Food Truck anyone?

Paul

Paul

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My BIL is a local chef who also does some catering. He wants to get a food truck. He has a large family and it's a big investment for him. He's a popular and veteran; in-demand chef and not your typical "I'm going to start a restaurant" (and watch it fail in a year) and I think he can make it work. He'll need to get the truck into service beyond his catering in order to be financially viable.

Does anyone have any experience with Food Trucks and provide any insights / potential pitfalls?

 
No experience here, but I think location (permits, parking, etc.) is a huge factor.

Here in New York, the city demands something like $14K a year for vendors to park in Central Park, for example. That's probably an extreme example, but I think a business plan would have to take local fees of all kinds into account.

One element of success here (for what it's worth): target, woo, and park in front of the investment banks. Price accordingly.

Good luck to your BIL!

 
I suppose if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere...

at least according to Frank.

 
No personal experience, but food trucks are very big here in Los Angeles, and he

should check out the requirements for serving and "roaming" in his county and city, as they can vary considerably.

I would also check out his competition - what else is available, and is there a poplar gathering spot for business generation.

Many food trucks here are very active on twitter, keeping their location current for their followers. There are also websites that the food truck owners use to broadcast their locations - here is a popular one for my area:

http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/


Good luck to him!

 
No experience either but I watched the PBS show on the Chirba Chirba dumpling truck

a couple of times. While googling for it, I came across this link that may be of help to your friend.

The Chirba Chirba show mentioned that the truck would go to different locations at different times of the day and they acquired a handle on how much to make of this and that (favorites) to maximize profits based on the clientele and time of day.

http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2011/09/raleigh-nc-food-trucks-serving-the-triangle/

 
Perhaps this book would help: The Food Truck Handbook

My friend runs a food truck and it's very successful, garnering lots of national press. Their biggest advantage was developing a product (bacon jam) and making it available for sale. It's gotten some national press and helped build the brand. They've since expanded to a physical restaurant, use the trucks for selling lunches and then maximize their use by doing caterings in the evening, and during slow times.

I'd say if he's got questions, food truck people tend to be very generous with their knowledge. Call a few and get some feedback.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Food-Truck-Handbook-Business/dp/1118208811/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339559199&sr=1-3

 
We don't have them, but an Orlando guy coordinates a fleet of trucks to visit

towns for special events. They were just at our town from 5:00 - 9:00 last Saturday when we had torrential downpour that lasted for HOURS...including all the time they were there.

I can't imagine anyone went to the park and stood outside to try them. I know we didn't and we were looking forward to it. Pity the amount of prepared food they must have lost due to weather.

 
John T Edge has a new Truck Food book out and I went to see him at his book

signing. He said weather and other unforseen circumstances (including biased traffic cops, etc.) are real issues for food trucks.

In my town every new location, the trucks are required to have a new health inspection. At first they were attempting to move around daily but this became a huge hassle. As you can imagine, they don't move around much anymore.

 
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