You might think that with 74 Chick Fil-A restaurants already in the Houston area, the chicken chain wouldn’t need another one. Apparently, you would be wrong: one franchisee is taking advantage of the continuing popularity of food trucks and creating a rolling restaurant with a limited menu to bring chicken sandwiches to people who don’t already have them. [More]
food trucks
Food Trucks Win First Legal Battle Over Rule To Keep Them Away From Restaurants
By 9.29.16
A restaurant might already have enough competition from other eateries next door, across the street, or even in the same building, so they probably don’t want yet a competing restaurant on wheels parking on their block. But when restaurants and food trucks share a similar menu, can a city require that they not share the same general space? [More]
Do Food Trucks Have A Right To Compete With Nearby Restaurants?
By 5.11.16
Cities can tell you where you can and can’t park, and they can decide which areas of town are zoned for which types of commercial uses, but can a city determine where a food truck can park based solely on the type of food it makes? [More]
Police Posed As Shoplifters, Sold Meat And Supplies To Food Truck Operators
By 2.3.15
Two food cart operators in Portland, Oregon were busted last week buying meat, soda, oven cleaner, and utensils from undercover officers posing as shoplifters. They were arrested and have both been charged with attempted theft by receiving. However, they explained to local media that they totally didn’t think that they were buying meat that had been shoved down a thief’s pants. No way. [More]
Starbucks To Test Out Coffee Trucks On College Campuses This Fall
By 8.19.14
Because heaven forbid you need to walk more than 50 feet to find a cup of coffee, Starbucks wants to try to bring its brews just a little bit closer. The coffee colossus has announced it will be dabbling in the food truck business this fall when it rolls out mobile versions of its stores on a trio of college campuses. [More]
How Technology & The Power Of Suggestion Are Getting People To Leave Higher Tips
By 2.28.14
Most American restaurant-goers are used to writing a tip on the receipt after they enjoy a sit-down meal, but with a growing number of eateries — like food trucks and pop-up restaurants — that straddle the line between traditional dining and fast food, it’s unclear whether customers are expected to leave a tip or just be on their merry way. That’s why some new payment systems include an extra step to put the idea of tipping in the consumer’s mind. [More]
Do You Prefer Food Truck Sandwiches With Or Without Ethnic Slurs?
By 8.28.13
Is it okay to welcome a business with a potentially offensive name to a public space or to government property? That’s the question at the center of a dispute between an upstate New York food truck and the state government. The truck is called The Wandering Dago. Is that an offensive term in 21st-century America? [More]
Are Food Trucks Siphoning Customers Away From Bricks-And-Mortar Restaurants?
By 8.21.13
Food trucks have soared in popularity for two very simple reasons: They allow entrepreneurial operators a relatively low-cost, small-staff way of launching a business, and they can instantly transform a food desert into a lunchtime hot spot. But are traditional eateries losing customers to this proliferation of meals-on-wheels? [More]
Food Truck Worker: I Was Fired For Calling Out Customers Who Didn’t Tip On $170 Order
By 7.30.13
While sit-down restaurant diners customarily leave tips, gratuities are much more rare in the to-go food business. But when an eatery goes out of its way to accommodate a customer, it’s not unheard of for that customer to toss a few extra dollars in. So when a food truck worker in Manhattan saw his crew had been left without a tip on a $170 order placed by a multinational shareholder advisory service, he took his frustration to Twitter — and got fired for it. [More]
Forget Food Trucks And Rolling Retailers; This Guy Operates His Gym From The Back Of His Pickup
By 7.25.12
Yesterday we told you about retailers who were following the food truck model of taking their wares to customers on the city streets. But that’s nothing compared to the guy who decided the best way to get customers to his gym was to bring his gym to the public — in the back of his pickup truck. [More]
Are Retail Trucks The Next Wave Of Shopping?
By 7.24.12
As anyone who lives or works in a major city can attest to, the last few years have seen a huge growth in the number of quality food vendors selling their items from trucks parked on city streets. While the food truck trend might be at or nearing its peak, it may have blazed a trail for other businesses to think about going mobile. [More]
Cops Turn Food Trucks' Social Networking Presence Against Them
By 4.12.12
It’s bad enough when your parents learn how to use Facebook and/or Twitter (sorry Mom, Dad) but what’s even worse, if you’re say, a food truck business, is when cops rain on your social networking parade. Police in Chicago have studied up on how the whole shebang works, and have been turning businesses’ social media savvy against them. [More]
Before You Start A Food Truck, Slow Your Roll
By 1.25.11
Food trucks offering everything from cupcakes to waffles have sprouted in cities all over, and it sure sounds fun. Driving around, selling unique food, tweeting about it, who wouldn’t want that? But before you jump in, you should know it’s a darn hard grind. $100,000 in startup costs is not unheard of, and you better make sure you know the regulations. For instance, how are you going to sell food from your truck if you’re not allowed to park it anywhere? [More]
