Lotz of BBQ food truck stolen from SE Austin parking lot

AUSTIN, Texas - As a member of the deaf community, Roz Lotz said he had to work twice as hard as a hearing person to call himself a business owner. 

He took on two jobs and worked seven days a week to save enough money to invest in his dream of opening his Lotz of BBQ food truck.

"It's definitely a challenge for a deaf business owner," said Roy Lotz. "I have to work harder than hearing people do. I believe in hard work, and that's what I've done." 

Then, he woke up the morning after Christmas, and his truck was gone.

"I was at a loss of words and depressed," said Lotz. "This is my dream for such a long time and since I started doing this barbecue business, you know, to have a food truck and I finally got it, and now it's been taken away from me."

Surveillance video captured the night that Lotz's livelihood was taken from him. It was around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 in the Ghostline Kitchen's parking lot in Southeast Austin, where Lotz parked his food truck. Two men cased out the lot, and then they later returned in a green pickup truck and drove off with the trailer.

"It really breaks my heart to, you know, what they stole from me," said Lotz. "They just don't know how hard and what they've done to me. All the blood, sweat, and tears they've done for me, and they've taken this away from me."

Lotz said he has events scheduled that he is now having to cancel and is trying to figure out how he will recover financially. However, he does not want to let this stop him from living his dream, even if it means starting from scratch.

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"Hopefully, we can find this truck and get it back. That trailer, you know, this was my livelihood taken away from me," said Lotz.

Lotz is pleading for help in getting his business back to support his family.

"To save up for this all over again, this, you know, all the equipment was in the truck as well; you know, it wasn't covered fully with the insurance, only the trailer itself," said Lotz.

Lotz has not paid the trailer off yet and is now out of work. He filed a police report with the Austin Police Department. If you have any leads on who may have taken the truck, please call the police.

If you would like to help the Lotz family, here is a link to their GoFundMe page:

Ghostline Kitchens reached out to FOX 7 Austin and provided the surveillance footage of the theft.

"Theft is an issue we take very seriously at GhostLine Kitchens. To support our members during a rare incident like this, we actively assist with navigating filing police reports and insurance claims, reviewing security footage, and gathering any evidence that may aid in recovery efforts," said the facility in an email.  

"Upon being alerted to the theft, we immediately began reviewing our security footage and shared it with Roy Lotz, the owner of Lotz of BBQ, to help facilitate the recovery process. We are also working closely with him to ensure he has the necessary support, including pausing his billing during this challenging time, so he can focus on next steps for his business."