Hidden Gems: Meet Lauren SARAVIA of The Tropic Truck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren SARAVIA.

Hi Lauren , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In fall of 2015 The Tropic Truck dream became a reality and the first tropic truck truck was born with a handmade menu on a chalkboard of seasonal specials.
My husband and I worked 20 hour days and really wore ourselves thin the first year but we survived. The food spoke for itself and Little by little we were getting busier with private bookings and word of mouth was spreading. Our flavors were unique. Southern Florida, Caribbean, Central American, and lots of love. In 2017, we opened our second location ( second food truck) while also relocating our personal life to our sweet home in Altadena. We were also married in 2018. The next few years were great and we continued to grow. We did many local Altadena community events (we even held our own community event that gave back a portion of proceed to Altadena local organizations and non profits) and also we were serving all of Los Angeles for private Catering’s and large festivals etc
In 2020 the pandemic hit and I was pregnant. It was an extremely scary time. We closed the trucks for 3 months and quarantined in our home in Altadena all the while I was pregnant with our daughter. My daughter was born in June of 2020 during the La riots and the curfews. Once the Al fresco dining order was put in place in Los Angeles we immediately contacted our friends who were running the grocery outlet at that time on Lake in Altadena (this is where we used to hold our community events) and they let us pop up shop in their parking lot with tables and chairs and we were back! After months of being closed and on lock down we were finally able to reopen and have a place to go. We were stationed on Lake Ave in Altadena for breakfast lunch and dinner for the next few months while the city of Los Angeles reopened and got back on its feet. Altadena of course came out to support us we served off the menu daily specials to keep them satisfied. Ceviches, Shrimp Cocktails, Ribeye Plates, and taking requests at the same time. A few months later we started getting calls from past corporate clients and universities realizing that catering services outside were safer than eating inside for their employees/students and business boomed. We needed a third truck. In 2021 we opened our third truck and were fully booked by word of mouth. We have always prided ourselves on professionalism and quality of our food and after years in the business it was finally starting to pay off after all the struggles we had been through. January 2025 our beautiful community of Altadena was destroyed and that brought great sadness to our hearts. We left our home the early morning of January 8 never to return. Or at least what we returned to was simply ashes of its former self. The first day of evacuation we knew what we had to do. Anything we could for our beloved Altadena. I was contacted by the Altadena sheriffs station and we were escorted in to feed them dinner we wanted to donate while everything was still ablaze. Shortly after many organizations approached us wanting to compensate us and partner with us to support us to feed the first responders in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades. It was a challenging time but the food trucks of Los Angeles stepped up together to go into the fire zones and feed the first responders.
The fires have passed but forever left a scar on our communities and our hearts.
One thing thats certain in this world is that nothing is certain. I don’t know what the next challenge we will face is but I’m positive it won’t be boring.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Tropic Truck ?
We are a Cali Caribbean food truck based out of SoCal. We service mostly La and Oc. We are known for our fresh seafood and Lobster dishes. Surf and Turf Loaded Fries and Jerk Chicken Bowl. We have a fusion menu of Caribbean classics with LA street food.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Never stop growing always keep striving. Never get comfortable. Something is around the corner to knock you off your feet. Never give up. You will get through it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.thetropictruck.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/thetropictruck
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/thetropictruck