excellence to his small business ownership through prior work experience and college education.

Potato Potato is different from any other mobile food truck. The food truck focuses on just one ingredient while exploring the possibilities of food while using that one ingredient – the potato of course! The potato gives Potato Potato a broad but confining palette within which Kevin gets to create. Since the food truck’s opening on March 1, 2014, Potato Potato has won several awards including: Two “Gold” awards in the Best Food Truck category (Colorado Springs Independent, Best of 2014 & 2015) and one “Silver” award for Food Truck in the Colorado Springs Gazette’s annual Best of the springs readers’ poll. Potato Potato hopes to continue work on creating sustainable business that is less susceptible to the negative seasonal impacts on revenue. The hope is to find a permanent “brick and mortar” location to add to the mobile business and develop products for wholesale distribution. Additionally, Potato Potato is planning to revisit their initial business giving plan. In the first year of operation, Kevin donated 5 – 10% of profits to a non-profit organization in the Pikes Peak Region.

Meet the Author

saraeknudsen

In 1979

In 1979, the Village People recorded the song “In the Navy.” A couple of the verses were, “If you like adventure, don’t wait to enter,” and “Come on and protect the motherland.” Although only a lad of five years old, that is exactly what Michael Tipton set out to do. Mike was born in Agana, Guam, in 1974, which is where his parents were stationed—Mike’s father was in the Navy Seabees. Mike’s family moved to

Read Story »

Ascension Engineering Group reaches for the stars

by Dean J. Millerdjmillercommunications@gmail.com Fascinated by all things technology in their youth, neither Andrew Dark nor Dan Wilson would have anticipated a future as leaders of one of the hottest space systems engineering start-ups in the nation. Today the founders of Ascension Engineering Group, LLC. support America’s warfighters with high tech by prioritizing the most basic soft skills. At Ascension, taking care of people is a foundational company priority that includes an emphasis on mentoring,

Read Story »

Heritage Arsenal

Every item at Heritage Arsenal — every uniform, medal, weapon — has a story to tell.

They are stories of bravery. Service. Sacrifice. Hope.

Courtney Linn, president of Heritage Arsenal, displays her favorite artifact in her office: an American flag made by a French teenager while under the German occupation of Normandy. “They knew the Allies were coming,” Linn says, “and this was made in preparation.”

Read Story »

Business Service & Solutions, Inc. “guides and inspires others”

by Dean J. Millerdjmillercommunications@gmail.com Current headlines underscore hard lessons of history as they are dusted off and the nation learns them once again. Tariq Collins, Sr. is helping to teach a better outcome. “If you’ve been blessed with the vision to see a problem, you’ve an inherent responsibility to make a change,” said Tariq. “To the Black community: Stay educated, know yourself, and have a vision of who you want to be. For others who

Read Story »
Skip to content