Covid had seriously affected Mr Ashraf — a director of Baldwin Street Ltd, publishers of Coffee News — and he lost many of his customers.
"People always liked to eat good food no matter if it was Covid," he said.
"I wanted to do a business which I could run even during another lockdown."
Hence, a change of direction to operate a food truck selling tacos.
Mr Ashraf, of Iranian parentage, was born in Brazil.
He had been to various countries like Nigeria, Canada, Israel, China and Fiji before landing in Dunedin.
"During my days in Canada, I was influenced by Mexican cuisine and I decided to sell taco."
Being a novice in the food trade meant that the early days of the business were a learning experience.
He started with selling tacos from the food truck near the University of Otago, named Taco Vida.
The initial plan was to sell cheap tacos at $6 and sell more volume, but the idea was not a success because he had used budget ingredients and recipes to improve his profit margin.
"People liked it but were not excited," he said.
So, Mr Ashraf reworked his menu and pricing, selling a $25 taco, but made with authentic ingredients imported from Mexico.
He also used social media to promote his business.
With the food truck now a success, Mr Ashraf has opened a pop-up shop inside Zoo Cafe on St Clair beach.
The shop opened in December and was getting good response from his existing customers, and new ones.
"It was a success and we were doing a hybrid menu."
He now planned to lease the cafe outright and reopen as Cafe Vida.
He was also planning to open another cafe in George St and name it Taco Vida.
The first food truck would continue to be available for private booking.
"I am also planning to introduce another food truck in the university," he said.
