Thieves steal SLO County pastry maker’s trailer, $10,000 worth of equipment: ‘A huge shock’
David Perlis of Morro Bay received a nasty surprise when he returned recently from a weekend of California Army National Guard duty.
Somebody had stolen the 12-foot-long commercial trailer and all the equipment he uses to make and sell New Orleans-style pastries at local farmers markets.
“It was a huge shock,” he recalled.
Perlis discovered the loss at about 11:30 a.m. June 19, when he got back from his duty at Camp San Luis Obispo. He lives on a 28-foot sailboat moored near Tidelands Park, but had parked his trailer at the Morro Bay home of a friend for whom he was housesitting.
When he got to the Elm Street property, he discovered that “the trailer was not where I left it,” he said. “These things are always a possibility, but you don’t expect someone to come and take a trailer from a neighborhood street.”
Perlis immediately reported the theft to the Morro Bay Police Department. Later that day, The California Highway Patrol located the stripped-down, emptied-out trailer in Atascadero.
“The hitch is there, but it’s loose. They (the thieves) took the foot off the hitch, took the spare tire,” Perlis said. “In theory, it is operable, but I want to get it totally inspected before I use it again.”
Perlis estimated that he lost about $10,000 worth of equipment he uses for his beignet business, The Second Line, including a Predator 9500 generator, a 8-quart KitchenAid stand mixer and a Paragon ParaFryer.
Thieves also took the 10-foot by -10-foot burgundy Eurmax canopy tent under which Perlis makes and sells his doughnut-like creations at farmers markets in Cambria and Morro Bay and other locations.
Morro Bay man launches beignet business
Perlis launched his business, The Second Line, on a shoestring budget about a year ago. The company’s name was inspired by one element of a New Orleans jazz parade.
His first step was making and selling beignets — fluffy fried pastries made with yeasted dough.
He test-marketed the beignets while working at Cambria Coffee Roasting Company, and now sells them at the Main Street shop on Saturdays and Sundays.
Perlis eventually hopes to open a combination coffee shop and art studio from which he can pursue his other longtime goal, being a successful ceramic artist.
His journey to that career has been“more of a bowl of spaghetti than a straight path,” he said. “Life works in funny ways.”
The Morro Bay man’s link to beignets began in high school.
“My very first job, while still in high school,” Perlis recalled, “was at an iconic beignet shop near the (Louisana State University) campus in Baton Rouge: Coffee Call.”
He never dreamed “I’d be starting my own company around beignets” 14 years later,” he said.
Perlis moved to California in 2014 with a egree in creative writing from Louisiana State University.
“My ultimate goal” then, he said, “was to pursue screenwriting in Los Angeles. But after two years in Hollywood, I was miserable.”
In 2018, Perlis moved to the Central Coast and enrolled in Cuesta College’s ceramics program to build a portfolio in order to apply to graduate schools.
“During that time, I started working at Cambria Coffee Roasting Company,” he said. “Three years later, I’m still there.”
The officer candidate signed up with the National Guard “on March 25, 2020, the day everything shut down for the pandemic.”
“My life had nothing really concrete in it, and I needed some structure, community involvement” that would complement his artistic bent, said Perlis, who still does some writing — mostly short stories, essays and screenplays.
After living out of his car for a year in Los Angeles, he’s ready to put down roots, Perlis said. But without the equipment for his beignet business, those dreams are on hold.
Perlis may launch a crowdfunding effort to get The Second Line back on its feet, although he’s hesitant to do so.
“I’m stubborn, and I always think I can do it myself,” he said.
How you can help
Anybody with information about the crime or the stolen equipment can call the Morro Bay Police Department at 805-772-6225. For updates on The Second Line, go to thesecondlineslo on Instagram.
