Fundraiser Organized To Help Couple Replace Stolen Food Truck

TAMPA, FL — Following the theft of their food truck last month, a Tampa couple is struggling to keep their dream alive with some help from their friends and fans.

Both immigrants, Dora Botero is from Colombia and Mirco Falcone is from Italy. They saved for eight years to purchase a food truck to launch a wood-fired pizza business.

They eventually opened Pizzeataly in August 2019.

"It was a family victory," said Botero. "We were so happy. Our hard work was finally going to pay off."

But, on Nov. 16, their American dream turned into a nightmare when their food truck, parked at a shopping center on West Hillsborough Avenue and Sawyer Road, vanished during the night.

A surveillance camera at a nearby store revealed the fate of the food truck. Around 4 a.m. a Ford F-150 pickup truck pulled up and, within a matter of minutes, left towing the Pizzeataly food truck behind it.

When she saw the video, Botero recalled thinking, "Oh, my gosh, my dream is gone."

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigated the theft, but the food truck had disappeared without a trace.

Botero's 25-year-old son, Miguel Garcia, said the couple was devastated. He detailed their experience when he set up a GoFundMe page to help them raise money to replace the food truck.

"Never in a million years would we imagine ourselves in this horrible situation," he said. "But here I am with pain in my heart sharing a story of a hard-working couple who, for over four months, shed sweat, blood and tears trying to build something that not only would provide for their families but would offer them a brighter future."

The couple's made-to-order wood-fired artisan pizzas and other authentic Italian dishes created by Falcone, who trained as a chef in his native Italy, immediately attracted a faithful following of foodies. The couple was finally seeing their dreams come to fruition when they were forced to shut down in April and May to comply with coronavirus mandates.

When they were given the go-head to reopen in June, Botero and Falcone worked 12 hours a day to make up the lost income.

"Even after overcoming this pandemic, they continued to persevere and, just as things were starting to look up, this horrible thing happens (the theft)," Garcia said. "It is so heartbreaking to think that there really are horrible people out there, that somebody could just come and take everything that you’ve worked so hard for, and it just hurts to watch the people you love the most go through something like this."

The couple paid $35,000 for the food truck, which was equipped with a specially designed brick pizza oven built into a heat-resistant wall and two refrigerators. Unfortunately, the food truck didn't qualify for insurance. So, in a single night, Botero and Falcone, lost their entire investment and income.

“The police are still investigating the case but there are no more leads at this time,” said Falcone. “We can only wait and see. The food truck was our only family income.”

In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, customer and friend Malvin Melendez hosted a fundraiser for the family on Dec. 5.

So far, 116 people have donated $9,263 toward their goal of $35,000.

In the meantime, the couple are catering for holiday parties and meetings. Call 813-966-3697 to place an order. Click here to see the menu.

“We’re so thankful for everybody who has been supporting us,” said Garcia. “I know that this is just a setback and I know that God has something bigger in store for them.”

Anyone with information on the theft of the food truck can call the sheriff's office at 813-247-8200.

Courtesy Pizzeataly