food truck

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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^i know, i know

taco print cafe racer maybe?

I'd come over and help you develop a menu, literally for free, if you were down. live the life live the dream.

Personally, I'd come to this conclusion after all of the taco truck stuff; I love Mexican food, I am a drunk myself and can wholeheartedly appreciate the concept and would frequent it if it weren't me doing it, but I wouldn't want to deal with drunk after drunk, which is sadly where the real money and success factor of a food truck comes in on a regular basis. American drunks (surprisingly) are better mannered than the ones in my parts, but I wouldn't want to deal with me, after I've gone on a bender...



If you were completely serious about doing it though, I'd suggest taking a trip to Tokyo; around the office neighborhoods, there are tons of food trucks doing great business on the regular, selling lunches to people for pretty cheap, about 500yen~800yen. It's a supremely developed food industry niche over there. Japanese foods, Indian curry, Korean food, Doner kebab, etc, etc. Segmented foam trays; rice, soup (or curry), small salad, a side dish, bread or naan or some other side dish, they have a little variety of stuff, which I think is nice. It's something that with some skill, could translate well to an American business I think, given the right location.

Short of going on a trip, if you're ever near a Japanese bookstore, pick up issues of Tokyo Walker magazine, they're like 60-80% food coverage and it's a weekly, so back issues are worthless. They often feature food truck bento sets, as well as restaurant served set lunches which feature novel combos.

I remember back at school there was this guy who had an Indian food cart outside the Student Union. I went to a primarily Engineering/Computer Science school so we had a fairly large Indian student population with no real alternatives close by (other than Indian nights at the Commons every other week). The cart did extremely well serving hundreds of people each day and usually selling out of every item.

I was taking an entrepreneurship class and we actually had the cart owner come in one day to tell us his story, strategies, and future plans. He actually became so successful the school offered him a permanent lunch spot within the Student Union facility. Quite an improvement. He's actually looking into creating a line of ready to make meals that students could easily make in the dorm kitchens etc. Quite the entrepreneur.

Originally Posted by Pennglock

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I'd take a hard look at the taco/burrito model if youre serious about this. It's got the cheap ingredients, quick to make, and popular.
+1. Here's what a former DC BigLaw lawyer did.

cool. and thx dismal.

my mom and I have spoken about setting up freezer trucks that bring home cooked meals to singles, students, and eventually maybe, even for families with kids meals and ****. but you have to start somewhere.

^I think business-wise, that is a story of not only him so much milking his primary market (which obviously helps) but also in America there still exists attitudes towards ethnic foods and Indian food is generally well-liked, and also generally more expensive as far as ethnic foods go; you can spend quite a bit in an Indian restaurant in America, while overseas, Indian food doesn't have that kind of vaulted reputation, it's very pedestrian in many places. In any case, the chance for people to grab what is typically higher priced at a lower value price, that is something that has lots of potential, especially in this day and age. Park near an outdoor facility like a park where people can sit down with your food and enjoy it, and you've got a nice setup.

When you think about it though, what makes Indian food more expensive than Mexican food, for example? The ingredients in the raw are similar (Mexican food might actually be more expensive considering it uses beef, traditionally a lot more expensive than chicken).. Indian food doesn't really use anything that is particularly expensive.

In any case, I wouldn't recommend kunk to go too ethnic - he's white as hell. If you partnered up with an Asian guy or a Middle Eastern guy, then you could get a little crazy, but I think a solid American food concept might be kunk's best suit.

problem is i make mostly ethnic foods. goulash, asian stuff, tacos, medditeranean food. i look slovak so could probably sling goulash without much problem.

and dismal, indian food in nyc is cheap as hell. and the rafiqui carts sell you a plate of middle-eastern chicken/rice for like $5

Sushi truck. Get an old Japanese (at least Japanese-looking) guy dressed in white outfit, small white hat, keep him quiet and making the sushi at a quickfire pace. Sell 8-pc nigiri 'omakase' (your tyical assortment) and big pre-made (but still fairly recently freshly made) maki sets, and then combinations of the two styles; have someone on the side tipping out plastic cups of miso soup from a decanter, have pre-wrapped sides of pickled scallions, ginger, wasabi, food service soy sauce. get cool wooden bento boxes or at least the paper faux-lacquer boxes for takeaway so you don't have to cheapen the whole thing with foam trays.

Find the right place, and plan the right time of day

Proceed to rake in bucks.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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In any case, I wouldn't recommend kunk to go too ethnic - he's white as hell. If you partnered up with an Asian guy or a Middle Eastern guy, then you could get a little crazy, but I think a solid American food concept might be kunk's best suit.
Ethnicity is important for a sitdown restaurant, not so much for a food truck. No one is expecting authentic cuisine from a food truck. If the food is cheap, filling, and good, people will return.

^great idea, but in NY, people are pretty picky about sushi, temperature, conditions, etc.

Also, you could possibly look into privately importing a small Japanese food-service truck, completely outfitted with grills, coolers, gas hookups and hotboxes, and ready to go, and they're the most conveniently sized to park in your driveway at home and negotiate traffic in. You wouldn't want to do it in a bus, and plus you'd have a novelty. It'd be right hand drive, but you only have to drive it out, park it, adn then drive it home. License it as business equipment on some sort of stipulation that you only put limited mileage on it per year and it'd probably be road legal and insurable.

Nissan Bongo (I think it's called) comes to mind. There's 1000kilo and 2000 kilo truck classes in Asia, both are small for America and have van-like fronts, but you can push the Dually 12" dubs in the back like a baller.

I should add, those trucks only cost like $5000 once their registration is run up, they're dirt cheap, and importing vehicles is cheap as long as you don't have to legalize them like a road car.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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^great idea, but in NY, people are pretty picky about sushi, temperature, conditions, etc.

as well they should - I don't eat sushi in North America. I do think the general populous would be down with value sushi if they were given some assurance that it's legit.

A ramen truck could be a hit with the hipsters, but you'd need the Asian-style truck with the noodle-making equipment, and the stainless flip-out counter where a few people can sit and scarf down their ramen on plastic stools.

also, I plan on following your food truck with my own truck, selling Tupac and Tommy Hilfiger tees.

http://www.drofbbq.com/

this is some of the best bbq I have ever had. if you are in the burbs, this is what I would do. make top of the line que.

I think a food truck is a great idea. I notice that downtown they have all kinds of food trucks... although it seems that most of them serve dessert. There has to be demand for a full meal or for food that goes beyond the usual taco, falafel, etc...

I also like the idea that the relative overhead of a food truck would likely be cheaper than renting/furnishing a fixed store front location.

This is my favorite food truck of the moment.....

http://www.vanleeuwenicecream.com/