Popped Republic's truck being towed to a mechanic after police recovered it last November. Photograph courtesy Popped Republic.
On Monday, the Alexandria restaurant Satay Sarinah’s food truck was discovered, stripped, in Prince George’s County. It was the second time in the last few months that an Alexandria-based food truck took an unscheduled trip across the river. In late November Popped Republic’s truck was also stolen; it too was discovered in PG County after a local resident spotted it near his office and alerted WRC-TV via Twitter.
Popped Republic’s truck was found with “damage to the glass, door and ignition column,” WNEW reported. “Obviously, they wanted the equipment from the truck,” Popped Republic owner Rich Arslan tells Washingtonian. He says he is still in regular contact with the police and met with a detective Thursday.
Satay Sarinah’s truck was found with significantly more damage. The restaurant posted pictures of the devastation on Facebook.
Arslan believes the crimes are related, and certainly it's not hard to imagine that as food trucks become more popular (we track them everyday!), there could be a black market for the vehicles and their kitchens. Satay Sarinah's chef and owner, Sonny Setiantoko, says the thieves made off with all the food service equipment except his refrigerator and steam table. But they also took "half of my engine," he says.
Alexandria Police Department spokesperson Crystal Nosal cautions against drawing a line between the crimes just yet: The only public similarities at this point are the jurisdictions in which the trucks were stolen and recovered. "A lot of things are crimes of convenience," Nosal says, though, "it doesn’t seem for me that it would be convenient to steal a food truck, because you're going to be noticed."
Social media helps them get noticed. While the thefts are serious crimes, she says, "making it a fun thing to pass along" gets lots of people in this region and afield—West Coast police departments were retweeting the Popped Republic theft—on the lookout for the stolen vehicles in a way they may not be for, say, a missing 2010 Honda Civic.
And there's little evidence that food-truck thefts are part of any larger national trend, the way thefts of Tide detergent appear to be. A Nexis search of the past year turned up no crime trend, just the odd stolen trailer. However, In 2012, police accused a Kissimmee, Florida, man of burying a stolen food truck to serve as part of a "doomsday bunker." A city official, noting that such vehicles aren't designed for such uses, said, "I don't think it would have protected him from much."
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
Who Is Stealing Alexandria’s Food Trucks?
A black market for food trucks? Not so fast, police say.
On Monday, the Alexandria restaurant Satay Sarinah’s food truck was discovered, stripped, in Prince George’s County. It was the second time in the last few months that an Alexandria-based food truck took an unscheduled trip across the river. In late November Popped Republic’s truck was also stolen; it too was discovered in PG County after a local resident spotted it near his office and alerted WRC-TV via Twitter.
Popped Republic’s truck was found with “damage to the glass, door and ignition column,” WNEW reported. “Obviously, they wanted the equipment from the truck,” Popped Republic owner Rich Arslan tells Washingtonian. He says he is still in regular contact with the police and met with a detective Thursday.
Satay Sarinah’s truck was found with significantly more damage. The restaurant posted pictures of the devastation on Facebook.
Arslan believes the crimes are related, and certainly it's not hard to imagine that as food trucks become more popular (we track them everyday!), there could be a black market for the vehicles and their kitchens. Satay Sarinah's chef and owner, Sonny Setiantoko, says the thieves made off with all the food service equipment except his refrigerator and steam table. But they also took "half of my engine," he says.
Alexandria Police Department spokesperson Crystal Nosal cautions against drawing a line between the crimes just yet: The only public similarities at this point are the jurisdictions in which the trucks were stolen and recovered. "A lot of things are crimes of convenience," Nosal says, though, "it doesn’t seem for me that it would be convenient to steal a food truck, because you're going to be noticed."
Social media helps them get noticed. While the thefts are serious crimes, she says, "making it a fun thing to pass along" gets lots of people in this region and afield—West Coast police departments were retweeting the Popped Republic theft—on the lookout for the stolen vehicles in a way they may not be for, say, a missing 2010 Honda Civic.
And there's little evidence that food-truck thefts are part of any larger national trend, the way thefts of Tide detergent appear to be. A Nexis search of the past year turned up no crime trend, just the odd stolen trailer. However, In 2012, police accused a Kissimmee, Florida, man of burying a stolen food truck to serve as part of a "doomsday bunker." A city official, noting that such vehicles aren't designed for such uses, said, "I don't think it would have protected him from much."
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
“Mean Mugging” at Ward 8 Candidate Forum Leads to Arrest
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
More from News & Politics
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor