I know it depends on how labor intensive your menu is, but how many people typically work a shift on your truck or trailer? What changes did you make to eliminate the need for a person? I visited a trailer today that guy was alone, but he wasn’t busy. On my trailer it would be hard to run with one person. Ideally we run with two. If we are somewhere we need to be super quick then we use three or four people. Just curious what everyone else’s needs were.

My food trailer is currently parked at cubesmart . It’s not operational, not doing any business. Landlord needs proof of insurance. I’m having problems finding insurance, agencies trying to sell business/commercial insurance, but I’m not doing any business. Tried to inquire about RV, but no luck . Anyone has any leads ?

Any food truck owner planning to add the pre-orders to your operations? Would love to know how you are managing it.

Hi, I’m wondering if anyone has information on minimum requirements to meet the health and fire inspections for Washington State. We are trying to build out our own Espresso Van having build a few camper vans already, but really unsure about the requirements for a van only searching espresso drinks, coffee and pre-made pastries. Any guidance or direction would be appreciated!

Hello, food truck owners!

I'm a video editor and motion designer from Peru, and I've been working with food trucks and restaurants for several months, helping them improve their social media presence. I offer services like flyers, animated flyers, video edits,schedules, content scheduling, and anything else you might need for your social media.

I work at affordable rates and offer a free week to try out my services with no commitment. When I first started, I had the chance to work with some members of this subreddit, and the results were excellent. Now, I’d love to work with more members of this community.

If you're interested in working together or have any questions, feel free to reply to this post or DM me!

*I have my wife and mother in law working for me*

**"Yes Chef" is just how I identify what I am talking about, I never have and never will require that exact term, just ANYTHING that confirms that you heard me.**

Hello, this is very simple and I feel a bit awkward posting this here, but I feel backed into a corner on this.

How do I get my 2 staff members to respond to my demands and questions with confirming language like "okay" "cool" "confirmed" "roger" "affirmative" "understood" "got it" etc.????

I am polite for a chef, I don't raise my voice or demand things, I am very precise in what I ask, often times even giving a timeframe like "in the next 3-4 min I need X" or a measurement of priority like "at some point tonight, I will need X and X". Never one to demand something "now" or "yesterday". That said, I can't get these 2 to acknowledge what is needed without a sensitive attitude about it. any recommendations or examples I can use to show them why this is necessary?

Currently in the stage of trying to figure out all of the legal parts of starting up. I was hoping to rent kitchen space from a church or coffee shop in my small town, but apparently that’s not legal in Georgia, or at least my county? The nearest commissary kitchen to me is across state lines, and the next closest I can find is a three hour drive.

If there’s anyone who’s run into this in Georgia who’d be willing to answer some questions or tell me about their base of operations situation/journey through bureaucracy hell, I’d appreciate any information you’re willing to share. Just trying not to get discouraged, ha.

Most Successful Food Trucks in your Town/City? Which ones have failed? What did the ones that failed didn't have than the ones that still operate today?

Good afternoon, what do you use to keep frozen items "frozen" if you are on a trailer that is not permanently plugged in at a commissary? talking fries, mozz sticks and items like that.

Edited: I am referring to keeping frozen items frozen on my trailer when we are out. Since I’m not plugged in at a commissary it would take forever for a freezer to reach temp and be effective so looking for other ways to keep those frozen items frozen onboard from the time I leave the commissary. Sorry if this was unclear BThanks!

Halloween is a great time for restaurants to attract families and groups with fun offers. From special menus to themed contests, what kind of creative promotions are you planning?

Hey food truck community 👋

Seeing all the posts about event logistics and festival challenges got me thinking about simplifying at least one part of our operations.

As a mobile vendor, I built a system that lets you:

• Scan-to-pay right at your truck
• Send payment links to customers (great for pre-orders or remote payments)
  • Links have time windows for security
  • Generate new links easily if needed
  • No physical contact required
  • Perfect for advance orders/deposits

No card readers needed - just your phone. Works even with spotty event wifi, and money goes straight to your bank via Stripe.

Looking for feedback to make it better! If anyone wants to try it:

• Free month on any monthly plan with code NEWBIE
• Cancel instantly if it's not for you
• Get an extra month free just for testing and giving feedback
• No strings attached - seriously, just trying to build something useful for our community

Happy to answer any questions in comments or DMs! Would love to hear what features you'd want to see in a mobile payment system.

Edit: You can cancel right after signing up and still keep your free month. We value honest feedback more than anything.

Recently bigger franchises have been infiltrating the food truck business as if they don't already make millions of dollars a year already. My wife and I have noticed our sales have been cut by half since Wetzels pretzels have starting showing up at football games, farmers markets, etc... we just don't think it's right but maybe we are wrong? Thoughts?

how much money can be made in a food truck.? What's the average for the week, month, and year? Same question with overhead. what are the start-up cost? Liscence and registration? iInsurance? cost per hr with the generator? Assuming you have the truck and equipment ready to go.

Hello food truck owners, I’m gonna be opening a food truck next year and want to volunteer on a couple food trucks to gain some experience and learn from the owners. I’ve messaged some(10ish) local trucks on instagram but haven’t got any replies yet(not many have even read them). Would you guys be willing to have a volunteer on your truck, and if so how would you want to be approached by someone wanting to volunteer?( online, phone call, in person, etc) Thanks in advance

It has electric, propane tank, and water tanks.

Guy says you have to take it to “the weight station” and register to get a VIN.

This seems like my best bet. My dad is starting a food truck and I’m buying it to help out. I want to make sure it’s perfect, I’m expecting maybe the wiring is off, needs new floors, etc that would be ok I’m very experienced in that stuff.

Would it be permitted and approved? Seriously trying to buy it guy is asking only 1500 for the trailer and it has concession windows & everything that’s a steal.

In Texas

Have been hyper fixated on this idea for YEARS. I’ve spent over two years perfecting a yeast raised donut recipe and just decided to cut down to mini donuts so I could avoid having to invest in actual donut fryer at commissary. I wanted to add amish style stuffed pretzels in the mix a.) to introduce a combo item on the menu and b.)because they’re delicious. I live in the Philadelphia area where Amish pretzels are appreciated and yeast raised donut businesses are kind of few and far between compared to other cities (unless you’re going to dunkin or your local grocery store) I am a local pastry chef and have extensive experience in the industry. I do Wonder though if I am crazy. Any thoughts?

Gift cards are a great way to attract new customers and secure future revenue, but how do you use them effectively? Do you promote them more during certain seasons like Halloween or Black Friday? Share your tips and questions!

This is just my personal experience and it has been one wedding so take this with a grain of salt.

The good:

The money and head count logistics. The money was good. All prepaid stuff. Equipment rental and extra labor were also charged to the client. I love how hard set the head count is for weddings. Even for corporate caterings there is a good bit of fluctuation but weddings are pretty rock solid if not less than what is agreed upon due to last minute no shows.

The bad:

I dont know why but I was a nervous wreck the entire week leading up to the wedding. The groom and bride were absolutely lovely people and I put some much pressure on myself I could hardly eat or sleep. For corporate caterings I feel as long as your food tastes good and you move the line pretty quickly you'll be ok. For weddings there is a whole logistical layer beyond that since it's a very special day for the couple and you don't get a do over for them.

the Ugly:

OMFG the fucking wedding coordinator was absolutely terrible. No communication whatsoever. Every conversation her and I had I initiated leading up to the event. She told me she would have parking spots blocked off for me and she did not and her solution was for me to park all the way across the street and run the food back and forth and "hopefully something opens up and you can move your truck later". luckily 3 spots all in a row happen to open up right as i'm about to tear into her. She also had no clue where I was supposed to set up. The way it went down was tables got called up one by one to get the food from the chaffing dishes. there were 17 tables by table 4 or 5 her and her crew had started eating the food i had in reserve for restocking. absolutely shitty coordinator. at the end of the shift she tried to garner some sympathy and was like "i feel i dropped the ball a bit". naw motherfucker you dropped the ball a lot and the only reason this even went half as smooth as it did was because we got lucky.

I talked to the DJ about her and he told me he never got a single peep out of her until he arrived at the wedding. This was me for the month leading up to the wedding

Hello everyone! We’re planning to start a food truck business in Charlotte, NC, starting in January. As we’re new to the industry, I’d love to hear about the challenges you faced when starting out. What were some of the biggest issues, and how did you overcome them? We’re confident in delivering great Mediterranean flavors, but any insights or advice would be hugely appreciated!

I have plans to open a food truck next spring (about 7 months from now) but I will be having my (first) baby next month. My husband is active duty military, and I will be the primary provider for our babe. I am looking for some others experiences or advice about whether or not I will be able to handle running a food truck and caring for my baby? Are there any other people in the group that have young ones and manage a food truck? We are located in VA, and our families are on opposite sides of the country so help from them is a no-go. I can’t tell if it’s my anxiety thinking I can’t do this, or if it’s a real concern I should have.

I know there are special rules about kitchens that you can produce food on when it comes to selling it in stores or online. Can a food truck meet these requirements?

....Just kidding!!

In all seriousness, I have a question for all the seasoned food truckers on here.

What are some tips and tricks for keeping an organized food truck? With limited storage space, what hacks have been the most helpful? I'm talking shelving, equipment, etc.

We are a food stand pop up right now and have been in the market for a food truck and honestly some of these layouts inside are ridiculous. It got me thinking some of you successful food truck business owners gotta have some good tips for that!

Thanks!