Veteran chef Evan Dominguez of San Antonio is fighting to keep Evan’s Taste of Heaven alive after his custom-built food truck vanished from a storage lot near Palo Alto College; the San Antonio Police Department is searching for the vehicle while friends, customers and the veteran community rally behind a fundraiser at Rooster’s Icehouse in Lytle this Saturday.
Dominguez poured three years of his savings and a stubborn love of feeding people into building that truck, turning Army pay and grit into a rolling kitchen that became a familiar stop across South Central Texas. The vehicle was more than metal and appliances; it was the face of his small business and the carrier of recipes he perfected for regulars. Losing it hit every part of that effort.
“They just didn’t steal a food truck,” owner Evan Dominguez said. “They stole a piece of me.” Those words land heavy because they are not about property alone. They are about identity, late nights, community events, and the momentum a small business needs to survive.
He had been storing the truck temporarily at a storage center near Palo Alto College to wait out rainy weather and the slow season, and he last checked on it in late March thinking it was safe. Then on May 9 everything changed. “The storage unit called me on May 9,” Dominguez said. “They said, ‘Are you working on your food truck?’ I said ‘No, ma’am, the food truck is in the storage.’ They’re like, ‘No, your food truck’s not here.’”
The call dropped him into shock. His story is an immediate window into how fragile small businesses can be when theft removes a single, vital asset. For someone who built his business from scratch, the truck represented not only equipment but years of planning, branding and the trust of customers who showed up for specific dishes.
The San Antonio Police Department has issued an alert and is investigating the disappearance as a motor vehicle theft, canvassing storage sites and nearby businesses for surveillance footage and witnesses. Investigators are knocking on doors and reviewing cameras to piece together the night the truck vanished. Community tips could make a decisive difference in where the investigation goes next.
Dominguez’s connection to the neighborhood runs deep. He worked markets and local events, and people came to him because he delivered consistent flavor and warmth. “Whatever you like, I make,” Dominguez said with a laugh, a line that explains why his regulars are turning out now to help him rebuild what was taken.
Support arrived fast from friends, longtime customers and fellow veterans who know how much the truck meant to his life after the Army. He’s raising money online and has organized a hands-on fundraiser at Rooster’s Icehouse in Lytle where people can eat, donate and swap stories about the man behind the menu. That event is meant to raise funds and to keep the momentum of Evan’s Taste of Heaven from stalling while the police search continues.
Replacing a custom food truck is expensive and slow, and Dominguez is focused on practical next steps: gathering financial support, exploring short-term alternatives to stay visible in the community, and working closely with detectives to recover what was lost. Neighbors and vendors who’ve watched him over the years are pitching in with time, contacts and encouragement because local businesses depend on each other to survive hard knocks.
Authorities ask anyone with information about the truck’s whereabouts to contact the San Antonio Police Department and submit a tip so investigators can follow up. In the meantime, customers and friends are asked to show up at the Rooster’s Icehouse fundraiser and to share word of the missing vehicle with people in the region. Small actions can add up fast when a community decides to help one of its own rebuild.
