David Swanson, the owner and founder of All American Dave's Food Truck, announced today that the AAD food truck will be closing permanently. The bad news comes just a few months before the 2022 WSOP.
In a statement published on Twitter, Swanson explained:
"It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that I announce All American Dave's Food Truck has closed its doors permanently.
"The food truck, born at the WSOP, was in the back loading dock of The Rio from 2013-2019.
When the 2020 WSOP was canceled, it took a massive toll on the company. We, along with so many, just tried to hold on as the storm passed.
Shortly before the 2021 WSOP began, I was informed that, due to COVID, I would no longer have access to the Rio kitchen or be allowed to have my food truck on Rio property. I thought very seriously about closing the business at that point, as we were already enduring serious financial struggles and would have massive changes in operations. We operated anyway but at a significant loss, taking on sizeable debt along the way.
The recent news that we are unable to operate at the WSOP this year due to union restrictions has left us with no choice but to close our doors permanently."
That debt has now come due and without the 2022 WSOP to keep things solvent, it appears that this is the end of an era for AAD.
Adding up
Despite the setbacks, when Swanson spoke to Poker.org in early March, he seemed optimistic about the business's future prospects.
At that time, he hoped to be able to run the truck off-site and that the other aspects of his business would be able to cover any slack that was left in his finances.
Unfortunately, the landscape appears to have changed significantly since then.
"I feel regret that my company is unable to fulfill its obligations to the loyal customers who have supported us over the years."
At this time, Swanson does not have a plan in place to refund customers who had credit on account with the food truck.
This fact has soured some of the responses to the news. Some players have called for a pledge for Swanson to make customers with credit on account whole. Todd Witteles even goes so far as citing a recent trip to Fiji as a sign that "something isn't adding up."
However, most of the poker community's responses have been supportive of Swanson.
Either way, it is undoubtedly the case that the 2022 WSOP will not be quite the same without AAD to feed the players.
Featured image source: Twitter
