Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. Vicious hurricanes and tornadoes have ravaged the United States over the past few years.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey leveled Houston, Texas. The category 4 storm damaged over 200,000 homes and caused roughly $125 billion in damage.

Most Americans see the state and federal government as the face of disaster relief. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered 80 tractor-trailer loads of food and supplies.

However, the government is only one piece of disaster response. In Houston, images of grassroots rescue organizations went viral as volunteers helped out with dangerous rescue operations and other relief efforts.

Food trucks were even part of the effort, delivering hot meals and thirst-quenching drinks to the victims. Read on to learn all about food trucks delivering relief to those in need.

Food Truck Mobilization

Food truck mobilization for disaster relief is not a new concept. In fact, food trucks delivered food and beverages for both Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Food trucks were even there to help at the Las Vegas shooting tragedy.

Many people wonder how a food truck mobilization is organized. In recent disasters, the National Food Truck Association reached out to its members. Food trucks across the nation responded to the request for volunteers.

In Las Vegas, food truck owners coordinated with local police, hospitals, and the city convention center. They worked with officials to learn the best places to set up food relief centers. This coordination allows food trucks to locate the few areas with operating electricity and water.

These food trucks usually provide complimentary meals to both victims and emergency responders alike. In these cases, the food truck owners often take a financial loss to help others.

Food Truck Capability

One of the reasons that food trucks are so useful in disaster recovery is that they possess enhanced temperature-control at various levels, with compartments for heating, cooling, and freezing. In the past, 18-wheel semi-trucks usually delivered critical supplies. However, these trucks are not equipped to provide readily available meals and can only provide consumables.

Food trucks, on the other hand, are equipped to supply warm meals and cold beverages. This enhanced capability certainly improves the morale of victims and first responders, while providing the nourishment they need.

In addition to temperature-control, food trucks also provide a mobile kitchen. This way, workers can prepare food fresh and hot for disaster victims. Food trucks can be outfitted in so many combinations that their meal capability is practically limitless. Some food trucks are even custom-designed to include walk-in refrigerators and freezers. Other unique designs include a lounge where first responders can relax and even take a nap.

A nationwide fleet of food trucks is available at a moment’s notice. A growing number church programs and meals on wheels are now using food trucks as part of their outreach. These trucks are ready to assist when the next disaster hits.

A Recap of Food Trucks for Disaster Relief

Natural disasters can bring out the best in people. They tend to unleash a spirit of compassion and volunteerism.

The food truck industry stands ready to help. They can deliver hot food and cold drinks to first responders and victims.

Do you need to customize a food truck for disaster relief? Contact us today.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Rescue Mission: The Nuts and Bolts of Delivering Disaster Relief appeared first on Custom Concessions.

First and foremost, a sit-down restaurant will cost you more money than a food truck in terms of startup and overhead costs (not only will it be more money initially to open a restaurant but it will continue to be more costly after the grand opening).

Why You Should Branch Out And Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck

The biggest reason to open a food truck? It will complement your restaurant business. After all, you can reach and serve more people since your truck won’t be stuck in one place. You can run catering gigs for your restaurant through your food truck, and conveniently since all of the food and equipment will go in your truck.

A food truck will provide a new scene and experience for your truck, employees and yourself (or manager, if you aren’t running the daily operations). While food trucks and restaurants both cook food and serve customers, the food truck industry provides more flexibility. Not only are the hours different since you likely won’t have the same hours of operation on a weekly basis (it will all depend on where your locations are and when you’re expected to be there, and that will change) but food trucks tend to be more unique with their food since innovative cuisine is very much accepted in the food truck industry.

Looking for reasons to join the food truck industry that aren’t related to money? Make sure to check out the article below.

Reasons To Join The Food Truck Industry Outside Of Making A Living:

“This should be the No. 1 reason to join any industry — well, the passion part, that is. You’re going to be at (or working on) your food truck every day. You’re going to be cooking food day in and day out. When you’re not working at your food truck, cooking food and serving customers, you might be posting on social media, talking to vendors, working on employee schedules, crunching numbers, finding new locations, etc.”

One of the toughest parts about opening a food truck business (or any business) is standing out and gaining customers — this is a very competitive industry and there are so many food trucks for customers to pick from, as well as fast-food and sit-down restaurants. However, if you own a restaurant (or a few restaurants), then your brand and audience are already built in and people will recognize your truck because of your restaurants. Your social media networks and website will already have fans and followers. People will recognize your logo and love your food. These ingredients can help with growing your food truck faster than expected since you will already have key components in place.

There are many ways to expand your restaurant business and we encourage you to look into a food truck when considering your next big expansion option.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Why You Should Branch Out And Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Every aspiring mobile kitchen owner knows that he or she needs to create a business plan, secure funding and purchase a truck before entering the food truck industry. Those, along with so many other ingredients, are must-haves.

How else can you prepare for the food truck industry outside of the obvious ingredients?

You can start by incorporating the steps below.

Prepare For The Food Truck Industry With These Steps

• Talk To Other Owners
• Read As Many Business And Entrepreneur Books As Possible
• Study Food Truck Concepts
• See Where The Industry Is Going
• Possibly Become An Employee Before An Owner
• Get Ready For The Journey Of A Lifetime

Talk To Other Owners

One of the best ways to prepare for the food truck industry is by talking to people in the industry. Fellow mobile kitchen owners can give you a good idea of what to expect once you become an owner, from horror stories to why being a food truck owner is a dream come true. They can help you steer clear of the mistakes they made in the beginning as well as things they didn’t prepare for.

You might think you know everything there is to know about running a business and a kitchen, but it never hurts to gain advice and perspective from someone who is currently where you want to eventually be.

Read As Many Business And Entrepreneur Books As Possible

A common mistake among new food truck owners is not knowing enough about running a business, managing or being a leader in general. While you have to learn some of those tactics on the job (and everyone’s style is different), you can help increase your chances of succeeding. Learn in the form of reading as many business and entrepreneur books as possible.

Yes, you know how to cook food and your recipes are amazing … but do you know how to run a business? Running a food truck might sound like a dream job — and to many people it is — but it’s not all fun and games. Running a successful business takes a lot of time and effort, and you have to learn on the job (that’s a never-ending process, in fact).

If you don’t want to read books, then read articles. Don’t want to read articles? Then listen to podcasts. If you don’t want to listen to podcasts, then go to conferences and network. The point being, you need to study and learn from successful business owners and entrepreneurs before you dive into this industry head first (and unprepared).

Study Food Truck Concepts

More likely than not, you’re going to pick a concept that you’re comfortable with and know many recipes for. That’s how it should be. After all, you should cook the meals that you believe in and want to cook, especially since you’re going to be, more likely than not, cooking the same things over and over again.

However, it would be a good strategy to study food concepts and food trucks in places where you plan on taking your food truck business once it’s up and running. See what other owners are doing to make their meals stand out. How unique are they getting? Are they going with simple concepts?

It’s always a good practice to study the competition, especially when it comes to the actual product.

See Where The Industry Is Going

Are there any trends? What concepts are tanking while others are thriving? Are there certain locations that are blowing up with food trucks while other locations have yet to even witness a mobile kitchen?

Sometimes, we get tunnel vision and only focus on our own vision. But if you want to be in business for the long haul, you have to monitor where your industry has been, where it currently is and where it’s going, even if you have the same business model and menu throughout your journey.

Possibly Become An Employee Before An Owner

This might sound like a stretch to some, especially if you already have enough money to open up a food truck now. Or if you want to be your own boss and can’t stand working for others.

The key behind this step: Getting a feel for the food truck industry. You’ll have a better idea of how things are operated, how busy things get, how to better treat your employees and customers, how much time and effort it takes to run a successful business and the list could go on and on.

This will give you an idea of how a food truck is run and if you actually want to become an owner in the first place. Of course, when you become an owner, things will be different since you’ll be the one calling the shots.

RELATED: Reasons To Join The Food Truck Industry Outside Of Making A Living

Get Ready For The Journey Of A Lifetime

You’re on your way to becoming a food truck owner. Now’s the time to prepare mentally for an exciting and neverending journey. Long days, nights and weekends are in store. Being at a food truck 24/7 is going to become the norm (or at least working on your business in some way). Get ready for food and people to become your life.

Get ready to embrace the process and to follow your passions and dreams. In the very near future, your business card will read “Food Truck Owner.”

While everyone prepares for battle (if you will) with different methods, we hope the steps above can help you prepare for the food truck industry.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Prepare For The Food Truck Industry With These Steps appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Why do you want to join the food truck industry?

More likely than not, it has something to do with money and working for yourself. Those are two valid reasons for wanting to become a food truck owner. However, we wanted to highlight reasons to join the mobile kitchen industry outside of making a living.

If your passion is cooking food, then you can likely relate to some of the reasons…

Reasons To Join The Food Truck Industry Outside Of Making A Living

• Cooking Food Is Your Passion
• You’re A People Person
• Mobility
• The Flexibility With Menus
• The Excitement Surrounding Food Trucks

Cooking Food Is Your Passion

This should be the No. 1 reason to join any industry — well, the passion part, that is. You’re going to be at (or working on) your food truck every day. You’re going to be cooking food day in and day out. When you’re not working at your food truck, cooking food and serving customers, you might be posting on social media, talking to vendors, working on employee schedules, crunching numbers, finding new locations, etc.

The point being? When you’re a food truck owner, your life is going to become your food truck. If you aren’t passionate about cooking food, the food truck industry or running a business, then you’re going to reach burnout fast.

Every food truck business is different, but one of the constants is, of course, cooking food. If cooking food is your passion, then that’s reason enough to become an owner in this industry.

You’re A People Person

Part of running a food truck business is talking to your customers. On top of being a chef, if you’re a people person, then the food truck industry might be perfect for you.

You’re going to be working in a small space and taking a lot of orders. The better you engage with your customers and focus on their wants and needs, the better your customer service will be.

Not everyone likes dealing with customers, but if you want to make it in this industry, customer service has to be a top priority, whether you’re taking an order at your truck or responding to a comment on social media — it’s all important.

Mobility

This is one of the biggest reasons why people decide to open up a food truck business over a sit-down restaurant (well, that and food trucks tend to cost less money). Food trucks are mobile and they aren’t required to stay in one spot as a result.

Don’t like your location? You can find a new one. Tired of normal locations and want to try something new? You can enter food truck events or take on catering gigs.

A food truck provides a lot of freedom since it’s on wheels, and this helps to create a job that provides a new experience and journey every day.

The Flexibility With Menus

While a restaurant owner can change up a menu if he or she wants to, it’s not necessarily expected — menus tend to stay the same at restaurants, although specials, seasonal items and new meals are added along the way.

With a food truck menu … anything goes. Not to mention, you can have 50 meals or two. The choice is truly yours. The food truck industry is also known as a creative industry when it comes to the concept that’s innovative cuisine. You will see (and probably cook) unique meals that people have never seen before.

Needless to say, people love the food truck industry (owners and customers alike) because of the flexibility with menus alone.

The Excitement Surrounding Food Trucks

People tend to get excited for food no matter what type of restaurant it’s coming from. People spend their anniversaries and celebrations over a meal, after all.

Add that to the fact that there’s so much excitement surrounding food trucks and you have another reason why people want to become owners in this industry. The food truck industry is fun thanks to the atmospheres that owners create, the unique food that’s offered and the joy and happiness that comes with every bite.

Everyone wants to be happy and work in a profession they love, and if you fancy yourself a cook, then we encourage you to become a food truck owner for those reasons alone. This industry is exciting, innovative and every day can be a journey.

There are an endless amount of reasons to join this industry outside of making a living, to say the least.

There are plenty of issues one might face when trying to become a food truck owner, and we encourage you to read the article below in hopes of dodging some of those issues.

Common Issues Restaurant Owners Will Face When Starting Up A Food Truck

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If you’re an entrepreneur or first-time chef, then you’re likely going to treat your food truck as an everyday business in the sense that you travel from one location to the next on a daily/weekly basis. You might even incorporate some catering gigs and food truck events along the way.

However, if you own multiple restaurants and want to expand with a food truck … you still might not know what to do with the food truck. After all, you could just travel from location to location on a weekly basis, or you could use a food truck as a catering machine for your restaurants. The key is figuring out what’s going to benefit your business and then going from there, whether it be a mixture of ideas (catering and normal locations) or going one route.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Reasons To Join The Food Truck Industry Outside Of Making A Living appeared first on Custom Concessions.

When looking to join an industry, people will research what to expect, how to enter, qualities to have and the list could go on and on.

We wanted to do some of the legwork for aspiring food truck owners. Therefore, we gathered 11 timeless Custom Concessions articles that will help you enter the food truck industry.

Check them out below and good luck during your mobile kitchen journey.

Timeless Custom Concessions Articles For Aspiring Food Truck Owners

10 Awesome Reasons To Become A Food Truck Owner

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Your Job Will Be Anything But Boring

Being a food truck owner is not boring. Trust us. From angry customers to happy ones, you are going to have some entertaining days. If you are bored as a food truck owner, then you are either extremely good at your job (and delegate a lot), or you likely have empty food truck lines, which isn’t typically a good sign.

Nonetheless, there is nothing boring about being a mobile kitchen owner.

Things That Are Stopping You From Entering The Food Truck Industry

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This is likely the biggest reason why people don’t enter the food truck industry. After all, it is going to cost a small fortune to purchase a food truck and all of the equipment, especially if you buy a high-end food truck, which we very much recommend.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to buy a food truck. In fact, here are some options for you: (1) Ask your friends and family for the money, and save every penny on top of that. (2) Finance your food truck.

7 Random Things All Prospective Food Truck Owners Need To Consider

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You say you want to run a food truck business, and that’s great! However, if you don’t live in an area with a lot of foot traffic/tourism/a busy area, then you should probably think about moving.

Your return customers (which might only be friends and family in the beginning) are not going to eat at your lunch truck every day. Therefore, you need to be in an area in which a ton of people cross paths with your food truck business. If that is not the case/if you live extremely far from this type of area, then you might want to think about moving.

5 Issues You Will Face When Trying To Become A Food Truck Owner

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There are likely two different kinds of people in your life: (1) The ones who support you, and (2) the ones who don’t, which is why you are going to deal with the issue of acceptance from everyone you know when trying to break into this industry.

Needless to say, you are going to have plenty of naysayers — you know, people who don’t support your dreams, and tell you they can’t be done. This is quite the challenge because these naysayers are going to be people you love, people who you thought believed in you.

Tips For Starting A Food Truck Business

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With that in mind, we’re going to be dishing out 10 tips for starting a food truck business below, and they apply to entrepreneurs, business owners, chefs and restaurant franchises. While these aren’t the only tips you should follow when joining the food truck industry — because there are an unlimited amount of tasks when it comes to this venture, and everyone’s situation is different — we hope these tips can help you achieve the feat that’s joining the food truck industry.

Food Truck Commissary Information

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A Commissary is a commercial kitchen where food truck owners can prepare and store their food. These commercial kitchens should be fully [equipped] with refrigeration, cooking equipment, sinks, and waste disposal units.  These commissaries will need to be inspected by your local health department.

Since space on a food truck is limited, commissaries are very convenient for prep work and storage. Many commissaries also offer ingredients for your menu and supplies for your truck, selling anything from napkins to meat.

Food Trucks vs. Food Trailers

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The biggest advantage to choosing a food truck over a food trailer, is that it is one unit, making it ideal for making multiple location stops. You needn’t worry about towing anything, and your overall size will be smaller making it easier to navigate through tight city streets and sharp turns.

5 Steps You Can Take Right Now To Begin Your Food Truck Journey

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This is an important step for many different reasons. First and foremost, location is everything in the food truck industry (you know what they say … location, location, location), and if you decide to go with a destination that isn’t known for its foot traffic, then you might struggle to attract customers. Not to mention, you can’t just park anywhere, and things like permits, regulations, laws and rules come into play.

Questions You Will Likely Have When Trying To Become A Food Truck Owner

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Do you want to make family recipes? Is there a specific food concept you love to make? Do you want to create your own concept by combining two concepts together? The choice is yours — just be sure to pick the concept that is right for you, because this is something you shouldn’t change once your shop is open.

5 Things A Traditional Restaurant Could Do With A Food Truck

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On top of catering and having normal business hours, with a food truck, you can also travel to food events with ease, and that means the possibility of making more money and gaining even more exposure. These food events can be anything and everything, such as parades, festivals, weddings, reunions, parties, Oktoberfest outings and even events that are tailored for food trucks (aka food truck events).

5 Things You Need To Start A Food Truck

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Everyone thinks their ideas are unique and they were the first people to come across said ideas. However, did you actually do your research to see if this idea was truly unique? There are many unique twists and ideas in the mobile kitchen industry, so it’s important to do your homework on this subject. Of course, if you already have established sit-down restaurants, then you will likely go with the food concept of those restaurants because they already have proven results attached to them (and an audience/customers).

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Timeless Custom Concessions Articles For Aspiring Food Truck Owners appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Believe it or not, there are many different kinds of food truck businesses, and not every owner runs his/her food truck business the same.

With that in mind, what kind of food truck business do you want to run, aspiring mobile kitchen owners?

To help you out along this journey, we will break down a couple of paths below.

What Kind Of Food Truck Business Do You Want To Run?

• A Truck That Serves At One Location To The Next
• A Truck That Makes Its Money Via Catering
• A Catering Truck That Only Appears At Special Events
• A Combination Of All Three

A Truck That Serves At One Location To The Next

This is the route that many entrepreneurs, first-time business owners and cooks/chefs take.

Not only is it a good way to spread brand awareness and increase your target audience—because you’re traveling all around town and getting your truck and food in front of new eyes—but it’s also a great way to make a steady stream of income. After all, you will have “normal” business hours in the sense that you travel to places on a routine basis and you will also mix in different locations along the way.

A Truck That Makes Its Money Via Catering

This option is perfect for restaurant franchises and catering businesses.

Instead of having to hire a different company (or renting a vehicle and equipment) for your catering services, you can fit — and cook — everything in your truck. Not only that but your brand, logo and name are all over your truck, and people will start associating your truck with your restaurant businesses.

Another perk of catering with a food truck when you already own restaurants is that you can test out new and unique meals at your truck before adding them to your restaurant menus.

All in all, using a food truck for catering can add another stream of income (and service) to your restaurant business.

A Truck That Only Appears At Special Events

This kind of goes along the same lines as using your truck as a catering machine … but it’s a little different because your food truck business will only be used for special events, such as parades, festivals, reunions, weddings (although that can fall under the catering category), food truck events, etc.

In this case, your food truck will only make appearances at these special events as opposed to going from location to location. This route also helps with brand awareness and rolling out a new meal or menu entirely at these special events.

This type of service (if you will) was made for restaurant franchises.

A Combination Of All Three

Whether you’re a restaurant franchise owner, a business owner, an entrepreneur, a chef or whatever it might be, with a food truck business, you have the power and ability to do all three things mapped out above.

Food trucks create a lot of freedom and flexibility to do what you want to do with your business.

In fact, many food truck owners travel from location to location, they cater as a side hustle/another source of income and they also attend special events from time to time. By doing all three, you, once again, increase your target audience and brand awareness. You also get to spice up the job by traveling to different venues and serve new customers.

A food truck is mobile for a reason: It was meant to travel to the customers.

There are many paths to take in the food truck industry. Likewise, there are many different ways to increase your income. On top of the three routes above, some owners sell product on their websites, such as shirts and other memorabilia. Some people even sell their product in bulk as another way to increase income.

Regardless, we will leave you with this question: What kind of food truck business do you want to run?

Looking for reasons to expand with a food truck business? If you’re a restaurant owner and are looking to expand, then you’ll want to dive into the article below before you make your decision on another brick-and-mortar location. (Preview included.)

Reasons To Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck

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3.) Can Get More Involved With Customers And Create A Fun Environment

A food truck owner has the ability to get more involved with the customers because a food truck owner will be taking orders, cooking food and serving customers all right inside of his or her food truck. Not only are you the face of the business but you’re also the one running the show every step of the way.

This makes it possible for you to create the business of your dreams and that could include creating a fun environment. On top of that, food trucks are known for their unique and fun environments because of the food they make and the atmospheres that tend to be attached to them.

There’s no other way to put it: People love food trucks. They get excited when they see one in downtown spots or hear about a food truck being nearby (whether it be because an apartment complex or gym promotes it or whatever it might be).

What’s not to love about food trucks? They tend to bring innovative cuisine to the table and they create environments where people want to be.

With all of that said, a food truck will allow you to get more involved with your customers and you’ll have the ability to create a fun and enjoyable environment for everyone involved.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post What Kind Of Food Truck Business Do You Want To Run? appeared first on Custom Concessions.

There are a million different things a food truck owner has to do well to be successful.

With that said, every food truck is different which mean everyone’s ingredients will be different when it comes to the kitchen/food and the strategies for actually running a business.

However, the ingredients below are a great place to start once you become a food truck owner.

Things You Need To Do Well To Be A Successful Food Truck Owner

• Cook Consistently Delicious Meals
• Engage With Customers
• The Ability To Put Out Fires (Customers and Employees)
• Keep Social Media And Website Updated
• Don’t Forget About Food Truck Maintenance
• Branch Out When Necessary
• Continue Learning And Incorporating New Strategies
• Create An Environment Where People Want To Be
• Stay Passionate About Cooking And This Industry

Cook Consistently Delicious Meals

This should be a no-brainer … but it’s also easier said than done. After all, your lines are going to get busy at certain times of the day and you’re going to feel rushed as a result. You also might get tired of cooking the same thing over and over again (some food trucks keep it fresh in the kitchen by incorporating new meals on the menu on a consistent and/or seasonal basis).

However, if you want to gain and retain customers, then you need your meals to be consistent. Quality meals and consistency in the kitchen are invaluable for food truck owners.

Engage With Customers

Whether it’s you, your employees or both, someone needs to engage with the customers. While many people will continue to eat at your food truck, some people might be scared away if your customer service is bad. With how crazy the competition is in the food truck industry, you don’t want to give people a reason to not eat at your truck, so make sure your customer service game is always up to par.

The Ability To Put Out Fires (Customers and Employees)

You’re going to have angry customers and you’re also going to have unhappy employees — and this could be a result of many different things. The key is knowing how and when to recognize these problems. If you let these fires build (if you will), morale could take a hit, bad reviews could come flying in and your sales could suffer.

Keep Social Media And Website Updated

Everyone’s social media strategies are different and many food truck owners spend different amounts of time working on their social media networks and websites. At the very least, you should be updating your locations, telling your customers where you will be next and engaging with your customers when you can, as well as responding to questions and concerns.

Don’t Forget About Food Truck Maintenance

A food truck is the foundation of your business and you should treat it like royalty as a result. And this, whether you want to hear it or not, means incorporating proper food truck maintenance in the form of tune-ups and fixing parts of your truck and food truck equipment on a consistent basis and before things go really wrong.

If you have to miss any form of gig or location because your food truck unexpectedly breaks down or has a problem, your credibility could take a hit and you will lose money because sales won’t be occurring.

Branch Out When Necessary

When sales are down, branch out. If you start going through the motions, branch out. When your sales are fine but you still want to make more money, branch out. Do not get stuck in a bubble.

While some businesses can survive and thrive by doing the same exact thing every single day, that’s not the case for every business. You need to learn how to branch out as a result.

Continue Learning And Incorporating New Strategies

Going off of the point above, you need to continue learning and implementing new strategies if you want to sustain and grow your success. You have to learn about food, new trends, your competition, a technology that will make your life easier and business more effective, etc. Then, you need to incorporate these strategies.

RELATED: Reasons To Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck

Create An Environment Where People Want To Be

If you create an environment where people want to be, then your employees will enjoy working for you and your customers will love eating at your truck. An enjoyable and unique atmosphere can lead to your food truck being an experience on top of a place where people buy and then eat delicious meals. It can also go a long way in the customer service department.

Stay Passionate About Cooking And This Industry

This might sound foolish to aspiring food truck owners. After all, cooking is your passion and you want nothing more than to be a food truck owner.

Unfortunately, the food truck industry is very competitive and that can make life tough in this industry. Not only that but times can get dull when you’re cooking the same food every day and traveling to the same locations.

People get complacent and they find out their dreams aren’t as exciting as they thought they would be — it’s not always easy to stay passionate about cooking and this industry.

However, many people love this career because they are around people, they love cooking and they also love seeing others happy as a result of the food they make.

There are many things that go into a successful business, and staying passionate is definitely one of them.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Things You Need To Do Well To Be A Successful Food Truck Owner appeared first on Custom Concessions.

There are an unlimited amount of reasons why a restaurant business should expand with a food truck.

However, we wanted to point out five of those reasons.

While there are many ways to expand your brick-and-mortar location, expanding with a food truck business is an all-star plan for so many different reasons. And you can check out some of those reasons below.

Reasons To Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck

• It’s A Cheaper Expansion Option
• In A Sense, Less To Worry About
• Can Get More Involved With Customers And Create A Fun Environment
• Expand Your Business Opportunities
• Expand Your Brand And Add Another Layer To Your Business

5.) It’s A Cheaper Expansion Option

While food trucks still cost a decent amount of money and there’s still risk involved as a result, they tend to be a cheaper expansion option as opposed to opening up another restaurant location.

Here are some of the reasons why:

• The startup costs are less.
• The overhead costs are less.
• Fewer employees to pay.
• Less inventory.
• Minimal (or no) equipment in terms of tables, chairs, etc.

If you’re trying to save money but also want to open a business that has great potential, then a mobile kitchen is perfect for you.

4.) In A Sense, Less To Worry About

What do we mean by this? Well, since food trucks tend to be smaller than brick-and-mortar restaurants, they tend to have fewer employees, less space, less to watch over and the list could go on and on. This, in a sense, means there will be less to worry about.

Now, you still have to cook quality food, manage employees, keep up with the business side of things, run social media networks and a website, serve customers, etc. However, you will be able to see everything that’s going on at your truck since your location is smaller.

Food truck owners still have problems and plenty to worry about, but they can be very hands-on with this type of business and monitor everything very closely as a result. With a sit-down restaurant, you simply can’t be everywhere at once, and you’re managing a larger business in terms of the physical aspect of the restaurant.

3.) Can Get More Involved With Customers And Create A Fun Environment

A food truck owner has the ability to get more involved with the customers because a food truck owner will be taking orders, cooking food and serving customers all right inside of his or her food truck. Not only are you the face of the business but you’re also the one running the show every step of the way.

This makes it possible for you to create the business of your dreams and that could include creating a fun environment. On top of that, food trucks are known for their unique and fun environments because of the food they make and the atmospheres that tend to be attached to them.

There’s no other way to put it: People love food trucks. They get excited when they see one in downtown spots or hear about a food truck being nearby (whether it be because an apartment complex or gym promotes it or whatever it might be).

What’s not to love about food trucks? They tend to bring innovative cuisine to the table and they create environments where people want to be.

With all of that said, a food truck will allow you to get more involved with your customers and you’ll have the ability to create a fun and enjoyable environment for everyone involved.

2.) Expand Your Business Opportunities

Since you have the ability to travel to events easier and to also add a catering service to your restaurant businesses with a food truck, you will also have the ability to expand your business opportunities, which can, of course, lead to more money, you reaching a larger audience, creating a more well-known brand, etc.

As a result of meeting new people, whether it be at a wedding your truck is catering for or at a food truck event, you can expand your business opportunities with a food truck.

RELATED: The Main Differences Between Food Trucks And Sit-Down Restaurants

1.) Expand Your Brand And Add Another Layer To Your Business

Since food trucks are mobile, they have the ability to travel to many different locations, and that helps increase brand awareness. Not to mention, they act as a mobile billboard because your logo and name are all over the truck.

In terms of adding another layer to your business, that can mean a number of different things.

For starters, a food truck is another stream of income on top of your restaurants.

Plus, food trucks can be different than your restaurants when it comes to the menu and experimenting with recipes. In fact, you can get creative with your meals at your food truck and if they see a lot of success, then you can start selling these meals at your restaurants.

You will also be able to market that you have a catering service since food trucks were meant for catering (all the food and equipment goes right into the food truck, after all).

There are truly an unlimited amount of reasons why a restaurant owner should expand with a food truck business, and the reasons above are just the beginning. If you’re thinking about expanding your restaurant business, then we encourage you to consider expanding with a food truck. The food truck industry is booming right now and that’s a big reason why lunch trucks are sprouting up all across America.

Needless to say, a food truck is the perfect expansion route.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Reasons To Expand Your Restaurant Business With A Food Truck appeared first on Custom Concessions.

It’s not easy following your dreams.

If it were, then everyone would own a food truck business.

And that is why we want to dish out as much advice, motivation and information as possible to aspiring food truck owners. And that is also why we will be featuring five articles below. In a nutshell, these articles will help you enter the mobile kitchen industry. Let them guide you along your way.

Food Truck Articles That Will Help You Enter The Mobile Kitchen Industry

Tips For Starting A Food Truck Business

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4.) Decide What Type Of Business You Want To Be

In other words, do you want to travel from one location to the next, do you want to do catering gigs, do you want to enter food truck events or do you want to do a combination of all of those things?

While figuring this out (and you can change things up along the way), make sure to get an idea for how much you would charge at a catering job, which types of events you want to enter and things of that nature.

3.) Start Assembling Your Team

If you’re a chef, then you’ll likely be the manager, owner and leader. If you’re a restaurant franchise owner, then you might hire a manager. Nonetheless, it’s important to figure out who you’re going to hire and how many employees you will need to run a successful food truck business.

5 Things You Need To Start A Food Truck

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Backup funds will take a lot of stress off of a business or owner, to say the least. After all, while your food truck might be up and running, it might take a little while for it to become established in the form of great sales and a lot of customers. Not to mention, your food truck might see some success right off the bat since it’s new and attracts people as a result … but sales could drop off after the initial launch.

While this step is easier said than done, if you have backup funds (which is why food trucks are a great option for restaurant franchises), then you won’t have to worry as much about making a ton of money in the beginning, and this is especially important for chefs and business owners.

The last thing you want to worry about is your rent, the salary of employees, inventory costs, etc., when you’re a business owner. Ideally, you will have some funds to fall back on until your food truck business is established in the sense that it is breaking even and then some.

This might sound like a no-brainer, but so many people quit their day jobs and go after their dreams before they are truly ready, with the money department being one of the biggest areas of being unprepared.

3 Things Aspiring Food Truck Owners Need To Do Constantly

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No matter how easy it is for you to break into the food truck industry, you should be putting in the work when it comes to the learning department. The last thing you want is to be unprepared for this industry, and that is, unfortunately, something so many people face once they do become food truck owners. Of course, you can’t prepare for everything, but that shouldn’t stop your learning journey.

There are plenty of food truck owners who don’t make it because they aren’t business savvy or [fill in the blank]. If you know you are lacking in a certain area that you also know is going to be important for your business, then you should put in the work now. After all, when you do become a food truck owner, you are likely going to figure out that you don’t have as much free time on your hands as you thought you would.

So, learn about the food truck industry and all of the trends, learn about business, learn about entrepreneurship, learn about managing employees, learn about how to become a better cook, learn about marketing/advertising, learn about menu creation, learn about catering, learn about food truck events, etc.

Questions You Will Likely Have When Trying To Become A Food Truck Owner

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1.) How Do I Land Customers?

It depends. Some people open up shop in a great area in which there are plenty of people, and they attract customers based off of the fact that they are in a great location. That might not be the case for everyone, though. Others promote their food truck via social media, just as an example.

This is something you will figure out along the way, and the things you do at your food truck business will impact the amount of customers you will attract. Ask current food truck owners what they do to land more customers, and read articles and books about the matter. Surely, everyone will have a slightly different answer than the next person, but you can learn from all of these answers.

5 Steps You Can Take Right Now To Begin Your Food Truck Journey

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4. Look For Manufacturers

You’re eventually going to have to buy a food truck if you want to become a chef in this industry. That’s a no-brainer … so you might as well start pricing food trucks now, and looking for manufacturers. This will help you get a budget in order.

Now, we, of course, recommend you going with a high-end food truck that is oozing with quality. You know, a company like Custom Concessions. We can help you every step of the way, and make your dream food truck a reality.

Nonetheless, you need to get a better idea of how much food trucks actually are, and how long it will take you to come up with the funds for your truck, so start your food truck buying search as soon as possible.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Food Truck Articles That Will Help You Enter The Mobile Kitchen Industry appeared first on Custom Concessions.

There are many differences between food trucks and sit-down restaurants, and we’re going to be going over four of those differences below.

If you’re thinking about joining the food truck industry in the near future with your first food business, then we encourage you to take some of the below points to heart … and we also will say the same thing to restaurant franchise owners who are looking to expand with a mobile kitchen business.

The Main Differences Between Food Trucks And Sit-Down Restaurants

• Food Trucks Are Mobile
• The Cost
• The Flexibility Of Food Trucks
• Food Trucks Aren’t As Big, Which Means Many Different Things

4.) Food Trucks Are Mobile

This is one of the main differences, to say the least. Since food trucks are mobile, food truck owners don’t have to rely on one location to make all of their sales.

If a location doesn’t work out for whatever reason, then an owner can simply find a different one, and many owners travel to multiple locations on a weekly basis.

With a sit-down restaurant, you have to find one perfect location because your business is stuck … unless you want to open up another location or move, and both avenues can cost a lot of money.

Being mobile means food trucks can also go to events and catering jobs with ease, especially since all of the food and equipment goes right inside the food truck.

3.) The Cost

Food trucks tend to have lower startup and overhead costs than sit-down restaurants. This is a big reason why so many people are flocking to the food truck industry as opposed to going the traditional route and opening a sit-down restaurant.

While a food truck tends to be cheaper to start up and run, which means they are less of a risk from a money standpoint, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are easier to manage and therefore achieve success with.

After all, you still have to have a good business model, a desirable product (your food), quality customer service, you have to be business savvy, you have to know what you’re doing in the marketing/advertising department (or hire someone who does know what they’re doing) and the list could go on and on.

Still, the cost factor is a big difference between these ventures.

2.) The Flexibility Of Food Trucks

Food trucks tend to be more flexible than sit-down restaurants for a number of different reasons. For starters, and once again, food trucks are mobile so they don’t have to stay in one place and can go where the customers are. This means that food trucks can also target more people since they can travel to business districts, downtown attractions, outside of gyms and even to places like weddings (of course, you need to be hired for something like catering a wedding and permits will come into play, meaning you can’t just park anywhere).

Food trucks also don’t have to operate on the same business hours every single day, while restaurants typically do.

Food trucks also tend to be more flexible in the food department since mobile kitchens are known for their innovative cuisine and food fusion ways.

This is really just the beginning when it comes to the flexibility of food trucks. But there is one important thing to keep in mind: Since food trucks travel to different locations all of the time, it can make it harder for normal customers to travel to those locations.

1.) Food Trucks Aren’t As Big, Which Means Many Different Things

Since food trucks aren’t as big, they can’t hold as much inventory and they can’t sell as much food; however, it also means they have fewer employees, which means, in theory, they are easier to manage and it’s easier to keep track of everything since the manager can see everything right there in the truck.

Not being as big might also make it easier to build a community since the manager of the truck and the employees can get more personal with every customer since they are taking the order of every customer as opposed to a waiting staff being thrown into the mix at restaurants.

There are plenty of other differences between the two industries (and there are plenty of similarities as well), but the four ingredients above are some of the more well-known and main differences of note.

If you’re looking for more food truck information, then we encourage you to read the article below (preview provided).

5 Things A Traditional Restaurant Could Do With A Food Truck

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5.) One Word: Cater

If nothing else, having a food truck will make catering that much easier for your brick-and-mortar restaurant since you can cook food in the truck, you can carry food in the truck, etc. Gone will be the days of you having to rent out a vehicle to do catering. Gone will especially be the days of you worrying about how you are going to get all of your food to a catering job.

While you still have to do a ton of planning for each and every catering gig, from figuring out how much food you need for the gig to making a tailored menu (the customer/host might have some requests for the menu), catering is still that much easier with a mobile kitchen.

You could, of course, have normal business hours and travel from location to location on top of catering, you could cater on a full-time basis or you can just have normal business hours. The choice is yours.

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.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post The Main Differences Between Food Trucks And Sit-Down Restaurants appeared first on Custom Concessions.