Would you pay $3,000 to sit down?

It’s easy to overspend when you’re starting a restaurant. Did you know that this exciting, yet expensive, business venture can cost over $200,000? That means new owners are spending roughly $3,000 for every seat in their dinner.

Having a mobile catering service means being able to avoid most of the common expenses the food industry struggles with. Instead of overspending, you can have exactly what you need to turn a profit and keep the customers happy. Read on to learn how you can get your delicious food out on the road.

Getting the Right Paperwork

Let’s start by looking at the licensing and permit portion of your business. For most locations, you’ll need 2 types of licenses–a food vending license and a business license.

You’ll also need to acquire the proper permits and liability insurance. Here’s a short list of the important documents you’ll need:

• Food vending license
• Business license
• Liability insurance
• Permits

A great place to start collecting your documents is by contacting the health department in your local area. Ask them about the specific licenses and food handling permits your town requires.

Service and Food Standards

What’s the first expense you think of when you imagine your mobile catering business? For many owners, they begin to consider the cost of food items. Yet, in reality, the area you need to spend the most time and attention in is the quality of your food, and its reputation.

Online Reviews

It’ll cost you time and money to market your business and build the brand and reputation you want. Yet, all it will take is a few bad online reviews to bring all of your hard work tumbling to the ground.

For this reason, you’ll need to make sure the driver and employees working in your vehicle have the right type of customer service attitude. If you are going with a 3rd party driver, spend time to make sure their customer service beliefs align with yours.

Food Standards

Make sure there are policies and procedures in place to maintain food quality. The very last customer of the day deserves the exact same high-quality customer service and food that the first customer received. One of the benefits of having in-house drivers is being able to closely monitor quality-control standards.

Mobile Catering Service Operating Costs

Now, you need to decide who will be driving your mobile catering service. If you decide to find drivers from within your company, you’ll need to budget for upfront managing costs. When you go with in-house drivers, you can expect to have fixed prices, and expenses.

However, if you decide to hire an outside group, you’ll need to budget capital to pay the third party provider. Having a third party can be very beneficial, especially when you don’t have to manage the drivers or their schedules.

However, outside parties also come with unexpected expenses. It’s possible the third party will change their rates, or charge you an additional fee for something unexpected. Expect to have fluctuating, unsteady expenses if you choose to outsource the work.

Customizing Your Vehicle

Now you know more about how to start your mobile catering service. Delivery Concepts is here to help you as you begin your new business venture. We are proud to be able to offer our clients some of the best affordable delivery solutions.

Each of our custom designed trucks will be specifically tailored to meet all of your needs. We understand that everyone is going to have different requirements, depending on the type of catering service they’ll be providing.

Since everyone needs something different, Delivery Concepts understands the importance of really listening to our clients’ needs. Temperature requirements, fitted interiors, and more will all vary from vehicle to vehicle. That’s because when we build your truck, every detail will help set your company up for success.

Don’t wait to make your dream a reality. We look forward to hearing from you!

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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The colder months of the year can definitely be tough on your food truck business. After all, there are plenty of people who hate cold weather. Naturally, people stay inside during the winter months as well.

Fight off those winter months with these five meals (if you will). Most of them are classics, and everyone loves a good classic.

5. Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie at a food truck? Yes, pumpkin pie at a food truck. It fits under the category of classic and appetites go wild over a slice of pie during the holidays.

Guess what else pumpkin pie does? Let people know that the holiday season is in fact here, and it also reminds food lovers of everything that goes down during said holiday season. Like family time and grandma’s famous pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin pie (or any pie really) is a proven winner.

If you really want to get people’s taste buds going, serve up some sweet potato casserole.

4. Hot Chocolate, Egg Nog, Apple Cider

Hot chocolate helps keep people warm. Plus, who doesn’t want to channel their inner child with this legendary hot drink?

Egg nog, of course, is huge during the holiday season. So is apple cider.

The holiday season doesn’t last all winter, but you might as well benefit from it when the shoppers are flooding the stores.

These three drinks and pumpkin pie might throw off your menu some, but why not give the people what they want, and change things up a bit in the process?

3. Chili, Chili And More Chili

Sure, not everyone likes chili, but if your recipe is good enough, then everyone should love your chili.

Spicy foods keep people warm, just to put that cherry on top.

Consider a bowl of chili a secret weapon. It helps people get through the winter months and actually enjoy those months as well. With a bowl of chili, you will basically be going all out on this winter thing.

2. Some Form Of Stew

Stew isn’t really a summer food, so take advantage of this valuable tool (stew, that is) when the temperature starts to drop. Winter foods are all about hearty foods, and stew could be the heartiest of them all.

Even if you do live in a climate that screams beach weather year-round, serving up stew (or any winter food in general) helps people get in the mood for wintertime.

1. Something Creative

Winter is the perfect time to really spice up your menu. You want to get people’s attention, right? If business is slow, throw that Hail Mary by serving something rather creative … even if it might be a bit exotic or a one-time thing.

Just remember, you can beat wintertime with one great meal at a time.

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Cleanliness is so important, especially in a small space, cooking for the masses.  At the end of a long day working on the truck it can be tempting to save the deep clean-up for the morning but DON’T! Make sure every night you have a check list of what to clean.

You should also have a list of daily, weekly, monthly, and semiannually cleaning to dos.  Here is a list to help guide you:

During your shift on the truck make sure to clean the following:

• Brush the grill between cooking red meat, poultry, and fish.
• Wipe down the cooking line and prep areas.
• Switch cutting boards.
• Empty the trash (use public trash receptacles to do this; don’t use privately owned dumpsters).

At the end of your shift clean the following:

• Clean the fryers.
• Clean the microwave (inside and outside).
• Brush the grill.
• Wash and sanitize all surfaces (cutting boards, the service window ledge, cooking line, and prep tables).
• Empty and clean the steam table.
• Cover all bins in the cooler with plastic wrap.
• Wash the floor mats.
• Sweep and mop the truck floor.
• Change any foil linings on the grill, range, and flattops you use.
• Wash the can opener.
• Wash hood filters by hand or run them through a dishwasher.

At the end of the week clean the following:

• Empty coolers and wash and sanitize them.
• Remove lime on sinks and faucets.
• Clean the coffee machine.
• Clean the ovens. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Sharpen knives (okay, this isn’t cleaning per se, but it needs to be done).
• Oil cast-iron cookware.

At the end of the month clean the following:

• Wash behind the hot line (oven, stove, and fryers) to cut down on grease buildup, which is a major fire hazard.
• Clean freezers.
• Empty and sanitize the ice machine.
• Calibrate ovens.
• Calibrate thermometers.
• Wash walls and ceilings.
• Wipe down the dry storage area.
• Restock your first-aid kit.
• Update your material safety data sheets, which outline how to safely use any chemicals in your kitchen.

At least twice a year clean the following:

• Clean the exhaust hoods twice a year.
• Some professional companies specialize in hood cleaning. Doing this job yourself can be very messy and time consuming. Simply search for professional companies online or in your local yellow pages.
• Check fire extinguishers (this task may need to be done twice a year, depending on where you live).
• Check the fire suppression system.
• Clean the pilot lights on gas kitchen equipment.
• Have a professional pest control company inspect your vehicle for signs of pests and have them removed.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s blog! If you have any questions about this article please feel free to email sales@customconcessions.com.

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