The days of the “roach coach” have been replaced by the era of mobile food trucks. Most revolutions in our business start on either the East Coast and move west, or begin out west and head east. In this case, the mobile food truck phenomenon has been going both ways. New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., are mobile food truck havens. At the same time, Los Angeles and other areas of California have emerged as bastions of this new trend. 


Mobile food trucks have been around for decades. Mostly they were small vehicles with pre-packaged food, serving the needs of construction and site workers that had no real food options around. Today’s trucks actually are more like mobile restaurants. They have almost the same equipment as a small restaurant or carryout operation and are wrapped in various hot colors that catch the eye. But most importantly, they serve great food. 


So why start your own mobile restaurant?


A major trend in the industry has been for entrepreneurs with a restaurant to add a mobile food component. For others, the route has been to start with a mobile food truck and then open restaurants. Let’s address the reasons for each separately.



Reasons for operators


You don’t need me to tell you that business over the past two years has been challenging. One of the first things most operators cut back on is advertising. Well, here is your chance to get the word out about your restaurant. 


Think about all of the potential customers around town who have never tried your “Famous (insert signature product here).” Now they can, and once they do, they will often become customers of your fixed location as well.


Thought about opening a second location? Now is your chance to test that concept by driving your mobile restaurant to that area of town.


How about the fairs and festivals you have not been able to attend? Now you can just park your truck and gain exposure — and, of course, revenue.


Perhaps the biggest benefit of all is the ability to start a catering side of your business or grow the one you already have. You will quickly find your mobile food customers flooding you with these catering requests.



Reasons for newcomers


This section is tailored to 
rookies, but much of the following also applies to industry veterans. 


First, it’s much cheaper to start a mobile restaurant — probably one-tenth the cost of a fixed location. And with a mobile unit you also have no long-term leases and will never have a bad location you are stuck with. No more worrying about crime, construction or any other unforeseen issue keeping your customers away. You go to them. 


Another great advantage of mobility is the power to find the most profitable locations — ones with a lot of demand and little competition.


One of the biggest advantages is that you can advertise for free. The rise of mobile units can be attributed to the rise of social media. Truck operators use such free tools as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for exposure and marketing. That is how your customers will communicate with you and you with them. Each day you will let them know where you will be, what time you will arrive and any specials you are planning.


Finally, the mobile food truck trend is here to stay, and people are talking about it. Food channels are doing shows. Major publications like the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal and others are writing about it. That means it is now easier for you to get free publicity for your mobile unit. n


Brian Sacks is the founder of www.mobilefoodprofits.com. He can be reached at brian@mobile
foodprofits.com.