By Molly Gavin
A food truck is an oversized motorized vehicle, usually of multi-axle construction, that is designed to prepare, cook, serve, and deliver food, in addition to storage space. Some, such as ice cream trucks, solely sell pre-packaged or frozen food; others possess onboard cooking facilities and cook food from scratch, on location, or they reheat prepared food in a conventional commercial kitchen.
Donut Food Trucks is normally open to the public and can be utilized for impromptu food service in various locations. These vehicles are usually built with easy-to-use controls and navigation capabilities and some even contain refrigeration units.
They can also be equipped with standard operating procedures, including an emergency stop button, automatic safety belts, dual-use fuel tank, automatic transfer gearboxes, grease trap, windshields, doors with safety windows, back-up cameras, push buttons for lights and horns, generators, and more.
Typically, the food truck is about ten feet long and between five and eight feet wide, with a capacity to carry around fifty to one hundred and fifty pounds of food or products. However, there are other sizes available, depending on the location where the vehicle will be used. The larger the capacity of the vehicle, the costlier it becomes.
These vehicles have gained in popularity over the years mainly due to their ease of usage. Food truck owners and operators can quickly and easily set up shop along busy streets and intercity freeways without the hassle of building a permanent structure. They also do not incur substantial expenses for insurance coverage since the chances of damage or accident are very low.
As the number of restaurants and food concessionaries grew in number, so did the number of these trucks on the road and their popularity soon began to draw the attention of local municipalities as well. In turn, city ordinances were drafted to allow for more flexibility in using them for public purposes.
When a new business decides to open an eatery on a public street or highway, they often need to obtain a license from the local government. Before this can happen, however, they would need to submit a written proposal detailing their business plan, the type of food they plan to serve, the amount of equipment they will need to cook and serve their products, and their plans to clean up after the business is closed down.
In many cases, a business will also need to submit a feasibility study detailing how much room they would need for the food trucks and cleaning supplies that they will need to maintain the restaurant once it is up and running. This information is typically available for free at the local planning and zoning departments. It is worth the time and effort to research these options thoroughly before submitting your application.
In addition to making sure that you have all the appropriate permits in place, restaurants that wish to become gourmet must maintain certain levels of popularity to survive the competition from other gourmet restaurants. To achieve popularity in the gourmet restaurant industry, restaurants must plan creative menus and promotions to attract customers.
In addition, gourmet restaurants must work closely with local, regional, and national food producers to gain access to popular ingredients. While the availability of popular ingredients may give a restaurant a competitive edge, it can also cause a high overhead and high food costs.
