Any BITOG members own a food truck ?

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Any BITOG members own a food truck ?

I know this area has seen lots of growth in the past few years and some don't want to have a restaurant.
 
We looked into it to invest in with our daughter and decided to go in a different direction. If you do it right and meet the rules and regulations, get the permits, etc. we decided it was too restrictive for us. Plus not being metro means lots of evening and weekend event work and traveling.
 
Someone beat ZZman to the question.
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At this one nearby bar(that I don't frequent) they have a food trailer that serves up gyros, fries etc. that are excellent. Very big and the price is right. They're only at that location on Friday nights and go to other places on other days. $4-5 or so. Same concept but with a trailer with lots of stainless steel. Many of the food trucks have a price point of $10-11 that focus on more gourmet type food. Which doesn't seem like that great of a deal.
 
My friend owns a sausage truck with partner. A lot of work. You really have to love that business, it's like running a mini restaurant. Like someone already posted, a lot of weekend work and in the summer.


 
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All the food trucks here turned in their keys to become brick & mortar restaurants and then everyone got the hipster out of their system so now the trendy food places aren't doing as well LOL

This area is mostly the same folks so that market just got saturated and expensive.

However, if you live near a place with a regular supply of tourists then a food truck could be very strategic.
 
Years ago there was one at the SF airport cargo area that was 5 star quality.
 
We had lots of company events with food trucks, the food is basically restaurant grade fusion or hip / creative style. I see on their menu that they usually charge about 60-70% of restaurant price, and they have younger "entrepreneur" type owners / partners working it. You probably still need a commercial kitchen and its expenses, but not the waiters and sitting restaurant part of the expense. For the hip and fusion kind, you'll probably need lots of Yelp and Google review marketing.

Some of them rent a parking spot at a gas station, those are usually traditional Mexican or Indian type. Like all restaurant business they do primarily sell at nights and weekends.
 
My sis in laws some sort of other does(not boyfriend).

He took a uhaul for $2000 and converted into a truck to serve tacos in VT. He I belive he spent a few thousand on conversion. He preps at another food place.
 
with regard to food prep at other locations....

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/nyregi...ar-hot-dog.html

Closest that we got was the dog stall at the Museum of Natural History (I liked it).

$300,000 per annum fees, at $2/dog, makes 820 dogs per day just to cover "rent", and assuming that you get them free.

None of these places had piles of bread and sausage, nor pallettes of cold soda sitting out the back, they had people rocking up re-provisioning, with stuff that was obviously pre-prepared elsewhere.
 
"Double handling" food is where diseases come from.

Heck, I've seen teeny brick & mortar restaurants where shredded chicken and other meats were delivered from the passenger seat of a car.

Refrigeration? We don't need no stinking refrigeration.
 
OMG, those NY hot dog vendors are crazy to pay that rent for a very slim profit margin. Just like NY taxi drivers with their taxi tokens.

Not to mention the slow days with no sales and when your hot dog cart gets robbed by a thug with a gun.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
with regard to food prep at other locations....

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/nyregi...ar-hot-dog.html



The guy pays the city $289,000 a year for the spot and says he earns $3000-$5000 a year?? No way, a NYC food cart must be like owning a bar..

Some of the things we learned about food trucks (in Arizona):

If you don't have a fully licensed commercial kitchen on board you can only prep food in a licensed kitchen you rent, and you still have standards and inspections on the truck.

Not legal to park your food truck in your drive when not being used, it has to be parked in some sort of approved location (forget why) and that means another monthly cost.

Every municipality and event has it's own permit that you have to get beforehand.

Liability insurance- you'd better have a boatload.

Still, people do it and make money at it but they must love the work.

Then there's the lady who pulls up to the job site, opens her trunk and sells everyone a couple of tamales out of a cooler and moves on.
 
Can't say if they are any good or not as I would not pay these kind of prices for a hot dog, but there are three shops inside Grand Central Terminal in NYC selling hot dogs with all kinds a fancy cuts of meat and toppings for between $6 and $8 or $9 per dog. The business is crazy!
 
The other night I was watching an episode of Modern Marvels about food trucks (it's on On Demand if you care to watch. I found it very interesting). They said a hot dog vendor in NYC can make over $150k a year! I'm in the wrong business.
 
I have a lot that, from time to time, I rent a part of to food truck people. They come and go pretty fast. I never count on them hanging around for long.

There are only one or two around here that are the real deal, and have had staying power and customer following to remain in business.

Unless you're buying and reselling them, for most people, I doubt there is much money to be made in them. At best I'm probably only a little better than broken even just from renting to them. Most people only want to work 9 to 5, and a food truck is the exact opposite of that.

Unless you're a real savvy, experienced, food guy, I would avoid if profit is the motive.
 
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