We have a pretty good kettle corn business. Hubs is wanting to offer lemonade, cotton candy, pizza?? All the things. I feel like every week he’s trying to add something else.
Has anyone successfully expanded their business into other food types?
What would you do again or not do?
Am I limiting our success by saying let’s just focus on kettle corn or am i protecting our business by staying focused on doing kettle corn well?
Hey everyone, I’m curious how other operators are handling permit tracking in practice.
We’ve got a bunch of different renewals, inspection dates, certs, and paperwork to keep up with, and I’m trying to figure out what actually works in the real world. Right now it feels like there’s a gap between “just use a calendar” and having something that’s built for this.
How are you all staying on top of:
Are you using a spreadsheet, calendar reminders, software, or just a manual system that’s been working for you?
It's such a pain in the fucking ass to track everything, and keep things in order, and operating a spreadsheet is too tedious, and relying on Google Calendar can be unreliable at times.
I was looking for some apps to try and solve this problem, but the ones I found on the internet aren't really made for this specific issue, and importantly, everything I've found so far is vibecoded slop.
Genuinely asking because I want to know what people are doing today?
If there is anyone who could please help with this, I'd greatly appreciate it.
This is a throwaway account, but this is a real story involving two broke but passionate about becoming our own bosses seeking help from entrepreneurs. Thank you so much in advance for all your contributions & input.
My business partner (25F) and I (26F) have worked in Seattle’s restaurant industry for almost 9 years, doing everything from line cooking, serving, supervising, and managing, mostly in Asian restaurants. We’ve even worked in a food truck before. Around mid-2025, we decided we seriously wanted to open our own small Japanese ramen restaurant because we were tired of overworking for other people and wanted to build something for ourselves.
The challenge is that neither of us are U.S. citizens, although we both legally work here, so SBA loans are not an option for us. My partner has around $110k in savings, while I unfortunately have debt and very little savings myself. Our original plan was to combine her savings with roughly another $90k from lenders and start with around $200k total.
We’ve spent months building a detailed business plan with 3-year financial projections, supplier research, cost sheets, operations planning, and marketing ideas. We’ve also been working with multiple brokers since January, looking for restaurant spaces around downtown(high bar life activity ) because we strongly believe there’s potential for ramen and comfort food late into the night(3AM). We specifically need a space with a Type 1 hood because we plan to make broths and many dishes from scratch.
Recently, loan officers told us that we likely don’t have enough collateral to qualify for the amount we’re requesting because the equipment we plan to purchase would be our main asset. Because of that, we started exploring buying out an existing restaurant business to reduce startup and renovation costs and potentially strengthen our loan position.
Now we feel stuck. We still strongly want a brick-and-mortar ramen shop, but we’re seeing many restaurants close, and we’re questioning whether we should instead start with a food truck( easy without a loan), pop-ups, farmers markets, or small events first to build more capital and proof of concept. The issue is that both of us are already working multiple jobs while handling all the business planning, and we also have visa-related time pressure, so we feel like time is limited. We know working in a restaurant and owning one is a completely different story, and we know we will be working 100 hours a week each. The current economy and instability in inventory/ shipments might create more obstacles.
We do have a business coach who has been very supportive and says our business plan is strong, but they also mentioned that our startup capital may still be low for Seattle restaurant standards.
For people who have opened restaurants or food trucks before:
* Would you continue pursuing a brick-and-mortar location in this situation?
* Would buying out an existing restaurant be smarter than building from scratch?
* Is starting with a food truck or pop-up actually the safer path financially?
* How much startup capital did you realistically need before opening?
* Are we being unrealistic trying to open in Seattle with our current position?
I say this being a has been food truck worker and lover, looking for them to buy and enjoy many of my meals but now, completely swearing them off.
Why do you price your food at restaurant pricing? I used to LOVE food trucks, wonderful food for almost half of a restaurant, which probably made it taste even better. You do not have near as much overhead, for example 10-12 thousand dollars a month in rent, pay bussers, cooks, staff, overhead, etc. I could see how this would be a great job and business adventure. I know you still do have overhead; it is just a small fraction of restaurants. You can pass that savings onto your customers, and your lines would be WAAAAY longer. You would have to hustle, but a rewarding hustle.
Im so baffled that you have no restrooms, no wait staff, no place to even sit down yet it is almost $20 for a burger or slice of pizza and you also expect a tip?
why?
Hi everyone,
My family is in the early stages of turning our idea into a small business – we want to design and build foldable / collapsible food vendor carts for local customers. The carts will be made primarily from steel sheet, with multiple panels that need to fold down for transport and storage.
We’re complete beginners when it comes to metal fabrication, and we’ve hit a wall trying to figure out the best way to cut our steel sheets down to size. The sheets will be used to make the flat rectangular panels that form the main body, shelves, and work surfaces of the carts. The thickness we’re looking at is around 2 mm (could be mild steel, but we may need to use stainless for hygiene – we’re open to hearing how that changes things).
We’ve been researching tools, but we’re honestly drowning in options and would really appreciate some real-world, practical advice. The main choices we keep seeing are:
What we’re trying to understand:
We’d also love any other guidance you think we should hear as first-time metalworkers: jigs we should build, bending solutions, welding tips – honestly, we’ll take anything you’ve got. We’re a family that’s great with ideas but totally green on the fabrication side, and we want to build something safe, durable, and professional-looking.
Thanks in advance for helping us find our feet!
Hey everyone,
With Texas rolling out the new state-wide DSHS permitting system on July 1st, how are you guys keeping your licenses straight?
Between city health, local fire marshal, propane checks, and commissary dates, it feels like an absolute nightmare to track. One missed deadline can mean a $2,000 fine or getting shut down for the weekend.
Quick questions for the actual truck owners here:
Doing some quick research on this. Stay safe out there!
Greetings from the Remolques Ibarra team!🔥
I’m a 25-year-old living in Canada, currently working as a carpenter. I don’t have experience in the food industry, but I’ve been really into health, fitness, and smoothies for years.
For a long time I’ve had this idea of starting a smoothie business with a concept similar to Subway, but for smoothies. Customers would see every ingredient in front of them, choose what goes in, and watch it being made fresh right in front of them. No fake “healthy” marketing, just real ingredients and full transparency.
Starting with a full shop seems risky and expensive, so I’ve been thinking about starting small with a smoothie truck first and testing the idea around gyms and busy areas.
I’d love to hear honest feedback about the idea, the market, or advice from anyone who has experience with food trucks or small food businesses.
So, I’ve been working on my tacos for a couple weeks now. I noticed that the more meat I put in, the more we love them lol but it seems the moisture from the meat makes the shell soggy fast. I have seen people make the outside crispy by adding an outer layer of cheese. I would image that would hold up to the meat moisture. But my ultimate goal is going for authenticity. I love to respect the original, get the hang of it, then go for innovation. Any suggestions. Also, just the visual of them, thoughts?
$32,500 OBO
Start your culinary business today! This fully converted 1999 Ford E350 Super Duty food truck is a proven money-maker. This exact setup successfully launched our thriving brick-and-mortar restaurant, and now it's ready to kickstart your dream!
Whether you're cooking up Mexican street food, seafood, burgers, or BBQ, this rig is fully equipped, self-contained, and ready to pass inspection and start serving.
❄️ RECENT UPGRADES (Big Money Savers!):
BRAND NEW Air Conditioning Unit just installed! Stay cool and comfortable during those busy summer lunch rushes over the hot griddle.
BRAND NEW Tires all the way around! Hit the road and travel to your events with total peace of mind.
🚐 THE VEHICLE:
Make/Model: 1999 Ford E350 Super Duty (Aerolite Bus Body)
Engine: Triton V10 (Absolute workhorse)
Mileage: 201,690 miles
Transmission: Automatic
Wheels: Dual rear wheels for stability with chrome simulator hubcaps.
Condition Note: It runs and drives well! In the spirit of full transparency, it has been sitting for the last two years while we focused on our restaurant, so it could use a standard tune-up before you hit the road full-time.
🍳 THE KITCHEN:
Large commercial flat-top gas griddle
Commercial 4-burner gas range
Massive stainless steel exhaust hood system
Full-size steam table / bain-marie for hot holding
Microwave & under-counter mini refrigerators
Plenty of stainless steel prep table space
Overhead wire shelving for dry storage
💧 PLUMBING & SANITATION:
50-Gallon Fresh Water Tank & 50-Gallon Grey Water Tank (Perfect for long events and high-volume days without needing to refill/dump!)
NSF-style 3-compartment sink for washing/rinsing/sanitizing
Separate dedicated handwashing sink
Diamond-plate/rubberized flooring for easy cleaning
Emergency exit rear door
⚡ POWER & UTILITIES:
Generator: Dayton Professional-Duty 6000 Watt Generator (120/240V) mounted securely on a custom rear welded rack.
Solar: 200 Watts of rooftop solar panels to keep you powered off-grid!
Propane: Dual heavy-duty exterior propane tanks mounted on the rear custom rack.
Ample interior outlets and portable power station included.
🌟 EXTERIOR FEATURES:
Large serving window with a sturdy fold-out customer counter
Massive retractable awning to keep your customers shaded and dry
Built-in exterior lighting
This truck has been well-loved, heavily maintained, and is built to handle high-volume cooking. It has everything you need to hit the ground running.
Serious inquiries only. Message me to come take a look or for any specific questions. It won't last long!
Located in Northern Iowa.
What do you all think?
Part of a 10 truck caravan doing a lunchtime employee appreciation event tomorrow.
Parked in the middle of a parking lot with temps expected to be real feel of 97° but will certainly feel hotter.
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.
Recently bought an old food truck. Working on repainting the exterior. I'm pulling off this stick-on velcro stuff and the residue is pretty strong. I'm currently trying to scrape it off with a metal scraper, but it's so sticky that it isn't really working.
I'm not terribly worried about damaging the paint underneath, but I don't want to use some other chemical removal option if that ends up affecting the new paint.
Anyone have any actual experience with this stuff?
Hey everyone. I’m two weekends into running a small hot dog and meatball cart in Maine and figured this would be a good place to share where I’m at and get some feedback from people who actually understand the chaos.
Opening weekend sold out, which was incredible, but also immediately showed me every weak point in the system. Second weekend felt more controlled, but I’m still very much dialing in prep, holding, speed of service, inventory, and how much variety is realistic on a cart.
The concept is hot dogs, red snappers, meatball subs, chili, and a rotating “weird dog” / special. I’m trying to keep the menu tight enough to execute, but still interesting enough that people remember it.
A few current builds:
Chili Stack
Cincinnati-style Haus chili, grilled onion, extra sharp cheddar, brioche bun.
Weird One
Peanut butter, Raye’s stone ground mustard, Calabrian chili, grilled onions. Sounds wrong. Eats right.
God Tier
Local maple, local bacon, caramelized onions, roasted garlic ricotta, Parmigiano, brioche bun.
Saint ’Nduja
’Nduja bacon jam, roasted garlic ricotta, Raye’s mustard, local maple, Parmigiano, brioche bun.
I’m sourcing Pearl all beef natural casing dogs, Jordan’s red snappers, Raye’s Old World stone ground mustard, and trying to build as much of the flavor system as I can around stuff that feels regional and intentional without making service impossible.
Would love any operator feedback on a few things:
How many specials is too many on a small cart?
How do you balance creative menu items with keeping the line moving?
For those doing meatballs/chili/saucy items, what have you learned about hot holding, reheating, and not letting the setup become a mess mid-rush?
And the big one: what did you think you had figured out after your first few services, but later realized you absolutely did not?
We had our first tasting event this weekend for our pizza trailer and people loved it! Posting a few pics; would appreciate any feedback or setup suggestions
Hey everyone,
My name's Joseph, I'm the Founder of getwami.com I was an Empower Baltimore driver 4 months ago. My first month, I was driving around to test markets and find the best times to work to maximize my gas (this was before the gas prices spiked). I got hungry, saw a taco food truck, and stopped to eat. The food was so good I legit took a 20-minute nap. I was in such a rush to get back to work that I forgot to take pictures of anything to remember where that amazing food truck was. I looked for them and couldn't locate them. I didn't even know where to start.
So I built Wami to help with that.
Here is what Wami does for vendors:
1. You never lose a customer again. When a customer finds you and saves you to their Favorites, Wami attaches a memory to that visit, what they ate, where you were, and why they loved you. Days, Weeks, even Months later, they can still find you. That customer is yours forever.
2. Your customers always know where you are. Tap Go Live, and every one of your followers gets notified instantly. No more hoping your music is loud enough. No more empty spots. Your regulars come to you. You get discovered by new users as well.
3. You know exactly who your customers are. Every person who visits Wami logs a check-in. You build a real customer list, with visit counts, reliability scores (for the customers' reputation on showing up), and notes that you own completely (You can export your customer list anytime).
We are in beta right now with a live waitlist. It is free to join. It takes 30 seconds.
Please check out getwami.com Join the waitlist, drop your business type, and tell us what you wish this app could do. We will read through every single suggestion and build in what we see and know will help best.
It's summer. Let's make sure nobody here ever loses a customer again.
Thank you,
Joseph,
Founder/CEO
I am such a DIY girl and always ALMOST kick ass at it but I'm not feeling this 😂. Wrapping in my area is like $5k and self painting with rentals for sanding and such is like $500. 🥴 I absolutely don't want to FAFO. But is there a possibility of a good outcome lol? Any input?
Just a genuine question about the concept of building out a bbq trailer.
I have seen several trailers that have fully built out stick smokers on an open portion of the back end of the trailer.
I do a lot of smoking myself and am wondering what is the point of the smoker on the trailer/truck? It’s hard to believe people are parking then smoking meats upwards of 24 hours before selling?
I would smoke the meats at restaurants/commissionary then just load them into a hot hold to be cut and served at the event.
Maybe the smoker is for aesthetics?
Let me know what you think
I’ve been working with small business owners reviewing their merchant statements and a lot of people are leaking serious money monthly from processing fees alone.