COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cris Soriano says he was woken up in the morning to his mother pounding on his door.
“She got a phone call from the owner of the barbershop that we need to call the police that our food truck has been stolen,” said Soriano.
La Poblanita, an authentic Mexican food truck based in Clintonville was uprooted from its usual location on Indianola Avenue and ripped from its electrical unit.
His brother Armani Soriano says he was in disbelief when he heard his family’s livelihood for the past nine years was stolen.
“Working the food truck, we've gotten to know and love Clintonville as a family,” said Armani Soriano. “So we know everyone by name, they know us by name. We've seen their families grow, we've seen their kids grow up, you know what I mean? We know their orders or names by heart.”
Then they received a phone call in the middle of an interview with 10TV on Sunday, from a man named Henry. A man the Sorianos don’t believe they know. He told them he had spotted their stolen truck.
The tip led them to the city impound lot, where through the lens of a television camera, you could see the trailer near the back of the yard.
The Sorianos were relieved it was found, but know the reunion is not the end of the story.
It was missing its exhaust van from the top, they only imagine what the inside looks like.
“It really hurts just because we can already tell that there's our it's already been gutted,” said Armani Soriano.
“It does hurt seeing it just knowing already that there's already something missing. And there's only more to come,” said Cris Soriano.
Before it was found, the community already began raising money to get the family-run truck back up and running. On Sunday night, a GoFundMe more than $28,000 was raised by 603 different donors.
The Sorianos will be able to assess the damage Monday morning when the impound lot reopens.