Popular Cuban-Canadian take-out owners dealing with an expensive hit from fraud. Anyone have a spare food truck?
Leo and Maylin are disappointed. They are sad and worried. In their place, I’d be furious and full of despair.
The Cuban couple came to Oxford in 2022, immigrants who found work at the Thomson Ultramar and at Scott’s Independent grocery in town. They worked ridiculous hours, pulling double shifts, night shifts, any and every shift in the pursuit of their dream of building a new life in Nova Scotia.
With the arrival of Leo’s son Leonardo and shortly thereafter, his son’s wife from Venezuela, the hardworking family realized one of their goals on the way to becoming proud, independent Canadians: they bought a Food Truck and became entrepreneurs.
As friends of the “LeoMay” family, I’ve watched their successes and setbacks, and marvelled at their ability to put their heads down and do the job, regardless of how tired they might be. This is exactly the nature of our own hardworking emigrants who built Canada into what it is today, and they’ve done it with the added language and cultural barriers that made each step forward feel nearly impossible.
So you might understand my reaction (unprintable) to the news that this amazing family had become victims of fraud.
In their high-and-low hunt for a suitable vehicle to use as a food truck, there were slim pickings in the used market. They found one in Quebec, made the deal, brought it home to Oxford and got things moving with their business. The vehicle was registered at AccessNS, insured, and the finance company was doubtless pleased as punch to be receiving regular payments from a successful new business.
And then… one morning, mid-October, the RCMP showed up with a repossession order for the LeoMay Food Truck. The fellow who sold them the vehicle was not, apparently, the owner. There were no red flags, no problem with registering the vehicle as their own, nothing. But one weekday while serving up tacos to hungry customers, these local entrepreneurs were left looking at the empty space where their business had been parked only moments before.
There is no fast and easy remedy to this situation. Having consulted a lawyer, Leo and Maylin discovered that they would need to hire a legal firm in Quebec, since that’s where the transaction occurred. Not only are they dealing with this situation in a legal and cultural context that is wholly unfamiliar, they are doing so without the business that pays the bills.
They are fortunate in that LeoMay Food Truck also operates the canteen in the Oxford Arena, but that generates only a fraction of their earnings.
Since the Spring, LeoMay has been a familiar sight at community festivals, local business parking lots, and many other events around the maritimes.
Not only were they “making a go” of it, and doing very well with a widely appealing menu, they were also embracing the opportunity to see all corners of our province, as they continue to define for them what it means to be Canadians. I admit to being jealous of the sights these newcomers have seen, and very proud to call them friends.
There is little hope of resolving this situation in any way that will be inexpensive. Replacing the food truck and all of the equipment therein will cost tens of thousands of dollars, all while they are still paying for the one that they no longer have.
LeoMay have cancelled all scheduled appearances where the food truck had been booked into the foreseeable future, leaving only the canteen operation to bring in a portion of what they had projected in their business plan. Leonardo has a second job with a local security firm. Scratching for any way forward is what they’ll do, since there is no alternative. Unlike folks who have generations of family and extensive social networks, these new Canadians have only their own dedication and resolve to help them through a difficult time.
But Leo and Maylin have made friends. They’ve made many happy customers, and brought unique experiences to our community. And so we’re going to try to help them as best we can.
This week, LeoMay launched a GoFundMe as they find a way to relaunch their Food Truck business. It was a difficult decision to go this route for proud, independent, hard-working new Canadians. They hope that publicizing their experience as victims of fraud might serve as a cautionary tale for other newcomers who hope to be entrepreneurs in their new home.
