Food Truck Businesses...

I'm desperate enough to get a new job that I'm thinking of ANYTHING, including getting back into foodservice. Anyone know anything about Roach Coaches? I've read the "Dummies Guide" but anyone with firsthand experience?

I read that as "Ford truck business." I've been a happy customer of a ton of fOod trucks but never an owner or employee. I do know from conversations with the owners of a couple that it's a real j-o-B and you have to work at it hard. Not that you expected otherwise, it's just that for some reason some people think it's going to be a cakewalk. But it's hard, hot, unrelenting effort. But if you find your right niche you can stay busy that's for sure. Don't underprice yourself! A food truck has most of the costs of a restaurant just not the rent.

In our area you need to have permits to operate. Might want to check out potential locations and how to get permission to operate there and what is the cost.

Seems to me there are two primary types - the carnival/fair-food group, and the daily (typically urban) claim-your-spot group. I've known some people in the first group who were successful enough during the summers that they were able to take off all winter - but they worked their asses off all summer long. At least they got a break from the daily grind for a few months though.

My first hand experience is as a customer, which arguably does not count.

We do have a goodly sized number of gourmet food trucks here. How profitable they are I cannot say. I can say that many times those trucks have a long line of customers, and are followed fanatically.

Here, the gourmet food trucks have somewhat banded together. They have their own regular gatherings, called "gatherings". You might be able to get some useful information from their web site about their food trucking experiences. The Gathering This isn't really unique, and there may be similar out where you are.

I do know there has been lots of drama here over gourmet trucks setting up in front of brick and mortar restaurants. There has also been some drama over sanitation and bodily functions of the workers.

You'll want to make arrangements with the major employers in your area to park in their lot on lunch break. Rotate between the employers and keep a schedule. Bonus points if you band with other trucks to make it an "event" to saturate customers. It might be "Food Truck Tuesdays" at Pearsons, and "Food Truck Thursdays" at the university. As long as you have a bunch of people who've been waiting all darn week for you to arrive for lunch!

I actually went to a event locally supporting the local food trucks. The base of the event was because we have a big bike fest in our downtown and the city refused to allow local food trucks. So they had the event in parking lot outside of downtown. It was a big turn out and some of the food sold out. Typically any big event is run by the big corporate carnival/fair-food group. From what I have seen, most of them that are successful also cater. I am on the fence of starting my own, but I figure by the time I do, it won't be popular anymore. Make sure you know information about passing inspection.

All I can add to this is that one of the best pizzas that I've ever had came from a food truck with a wood fired oven in the back.

There is a public park near me that has free movies on summer Friday nights, and every week they have 2 or 3 different food trucks. That's were I found that pizza truck, they had to leave early because they ran out of supplies. The Indian food truck the week before was pretty good too.

Step 1: Get mobile liquor license.

Step 2:

Actually, I really think if you could work out the local regs, a craft brew version of this would be really popular.

Used food trucks don't come cheap.

I had an acquaintance who was looking at one. 60K.

I don't know any details.

I have thought that my town needs one of these, but it would only be a summer time business since the rest of the year the place is mostly full of retirees. I doubt I have the energy to pull it off and can't really stop my real job for months at a time. Maybe I just need to find a young hipster chef type with a good work ethic and be an investor.

I made a "business plan" for one once. Never was able to make it make sense for me once counted in the value of my time. Wish I had done it back in college.

The best that I could come up with was a grilled cheese truck. $5 for your basic Wonderbread+American Cheese. Add in upgrades for $0.50 to $3 each--Texas toast, sourdough, whole wheat, rye; Velveeta, Colby-Jack, PepperJack, cheddar; tomatos, bacon, onion, basil. 1 fridge, one grill top, microwave for the bacon.

You'd need to be near a corporate headquarters or else a busy (BUSY) downtown, AND a college campus to capitalize on the drunk folks with the munchies.

Food for thought. A neighbor of one of the pastors at our would church would travel through a couple states and run a funnel cake stand/truck at state fairs and the like in the warmer months and made enough to only have to work in the summer months and early into fall. The costs to make funnel cake were on the stupid cheap side

In reply to iceracer:

60k is peanuts compared to the cost of equipping a brick and mortar restaurant though...

92dxman wrote: Food for thought. A neighbor of one of the pastors at our would church would travel through a couple states and run a funnel cake stand/truck at state fairs and the like in the warmer months and made enough to only have to work in the summer months and early into fall. The costs to make funnel cake were on the stupid cheap side

Something like this is in one of my "retirement" scenarios. A dairy bar in a tourist area is also under consideration.

i don't get the love for buying food out of a truck... it has made me feel like i'm at the county fair the few times that i've done it, but the tacos from that one truck were delicious enough to make me want to go to their actual restaurant and try it out some time.

I swear you can't be a legit foodie restaurant in Austin unless you started in a truck. I guess it's a low-risk way to try out new recipes and tastes.

Around here, we have Food Truck Fridays. A group of 4-7 trucks have banded together to make it an event, and it draws a good crowd. No idea what they do the rest of the time. The really good ones in Denver have a following, and you can find out where they're going to be on Facebook. Basically, if you want to do well, you do BBQ.

T.J. wrote: I have thought that my town needs one of these, but it would only be a summer time business since the rest of the year the place is mostly full of retirees. I doubt I have the energy to pull it off and can't really stop my real job for months at a time. Maybe I just need to find a young hipster chef type with a good work ethic and be an investor.

The gourmet food trucks here work it year round. Tourists and fairs are left to the true roach coaches, serving funnel cakes and ecology burgerd.

The gourmet trucks have a gathering every Friday, like I mentioned above with the link. Their default location is a semi-converted abandoned warehouse. It keeps the rain off, body heat warms it, and the people come from miles.

Retirees would buy I'd think if the truck set up appropriately. Ltd of retirees are bored and looking for something fun interesting .

But make no mistake, I'm talking gourmet quality food. Not six-month old boiled hotdogs. We have gourmet grilled cheese trucks and restaurants in fact. Artisan breads, exotic cheeses,b unique combinations. Think $20-40 a sandwich, and it will blow you away with its taste. People line up for the use experience.

I have ignored the food truck revolution. I have no desire to buy food out of a truck. Maybe it's just me?

We also have a restaurant in town that started as a food truck. I have no desire to go there either. I have visions of them cooking over a barrel, burning garbage that was started with diesel fuel, in the back by the dumpster.

Note: I doubt they are actually doing that. Lighter fluid is much cheaper.

You may be missing out on something good. In order to make the transition from a food truck to a restaurant, the truck has be make some serious business. Which often means good food.