San Jose couple's food truck left with significant damage after being struck by stolen car

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A South Bay couple is pleading for help after their food truck, which is how they make their living, was heavily damaged.

On Nov. 26, the owners of Barya Kitchen said their truck was sideswiped by another food truck someone had just stolen out of the same shared lot it was parked in.

Selina Wong is the operations manager.

"Someone drove through this gate with their service window out which kind of caught into ours and then he just kept going," Wong said.

The wintertime is the slow season, but this crash couldn't have come at a worse time.

Their insurance company ended their coverage on Nov. 8 - they're no longer providing renewals for 'commercial automobiles.'

Now, they're on their own with repairs while their Filipino American food truck business is stalled.

VIDEO: Stolen Oakland taco truck found, owner credits ABC7 viewer with recovery

Good news! An Oakland woman's taco truck has been found after being stolen last weekend, and the owner is crediting an ABC7 viewer who saw our original report and spotted the truck.

Wong said at least six gigs have been canceled.

"We had to cancel those gigs, we had to cancel our 2024 permit inspection, we had to pull out of gigs that we already promised people, so yeah. It's just very overwhelming," Wong said.

Rod Reyes said running this small business that's half kitchen and half vehicle has never been easy.

"This is what pays for my rent, and our rent here at the kitchen, it pays for our bills," Reyes said.

Reyes founded Barya in 2017 in memory of his mother and her Filipino cooking.

VIDEO: San Jose community supporting mobile pan dulce business after van stolen, crashed

For more than 30 years Zeledons Bakery On Wheels has served Mexican sweet bread in San Jose. But after their van was stolen and destroyed, community members and even famous comedians are donating to bring the mobile bakery back.

"This is how we share our story as a first-generation Asian American Filipino American you know like - we're very underrepresented. It's still kind of the underdog in the culinary world," Reyes said.

The couple have received personal donations and started a GoFundMe to help get repairs going so they can get back to business.

Both Reyes and Wong said this 'speed bump' won't stop them from pursuing their dreams.

"My dad is a retired chef, he wanted to have a restaurant when I was younger, but he didn't want me growing up in the restaurant; ironically now I have a food truck and I'm hustling just as hard. So it means a lot to us - we want to prove that we can do it we want to make our parents proud," Wong said.

"This is why I want to share my story because you know, we do it through this truck," Reyes said.

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live