Board Members
Matthew Rossi, President
Matt serves as President of the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association (PMFA). He is also the President of the Castor, Bustleton & Cottman Business Association and is on the Advisory Board for the Culinary and Hospitality Department for the Community College of Philadelphia.
Matt is the sole proprietor of Nick’s Roast Beef on Cottman Avenue and Nick's Roast Beef, Woodhaven in NE Philadelphia, where he served as general manager for the past 4 years. Matt has an extensive background in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Since getting into the mobile food truck side of food service, Nick's Roast Beef has taken it by storm, having been selected to be a part of some of the biggest events the city has seen over the last 3 years including the VIP section of the Papal Visit to Philadelphia, The NFL Draft and the Democratic National Convention.
During his college years at Monmouth University, Matt began to develop his skills in the food service industry while working his way up the ladder working every position in the restaurant field and becoming known for his sales driven, guest-first mentality in the business. He has consulted for numerous other large scale openings from hotels and clubs such as Holiday Inns and Ardmore Music Hall in their reinvention.
Harris Eckstut
Harris Eckstut owned the legendary MontSerrat Restaurant on South for over 20 years and has
over 30 years experience in the independent restaurant industry. He was the Founding Chair of
the South Street/Headhouse District in Philadelphia, one of America’s first “small” BIDs as well as
its 1st Zoning Committee Chair. As the Principal of "Eckstut Restaurant Consulting," Harris works with food service operators developing and implementing plans and strategies which includes
restaurant “turnarounds.” He also brokers leases and business purchases. He teaches “The Dollars
& Sense of Owning A Restaurant” at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College.
Rocco Gallelli
Rocco Gallelli is a Principal of Innovative Catering Concepts, a “complete and coast-to-coast catering company”. Innovative Catering Concepts is a nationally recognized catering services provider. May it be feeding the Pope and the masses during the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, providing catering services for the 50th Super Bowl in San Francisco, California, the 51st Super Bowl in Houston, Texas or touring the country with Morning Star Farms...ICC is a recognized leader in the industry.
A graduate of Villanova University with a BSBA in Business Administration, Rocco’s roots run deep in the food industry. As a young man, he worked with his father at Dom’s Avenue Pizza, a neighborhood landmark which his family owned. After college, Rocco excelled in the mortgage field while working still working on weekend catering jobs.
He decided to pursue full time what he loved…food service, specifically mobile food-service and off-site catering. Rocco is nationally known as an exceptional Vending Coordinator. His projects include; Made in America, Liberty Block Party and Morning Star Farms, to name a few. Rocco also sits on Executive Boards with the Mummer’s Fancy Brigade Association and FDR Park.
Rocco is a wealth of knowledge in the Mobile Food Industry. Innovative Catering Concepts sponsors and participates in food festivals throughout the tri-state area, provides consulting services for events, has a very successful catering venue and most importantly… enjoys helping fellow PMFA members.
John Fischer
John Fischer is the owner and managing partner of Baby Blues BBQ. Baby Blues started as a family restaurant – Fischer’s uncle, Danny Fischer, opened the first Baby Blues BBQ in 2004 in Venice Beach, CA. Since then, the family has opened stores in San Francisco and Echo Park - LA. John was passionate about bringing the family restaurant to their hometown and did so by opening up the first East Coast Baby Blues BBQ in University City in 2010. Since then he has expanded, developed to a catering operation and entered the food truck industry after opening a Baby Blues truck in 2015.
The Fischer family has a long line of success in the food industry. His Great Grand Father, Howard, was a Senior VP for A&P Grocery Stores and his Grand Father, Lou, founded Gino’s Hamburgers, which sold to Marriott in 1982 with over 350 stores.
Growing up in the Overbrook section of the city, John Fischer is a St. Joes Prep and Temple Alumni – where he studied Entrepreneurship. He and his amazing wife, Cara, currently live in the Point Breeze section of South Philly. Working in the hospitality industry all through his youth, Fischer fell in love with the business and his studies reflect his passion.
Dave Kauffman
Selling refreshing treats on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk is a fun adventure, but I sold the business, took some equipment and started working street festivals, and other fun events. Almost 20 years later, the Li Ping Corn Company is the premier provider of Hot Sweet Roasted Corn on the Cob in the Philadelphia area.
Mix this in with over 30 years teaching in the Philadelphia school district and owning a number of other businesses gives me a wide knowledge of entrepreneurial experiences. I hope my position with the PMFA will allow me to share some of my experiences with others and gain new insights at the same time.
Jessica Caldwell
Jessica joined the Philadelphia food truck scene in 2014, working alongside her husband Manuel and brother-in-law Gabriel to start Dos Hermanos Tacos. She began working in the food industry at the age of 15, catering high-end events in Connecticut. She continued her passion for catering when she moved to Philadelphia to attend Drexel, managing all events at a local restaurant where she met her future husband.
Now with two young girls, she focuses her time arranging all events for Dos Hermanos; truck catering, drop off catering, events and daily vending. With her help, Dos Hermanos Tacos not only fed, but was also a part of the movie "Creed 2", booked almost 100 weddings, and has been continuously named a top spot for tacos in Philadelphia. She plans to continue growing this business, and help others grow in the food truck industry.
Dennis Harding