r/foodtrucks

Currently looking to transition into a food truck industry from a brick and mortar place and am struggling to find out about the financials of a "successful" food truck. I know for a highly successful brick and mortar shop, profits run about 30-40% w/ an ROI about 6 months to a year (lines out the door, busy Monday-thursday nights). These are probably top 5% of restaurants finance wise

Curious what the equivalent "top 5%" equivalent of food trucks look financially as well

Line cooking background so I understand the kitchen math pretty well, but the food truck side of the equation is different and I keep hitting the same gap when I try to model it out. Everyone talks about the good days, the events, the catering runs where you clear decent money. What I cannot find is honest numbers on the dead days.

Like a random Tuesday at a spot that is not a guaranteed lunch crowd. What does that actually look like in real sales? Do you break even on food cost and fuel and call it a wash, or are you actually in the red on a slow standalone day and just absorbing it as part of the weekly average?

I track finances pretty obsessively and I know you cannot judge any business by its worst day, but I also do not want to build a projection model around the highlight reel. The slow days are where you find out what something actually costs to run.

Been reading through this sub for a while. Lots of great hustle posts and event wins, which are genuinely useful context. Just trying to get the other side of it.

If you have done this more than one season, what does your floor look like. Not your ceiling.

Just wondering if you all have any advice in dealing with restocking potable water and emptying waste water. I am planning to park my trailer in a spot that doesn’t currently have an on-site hookup to dispose of waste water. It has a sewer line and I have permission to make improvements, but I don’t own the property so am hesitant about that. I have a cargo van that I could maybe install some tanks with pumps for both waste and potable water. However the form for county health only has options for “on-site disposal”, “certified waste management service”, or “self carry (22 gallons at a time max)”. Not sure if I would even be allowed to use my own van with storage tanks. Have any of you all created a set-up like that where you restock and empty your own trailer from a second vehicle? I could bring the trailer to the RV dump station, but it’d be a little annoying having to move it just for that. Should I just reach out to a tank cleaning company instead? Thanks for any advice.

Hey everyone! My fiancee and I are getting married this November, and she’s really set on having a yogurt cart at our reception as one of our food/dessert stations.

Before we officially book anything, I wanted to ask if anyone here has tried having a yogurt cart at their wedding (or attended one that did)?

• Recommendations: Do you have any specific vendors or suppliers you‘d recommend who do a great job with setup, presentation, and taste?
• Service & Guest Experience: How was the flow during the reception? Did it create a bottleneck with long queues, or was service fast enough to keep things moving smoothly?
• Overall Vibe: Did your guests enjoy it as a late-night treat or dessert alternative?

We’d love to hear your experiences, any pros and cons to keep in mind, or tips on what to ask potential vendors. Thanks in advance for the help!

My son wants to have a food truck, but he can't afford that right now. He wants to start with a pop up food booth at local events. The health department is requiring two sinks with hot and cold water under pressure. Are there any affordable options that would fit into his car?

He is a single dad with two kids and it would be great if this worked out for him because it would enable him to earn money on his own crazy schedule.

I'm hosting an event at Glen Falls House on September 12th and would love to have a food truck (or two) post up for lunch service. Good quality, drool-worthy food with at least ONE vegan option is a must. Ideally we'd need enough food to feed 50 people over the course of 3 hours.

An extra special cherry-on-top nice-to-have, if anyone knows of one, would be a coffee and matcha cart.

Thank you in advance!

Hi!

We’re two guys from Sweden who have developed an app specifically for food truck owners and their customers.

We’re getting ready for beta testing and would like to ask whether it would be okay to make a post here looking for food truck owners who might be interested in testing the app and giving us feedback. The beta testing would, of course, be completely free.

We’ve also put together a short PDF presentation explaining what the app does and showing some screenshots. Would it be okay to include or link to that PDF in the post if you approve it?

We don’t want to break the subreddit’s self-promotion rules, so we wanted to check with you first before posting anything.

Thanks

I am looking to add flat bread pizzas to the bratwurst and hot dogs I currently sell in my food tent. Wht is a good pizza sauce I can get at at some place like Restaurant Depot, Chef Store, or Costco/Sam's Club? Rao's is supposed to be really good, but I can only find it in small retail jars, and it is many times more expensive than a #10 can elsewhere. I am the only food vendor at events with a captive audience, but I still want to provide a product that tastes good.

I only sell less than ten times per year so I am not set up with a big wholesaler like Sysco or US Foods.

What’s up!

Looking for the best recommendations for South Jersey Food Trucks or Catering for a party I’m hosting for a small business launch.

75-100 people.

Best quality, best prices, reviews, anything you got.

Thank you!

I started my business with a vision of creating something of my own—something I could be proud of, something that could provide for me and my family, and something that could eventually become a positive part of my community.
Over the years, I put more than $100,000 of my own money into making that dream a reality.
I invested in the building, plumbing, equipment, construction, improvements, and everything it took to transform the space into a functioning business. I sacrificed, worked hard, and kept pushing forward even when things weren’t easy.
Then something happened that I never expected.
The owner of the building decided to sell the property.
Now, after investing more than $100,000 into my business and the location, I am being forced to leave.
Imagine putting your heart, money, time, and years of hard work into building something—only to find out that you have to walk away from the location because of a decision that is completely outside of your control.
It has been devastating.
But I’m choosing not to give up.
Instead, I’m trying to turn this unexpected setback into a new beginning.

I’ve recently had an idea for a drinks van, I don’t want to share specifics, but from what I can see there’s a gap in the market for my idea and I have some really cool ideas for my branding etc. Firstly, does anyone have any insights into how much starting this type of business would cost? Secondly, does anyone have experience with having pitches at events and festivals? I’ve heard it can be a tough one to crack due to many of them using the same vendors, but I’m hoping with my idea offering a point of difference, I’d be able to get in there. Basically, any advice whatsoever would be useful! Thanks :)

Next year, I'll have saved plenty enough to invest in my business, which will be a food trailer. I plan on building it myself, and after all the inspections clear I'll move on from my current job to full-time food business. My dream is to run a pizza trailer that I would 5-6 days a week operate in town and also go to events when they arise. The gameplay is to cook using propane ovens and offer small, large, and by the slice ny style.

I would like to inquire about any pizza food vendors on here and ask how they are doing? What style of pizza they make, estimated profits, how much work do you do, and how events go for you. I'd love to hear your stories.

TLDR: My brother thinks I should go into burgers, burritos, or tacos. I want to do pizza.

Thank you

Hi. Do you know the requirements or where can I find the requirements in opening a mobile food cart? Im planning to open siomai cart and hire those who sell stuff in the midst of traffic. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Hey everyone,
My partner and I are in the planning phases of launching a food truck in Northern California. We’ve been shopping around for commissaries, and in our area, the baseline is running $950–$1,100/month, plus an additional $15–$40/hour for actual kitchen cook time.
Before we pull the trigger, the math has us a bit stressed. We’d love to hear from active owners about how you actually manage your workflow and expenses:
Prep Workflow: Do you do 100% of your prep at the commissary, or do you handle most of it directly on the truck? (I know this depends heavily on the menu).
Storage & Shopping: Do you store your backup food/inventory at the commissary, or does everything stay on the truck? How often are you shopping to keep up?
Equipment: Do you leave your own pots, pans, and tools at the facility, or do you haul them back and forth every day?
Scheduling: Do you run into scheduling conflicts at your hub during peak morning prep hours?
Scaling for Events: How much does your monthly bill spike when you have to scale up production for large festivals, markets, or private catering?
Average Spend: If you don't mind sharing, what is your total average monthly commissary bill (base + hourly)?
Honestly, the hustle of hauling gear and paying hourly kitchen rates has us wondering if we should just rent a cheap, small brick-and-mortar cafe to use as our own private commissary instead.
Would love to hear your experiences, tips, or any reality checks you can give us. Thanks!

What does everyone have in their trailer for flooring? I have diamond match flooring and absolutely hate it. It gets slippery so easy and always looks dirty. I was wondering if there were any alternatives. Thank you