SAN FRANCISCO—A local and popular Nepalese food truck called MOMOlicious had one of its trucks stolen on June 17 from Emeryville, but later announced that it has been recovered, with the vehicle damaged. MOMOlicious is known for serving spicy momos, chicken curry and Chow Mein. Their business was supposed to reopen in Pleasant Hill on Friday after being shut down since March, but their reopening had to be delayed due to their stolen vehicle, its owners said.
The food truck that was stolen is a customized red truck, 24 feet by 10 feet, with a customized kitchen inside. It is valued at $100,00 and was stolen from a parking lot at 63rd Street and Overland Avenue while its owners were away. The vehicle was discovered missing at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, about half and hour after it had been parked by its owners.
The engine had been left running, with keys inside, after the battery was jump-started earlier. It is assumed that this is how the vehicle was stolen.
Sudeep Khatiwada, a co-owner of the vehicle, said that the lot is very safe, and that the truck had been unlocked overnight in the past with no incidents.
The incident is still being investigated, and the suspect’s identity remains unknown. It is also unclear whether it was a planned crime, or a crime of opportunity.
On Friday, June 19, MOMOlicious posted on Instagram that the truck had been recovered, and was discovered in West Oakland. Oakland and Emeryville police departments helped to track down the vehicle.
An Instagram story post read: “UPDATE ON THE TRUCK: Thank you everyone for your support and wishes! The Truck is found today from West Oakland. Its gonna take a while for this baby to recover. We will be operating our 2nd truck from next week. Please come and support us.”
The truck has been damaged, but the damage is reparable and the truck is expected to be back up and running at some point. The second truck will be back in service next week at Off the Grid, Embarcadero Plaza, as well as East Bay and other locations. Check momolicious.com to view their full schedule.
