“I don’t think food trucks
will be such a big threat to established businesses in years to
come,” says Geller. “Right now,
many restaurants see the trucks
as new and disruptive. But food
p l o
Todarello tapped his own savings
to follow his Italian-cooking dream,
and the pita-making pair, Kyriakides
and Sherwood, relied on financial
help from family.
Overcoming unusual roadblocks
I
N
G
R
I
D
J
I
A particular challenge for mobile
kitchens—aside from rising gas
M
E
N
E
Z
prices—is location, location, location, as in, needing a new one
every day. When Marination
Mobile started out, Saxton and
Edison parked in a different spot
practically every lunch hour, trying to decide where they’d draw
the best crowd.
Yayo’s OMG!
Nashville, TN
Fortunately, that’s since
changed. Marination Mobile now
has a predictable weekly route—a different set location every day—and
contracts with each location’s owner.
Even so, they regularly get calls from
businesses begging the truck to stop
nearby. “A lot of local shops say business actually increases when we’re
nearby because we draw customers
who might not have stopped otherwise,” Saxton says.
Parking was also a front-burner
issue for Two Pitas in a Pod when it
first started. Kyriakides or his partner drove another vehicle to hold
their desired spot two hours before
the lunch rush. “I’d also see people
pull into a good parking spot and
offer them lunch if they’d give it to
us. It was crazy!” recalls Kyriakides.
Fortunately, they now have contracted spots at several locations, no
free lunches required.
Push-back from local brick-and-mortar businesses can also be a challenge. Kyriakides says that, in the past,
several bar and restaurant owners in
one New Jersey town promised to
make his life miserable if the pita
truck parked near them and competed
for business. In that same town,
food truck owners and local
businesses eventually squared
off in a very chilly city council
meeting. The results were so
unfriendly to food trucks—
ranging from exorbitant new
licensing fees to heavy restrictions about where they could
park—that Kyriakides picked up
and took the truck to another
town. Which is, fortunately,
something you can do with a
mobile business.
Haunt Dawgz
Simi Valley, CA
SHARON D. PERRONE
Reindeer Redhots Sitka, AK
RYAN APATH Y
trucks really don’t want to tick off
other restaurants or businesses. They
want everyone’s business to increase.”
Although the climate is improving now that food trucks are so popular, parking and zoning rules remain a
simmering issue in a number of cities.
Many towns regulate how far mobile
food businesses can park from
schools, parks and established food
businesses; limit the number of trucks
allowed on each block; or even require
trucks to carry GPS monitors so city
officials can keep an eye on them.
Parking in metered spots is often illegal, so truck owners must contract
with parking lots or curry the favor of
other businesses.
Todarello of Rocco’s Amore chose
the latter route. Four nights a week, he
parks his gourmet Italian food truck
outside Medford’s Southern Oregon
Brewery. “They serve wonderful craft
beers in their taproom, but they don’t
have a kitchen. By bringing our two
specialties together, we both do a
really brisk business. We’re a perfect
match,” he says. Todarello is also providing food for local wineries’ outdoor concerts this summer, doing
corporate catering and bringing great
eats to the local farmers market.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 28
Here are a few more Costco members across
the country who operate food trucks
Alaska: Sitka:
www.reindeerredhots.com
Arizona: Phoenix:
www.mammatoledo.com
Sierra Vista:
www.rrheartranch.com/Cantina
Calfornia: Los Angeles:
http://thegrilledcheesetruck.com
Pismo Beach:
www.kunfusiontruck.com
Oakhurst:
www.countryfaircinnamonrolls.com
Orange County:
www.barcelonaonthego.com
Orange County:
www.burgermonster.net
San Diego:
http://joesonthenose.com
San Joaquin:
www.mattiesmobileoven.com
Simi Valley:
http://hauntdawgz.com
Florida: Miami:
www.motysgrill.com
Miami:
www.shaoroma.com
Hawaii: Maui:
www.myofficemaui.com
Idaho: Boise:
www.brownshugasoulfood.com
Missouri: Kansas City:
http://coffeecakekc.com
New Mexico: Los Lunas:
http://flamingostevesitalianice.weebly.com
Albuquerque:
http://makemylunchcallie.com
Albuquerque:
www.mothertruckingourmet.com
Albuquerque:
www.ozpatisserie.com
Ohio: Columbus:
www.mojotago.com
Tennessee: Nashville:
www.yayosomg.com
