SPACE KAT BBQ - Kitchen Rebuild

Hello friends,

My name is Jack Zizzo. I am the Founder, Owner, and Pitmaster of Space Kat BBQ. The reason for this fundraiser is because our brand new food trailer caught fire do to a design flaw by the manufacturer. This happened on what was supposed to be our first day back in business after being closed for 2 months. Shortly after I turned the appliances on, I noticed smoke coming out of places where there shouldn’t be smoke. I took immediate action. I called the fire department, turned the gas off, and unplugged the trailer from power. The fire department arrived quickly and put out a fire that could have been fatal. Needless to say, the trailer is now unusable and we cannot operate. Everyone came out unharmed.

I started this business in my hometown of Youngstown, Ohio in 2017 after spending 4 years in Austin, Texas working in the barbecue industry and learning everything I could about barbecue. This venture started small with money I made out of my own pocket. I took a leap and moved back home to start a pop up business and share my craft with the place that made me. After a very successful 4 year run in Youngstown, getting a permanent residency at a bar, and scratching tooth and nail to survive 2020. I took another huge leap and moved the business to San Diego in order to grow in a larger market and challenge myself as a cook and business man. I ran this business with success for 1 year in San Diego while operating out of a food truck on the patio of a bar. I took a business model that I had seen in many places while I living in Austin. I posted the truck at one set location and didn’t move, this was the permanent home of Space Kat BBQ. I was not able to keep my original food truck up to California’s very tight codes. I bought a brand new 2022 food trailer that had already passed every inspection and was completely up to code. This trailer had never been used before. On the morning of January 19th, 2023, our first scheduled day to be back open for business, the trailer caught fire shortly after turning the appliances on for only the second time. The San Diego Fire Department concluded that the reason for the fire was a design flaw in the trailer build. The trailer’s structure is made of plywood and there was no fire protective wall installed between the stainless steel wall that the appliances rest on and the plywood structure. The fire was caused from radiant heat from the appliances. As shocking and devastating as this is, I am glad that myself and staff are all ok. My plan of attack moving forward is to do away completely with operating out of mobile food units. Luck has not been on my side with doing so. I am planning on building out a permanent structure on the premises and operating out of the same location. The goal of this fundraiser is to raise money to help build out our forever home. We have a great relationship with the bar we are at and are planning on staying and operating there long term. We love doing business in San Diego and have been happy to bring authentic barbecue America’s Finest City. Thank you to everyone who is supporting us through this crazy time.

Sincerely,

Jack Zizzo

Owner/Pitmaster

Space Kat BBQ