Mobility is the name of the game in an era where people want everything delivered or easily accessible. An entire industry has opened up to provide foodies everywhere with more access than ever to delicious street foods of all kinds.
Today, mobile kitchens are more versatile than every. Anything from step vans to box trucks can be customized to take your restaurant on the road. Keep reading for seven food truck features that can take your mobile restaurant business to the next level.
1. Order Window and Awning
On the side of your truck, you’ll want to have a sliding window for taking orders. In merchandising vehicle conversions, a window makes room for a cashier and register system, not to mention space for writing down orders.
An awning goes the extra step to provide comfort for your customers. It can be auto-powered or manual, but either will give shade on hot, sunny days or shelter on rainy ones.
2. Refrigeration Unit
When serving food you’ll need a way to keep meats, dairy, and other products cold. Refrigeration units can be as small as cooler or as larger as a double-wide refrigerator.
3. Prep Table
Like any stationary kitchen, there has to be a place to prep the food. Depending on what’s on the menu you may need more than one prep table. These tables are typically three- to six-feet long and have convenient storage containers for quick access to prepped items, like chopped veggies for pizza, sliced cheese for sandwiches, or toppings for garnishing salads.
4. Fryers and Cooktops
Probably the most essential part of a food truck is the ability to cook the food. Mobile kitchen conversions include an extensive line of fryers, hot plates, stoves, griddles, and grills. You will want to take a good look at what you are planning to cook in your kitchen to determine which and how many of these cooking appliances you will need.
5. Wi-Fi for eCommerce Set-up
Tech is required to complete sales transactions. Some smaller businesses rely on a point of sale set-up.
Other businesses have actual registers with swipe machines or even simple cash drawers. Many of these services require reliable Wi-Fi so rather than rely on public access, install your own secure internet service. This will give you more freedom to set up in places where other Wi-Fi might not be available.
6. Digital Menu Display and Order Display
Another reason to have Wi-Fi is to operate digital menu boards and order displays.
This is a great tool when your menu changes often or in case you run out of a popular item. Order displays are a great way to be able to change up the dishes you have for sale.
Digital order displays can help keep kitchen staff on top of things by showing how long a customer has been waiting.
7. AC Unit
It can get pretty heated in a food truck when all the grills are firing. For the comfort and safety of yourself and your employees, having an AC unit is pretty much essential if you live somewhere that gets hot in the summertime. You don’t want sweat dripping into food or workers getting faint from overheating.
Let’s Get Moving
Did these food truck features get you thinking about your restaurant business? It may be time to take your food services on the road.
If you have an idea for a food truck business we have everything you need to get started. Click here to get a quote for your custom mobile kitchen!
Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!
Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.
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