Those who have passed by Mimi's Trailer Park Eatery on North Guadalupe Street in San Marcos in the past few weeks might have noticed something unusual—there are no food trailers.

Some vendors have closed their mobile restaurants and others have relocated, but Mimi's manager Leanne Brawner said more food trucks are on the way. She expects Mimi's to be back in full swing by the fall.

Brawner said she is not surprised so many food trucks have shut down or relocated because it is the nature of the industry, especially during the slow summer season.

"All the trailer parks see a huge drop in business that's cyclical based on the [Texas State University] student population," Brawner said. "When the students leave, all of our trailers suffer badly because that's a huge percentage of the customer base."

But Brawner said out of the seven spaces available for food vendors, Mimi's already has two trailers getting set up as of July 8. Both are waiting until students return to open their businesses.

"In the heat of summer, the vendors know they'll be miserable, and customers will be, too," Brawner said. "They don't want to start their business at a time when it's going to be really difficult. They are waiting for the upswing."

The Big Kahuna moves

Owners Mark and Lori Jakobsen had operated their food trailer, The Big Kahuna, at Mimi's since the trailer park eatery opened in September 2011, but they moved their business June 21 to San Marcos' other popular food trailer park, The Hitch: A Mobile Eatery, which is located five blocks away on East Hopkins Street at South C.M. Allen Parkway.

The Big Kahuna serves authentic Hawaiian cuisine, including popular items such as the Big Kahuna Burger, which is a hamburger topped with Kalua pork and cabbage and served on Hawaiian sweet bread, and Ahi Poki, a Hawaiian-style ceviche made with ahi tuna marinated in vegetables and spices.

"I had to make the move because business is slow in summer and winter, and I have to be able to succeed in what we're doing," Mark said. "And to be able to do that, I have to go to the location that will be the most successful for us."

Mark said he hopes The Big Kahuna's new proximity to the San Marcos River will help his business.

"In the summertime I think the river will help us. But we have to market it," Mark said. "We're talking about going to the Lions Club and doing something with them as a pickup or drop-off point here, because [the Lions Club] can easily pull in or out of here."

In June, Chris Pasztor, owner of Smoked Out Barbecue, also relocated his food truck from Mimi's Trailer Park to The Hitch. He declined to comment.

A grueling job

Brawner said The Hitch does better business than Mimi's in the summer.

"But in the fall and winter when people aren't floating the river, we do better," she said. "Both are great locations because San Marcos has a lot to offer."

Brawner said it is always sad when vendors leave. By the time the managers go through the detailed process of getting to know the vendors and making sure their trailers meet the park's standards, Brawner said they feel like family to her.

"In the course of our time at Mimi's we have had a lot of vendors leave because they were new to the business of opening a food trailer. It's always sad when one of our vendors has to go because they didn't realize what they were getting into," Brawner said. "They think it's going to be cheap because they just have to pay rent and have no employees to pay, but they don't realize how expensive it can be, and they just don't budget."

Brawner said that unfortunately for the majority of vendors, the food trailer business is a grueling job made more difficult by long hours.

"They have to be there ready to cook at 11 a.m., which means getting to the trailer at 9 or 10. And if they stay open late, that means they put in almost 12 hours a day," Brawner said. "It gets old real quick, and it's very emotionally draining and taxing. Many of them own the trailer and work it themselves, and they can't afford to hire help to relieve some of that pressure."

Alternative business opportunities

Brawner said the goal behind Mimi's Trailer Park was to create a community area for people in San Marcos to hang out, which is why Mimi's has lights in the trees, canopies for shade, picnic tables, free Wi-Fi and sponsored concerts.

However, Mark said the events at Mimi's Trailer Park were not working out for his business.

"We think The Hitch is a better location because it's closer to the river, and it's more visible as opposed to the other site. They have a lot more going on here in terms of functions and events," Mark said. "I know they were wanting to do that up there, but it just took too long, and things did not materialize the way we wanted them to."

Brawner said there are a lot of things vendors can do to increase business during the slow months, such as creating menus to display in bars at the courthouse square and offering a delivery service.

"If we would just bring them menus and arrange for a delivery service, [bar staff] would put menus up in bars. But it's up to trailer owners to produce menus and hire someone who can make delivery runs," Brawner said. "We have yet to have trailers who have that in their budget. There is lots of money to be had that could be had year-round, but they have to plan for that."

Brawner said even though vendors don't like the idea of spending more money to hire a delivery person when business goes down during the slow months, that is exactly what they should be doing.

The Big Kahuna has thought of another way to plan its business in accordance with the slow seasons. The Jakobsens offer catering for luaus, weddings and parties and plan to increase those services in the summer and winter seasons to make up for the business declines.

In fact, a few weeks ago, The Big Kahuna catered a party for 500 people. Last year, the Jakobsens catered a private party for 1,000 of Willie Nelson's guests at the musician's ranch in Spicewood.

A love for the business

Mark grew up in Maui, Hawaii, where his family owned five restaurants, and he has worked in the culinary field for more than 40 years.

"I've been in the culinary field since I was 9 due to the fact that my stepfather was a corporate executive chef for about 38 restaurants," Mark said. "And it's been in my blood. My family has had restaurants all my life. I've done numerous things, but I keep coming back to the kitchen, because it isn't the money. It's the love."