i'm derek, i'm hyungry, and ready to eat. these vendors offer a variety of the streets near you. these mobile restaurants are

serving up original, creative and unusual combinations. you can grab something simple like a grilled cheese sandwich or something unique like curry. we areher here in the average eight -- upper haight. you will be competing in the quick buy food challenge. an appetizer and if you are the winner you will get the title of the quitck bite "chompion." i am here with matt cohen, from off the grid. >> we assembled trucks and put

them into a really unique heurban settings. >> what inspired you to start off the grid? >> i was helping people lodge mobile food trucks. the work asking for what can we get -- part together? we started our first location and then from there we expanded locations. >> why do think food trucks have grown? >> i have gotten popular because the high cost of starting a brick and mortar or strong, the rise of social media, trucks can be easily located, and food trucks to offer a unique outdoor experience that is not easily replaced by any of their setting any worlwhere else in san franc. san francisco eaters are interested in cuisine.

there adventuress. the fact theyuse grea use great ingredients and make gourmet food makes unpopular. >> i have been dying to have these. >> i have had that roach coach experience. it is great they're making food they can trust. >> have you decided? >> we are in the thick of the competition? >> my game was thrown off because they pulled out of my first appetizer choice. >> how we going to crush clear? >> it will be easy.

probably everyone has tried, something bacon tell us delicious. >> -- people tell us is delicious. >> hopefully you think the same thing. >> hopefully i am going to win. we're in the financial district. there is a food truck right there. every day changes. it is easy and fun to go down. these are going to be really good. >> how are you going to dominate? >> i think he does not know what he is doing. >> i was thinking of doing [unintelligible] we are underrepresented. >> i was singing of starting an irish pub. that was my idea. >> one our biggest is the corned

beef and cabbage. we are asking people what they're thinking in getting some feedback. >> for a lot of people i am sure this combination looks very wrong. it might not sound right on paper but when you taste it to or have it in your mouth, it is a variety. this is one of the best ways in creating community. people gather around and talk about it and get to know different cultures. that brings people together and i hope more off the grid style and people can mingle and interact and remove all our differences and work on our similarities. this creates opportunity. >> the time has come and i am very hungry. what have you got? >> i got this from on the go, a sandwich, and a caramel

cupcake. i went with home cooking. what de think? >> i will have another bite. >> sounds good. >> that was fantastic. let's start with you. >> i had the fried mac and cheese, and twinkies. i wanted to get something kind of classic with a twist on it. >> it was crispy. >> i will admit. >> want to try fieried mac and cheese? >> was that the best twinkie?

>> would you say you had the winning male? >> definitely. >> no. >> you are the "chompion." clair has won. you are the first "chompion." >> they know it iwas me because i got a free meal. and check a map on -- check them out on facebook. take a peek at the stuff we have cut. to get our -- check out our blog. i will have

>> tonight marks the eighth anniversary of small business week in san francisco. wells fargo started it eight years ago. [applause] my name is lesley, and i am a senior vice president of the san francisco chamber of commerce. my partner is steve adams, the president of the small business commission. we had the honor of cochairing small business week again this year, our second year running. and do was add flavors of san francisco last night? all right, thank you so much. you made it really amazing.

we had a lot of small businesses, incredible restaurants, and all of the small business resource providers mated just extraordinary this year, many are saying the best ever. thank you for that. we celebrate small business week every year as a san francisco community, to celebrate, honor, and support small businesses that really bring the texture and the distinguished experiences in the neighborhoods. they bring the jobs. they put people to work. [applause] and then make our neighborhoods special. innovation is growing every day from the people in this room and small businesses across san francisco. >> and we would like to thank a few people who helped get us here today. san francisco small business week is managed by a volunteer committee made up of people who are dedicated to the success of small business. a special thank you to all you have made san francisco small

business week the best anywhere. i do not know if you guys knew this, but san francisco small business week is the largest small business week celebration in the united states. [applause] so i would like to thank our honorary post, mayor ed lee. mark from the sba. michael from wells fargo. steve from the chamber of commerce. and our committee members, regina and jane from the office of small business. kathleen and steve from the small business administration. sharon of the renaissance entrepreneurial center. melanie with the san francisco chamber of commerce. brigid from the san francisco african american chamber of commerce. jim from the council of district merchants. eric and pat from the golden

gate business association. edith of the as the entrepreneurial center. susan, ella, a and katy from wells fargo bank, and adam and allison of strauss events. [applause] >> and thank you very much to our sponsors who make this week- long bigger and more meaningful to small business every year, starting with our title and presenting sponsor wells fargo, of entrepreneur sponsor sfmta. if you have seen that we have been able to promote small business to where we needed the attention. we wanted small business to know we were throwing a party and a weeklong celebration and a week- long opportunity to educate and inspire a small business. visa, at&t advertising

solutions, a constant contact. recology, pacific gas and electric company, kaiser permanente, zero, chevron, and vertical response. >> t-mobile, microsoft office -- office 365, dynatech, veriphone, and our principal sponsor, it aaa flag and banner, fedex, and strauss event. seven by seven magazines, the bay citizens, san francisco business times, san francisco bay guardian, in the bay area reporter. let's get our sponsors and media sponsors a round of applause. [applause] >> we are here to solicit several small businesses tonight that have gone above and -- salute several small businesses denied that have gone above and beyond to open their stores, get on the phone, turn on their

websites, and stand up as mentors for small businesses. this is not an easy time, and small businesses overall, many of them are struggling to stay afloat, including many in this room. so we would like to shine the spotlight for a little while tonight on some of these small businesses that have been able to push the envelope and continue to do very well. they have been beacons of hope, and we cannot have this event tonight to really give them the recognition that they deserve without recology. recology has long been the community sponsor of small business week and small business even said throughout this city. we're thrilled to have that consistency, to have the partner in recology and the work they do in san francisco and beyond. we would like to have the opportunity to introduce our host tonight, a vice president of recology, john medino.

[applause] >> good evening. it is a pleasure to be here. recology is a community company, and we like to do things within our community. we do a lot with small business. after all, they're the fabric of san francisco, and we're part of that also we're glad to do it. i will keep it short tonight. i know people have a few things to say. more importantly, i want to make sure everybody gets enough to eat and drink. with that, thank you very much for allowing us to be a part of this. we are certainly going to continue this relationship and more to do with small business in the future. thank you very much. [applause] >> and we're lucky here today. we have sba regional administrator here to bring us a

few words from washington, d.c. so let's welcome elizabeth. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. it is so great to be here to celebrate with you. small business week and celebrating small business truly is the best part of my job. as president obama's voice for small business on the west coast, it is so great to be able to be here and celebrate with you. i want to thank our partners, sponsors, volunteers, and of course mark and his team for making this possible, as well as recology for hosting us in this beautiful spot, as well as the mayor and treasurer. thank you did during small business week, we honor our small businesses, and we should. we should be celebrating our small businesses every day of the week actually, because of course, they're the ones creating the jobs they create

two out of three jobs. they represent 99% of our employers in the country, over 99% in california. and what i really love about the west coast and san francisco in particular is not only are you a week ahead of the national small business week -- of will be traveling back to washington, d.c., this week and to celebrate national small business week, but you're also the largest. best of all, you do small business week in a unique way. you not only celebrate and honor our small businesses, but your help to provide them with the support they need to go on and be even more successful. for example, a number of you were there last night at flavors of sf, and over 1200 people there -- i love the people -- the idea of luring people in with food and helping to connect them with the resources to helping them succeed. tomorrow is the all day small

business conference and training. a host of training to help a small businesses be more successful. san francisco really is unique, and i hope will lead the whole country in this. it is just a fabulous week. thank you again to everyone, and congratulations to our award winners. [applause] >> thank you, elizabeth. and thank you so much for recognizing san francisco. i now would like to welcome the president and ceo of the san francisco chamber of commerce, a champion of small business, and my boss, steve locke. [applause] >> thank you. i guess she had to say that, but on behalf of the chamber of commerce, first of all, congratulations to all the award winners tonight. the chamber of commerce suffers from the perception of being a downtown big business organization. but the truth of the matter is, out of 1500 chamber members that

represent almost 300,000 employees in the city, 1200 of them employ fewer than 50 employees. so we really do represent all of you. we represent the small business community. and just to put that in perspective, 85% of all businesses in this city that have employees have fewer than 20 employees. 85%. and i certainly do not want to offend our large businesses, wells fargo -- [laughter] because we love large businesses, but the truth of the matter is, over the past 30 years, the number of employees working for businesses with 1000 or more employees has declined by 50%. so, what is the driving engine of the san francisco economy? you will hear it from the mayor.

it is small business. that is where we get our neighborhoods. that is where we get the entrepreneurial spirit. it is small businesses hiring people wonder two at a time, that will put san franciscans back to work. it is about small business. congratulations to all of you. and i would also like to thank john and recology for hosting us tonight. a reporter asked me earlier, why are you having this that recology? does it have something to do with prop a? i said it has nothing to do with prop a. recology is a good example of a large company that is very successful because the partners with small companies. 78% of all of the trash in at this city is diverted away from

landfills. that is because this company works with all of you. we have finally figured out in this city -- it took a while, what goes in the blue came in, what goes in the green can, what goes in the black can. [laughter] it took a while, but we figured it out. now we are number one in the country. [applause] yes, thank you. we are probably the no. 1 in the world. if we say it, it is real. [laughter] congratulations to recology. which brings me to the final point. tonight is n aboutolitics. it is about celebrating award winners. i cannot help myself. we have the most successful operation of recycling and composting in the country. there is a proposition on the ballot, prop a, that will

undermine and destroy the reputation. i encourage all of you to vote no on prop a. it would break this company into five pieces. it would double the number of trucks on the road. the secret is working together. recology wor the mayor's office, the city, the department of environment, that is how we get the job done. i will in on a political note, but again, congratulations to all of you. we're glad to help you celebrate small business week. thank you. [applause] >> sharon miller is here tonight to award some very special awards. she is part of the highly

successful coalition of companies. sharon miller. [applause] and she got the red dress memo. >> i am the ceo of renaissance entrepreneur center. it is a small business development sector. we work with entrepreneurs. every day, is small business week at renaissance. we're privileged to provide training and support services to help people start and grow their own businesses. i am joined by my colleague, paul conley, and by a board member katie johnson, from wells fargo bank. thank you for being here. i am joined -- i am so privileged to give out an award from the san francisco economic development association or seda.

we are a coalition of all the organizations in san francisco that provide small business support services to primarily lower and moderate income women and men. this is a very exciting award. this is the first time a micro- enterprise has been given an award during small business week. i would like to ask the members to raise your hands. we're working the of the -- together to provide a host of services helping people to start and grow their own businesses. tonight, the very first sfeda businurban bazarrre. [applause] we are joined by brandy and

brianna, the founders and owners of urban bazaar. it is a wonderful business that speaks to the whole culture of small business in san francisco. they are artists and are creating beautiful crafts that they sell. more than that, they're bringing fair trade items to san francisco. they're bringing items made by other san francisco artists to the richmond district where the business is located. it does not take a miracle to start a small business. sometimes it feels like it does. it does not really take a miracle. it takes passionate people, great ideas, and a lot of support. urban bazaar has received support from a number of agencies. they've worked with women's initiative, community ventures,

a small-business development center, and working solutions. they embraced all san francisco had to offer. mark quinn and elizabeth, the mayor, san francisco. what they did was really smart. they looked at what was out there and took advantage. they were founded in 2010. they now have three employees in addition to two full-time right here. they were the best boutique in "sf weekly." they are women-owned gift shop. you can buy fabulous things. we are honored we will be giving an award to urban bazaar at the mixer/party, a great event, on friday night.

please join us there. [applause] >> thank you. we do not want to take up much time but we want to sincerely thank all of the organizations and programs in san francisco, the offices at city hall that work with small businesses. we support a number of small businesses. it is the two of us and one employee. we're very tiny ourselves. we work with about 78 area artists and craftspeople along with others in developing countries. we're open because of the women's initiative, working solutions, and the guidance from different organizations around the city. we're helping much tinier entrepreneurs start and grow their small businesses as well. when you support us, you are supporting dozens or hundreds of