Food Trucks in Massachusetts (Boston, Florida: credit, weddings, live)

[CrowGirl]

As some of you know I lived in Massachusetts for 7 years before moving to Florida for 15 years for a job. I have now moved back to Massachusetts, which is a definite positive from my perspective. I have been at my new job here in MA for about a year and a half and while it is OK I'd really like to open my own business. One thing that was very popoular in Florida that while present in MA is not nearly as much of a "thing" as it was in Florida is food trucks. They were great - all kinds of options from ethnic varieties to diet restiction specialties (e.g., gluten-free). As I think about possibly opening my own business (which is a little scary) I keep coming back to a food truck. It was just so awesome down in Florida and it seems like something that I'm surprised isn't more popular here with all ther great restaurants and so forth. I've done some searching and there are a few in the Boston area but very few in the suburbs - this just sort of surprises me. Is a food truck just something people are a little hesitant about here or is this a good untapped market? What are your thoughts?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by CrowGirl

As some of you know I lived in Massachusetts for 7 years before moving to Florida for 15 years for a job. I have now moved back to Massachusetts, which is a definite positive from my perspective. I have been at my new job here in MA for about a year and a half and while it is OK I'd really like to open my own business. One thing that was very popoular in Florida that while present in MA is not nearly as much of a "thing" as it was in Florida is food trucks. They were great - all kinds of options from ethnic varieties to diet restiction specialties (e.g., gluten-free). As I think about possibly opening my own business (which is a little scary) I keep coming back to a food truck. It was just so awesome down in Florida and it seems like something that I'm surprised isn't more popular here with all ther great restaurants and so forth. I've done some searching and there are a few in the Boston area but very few in the suburbs - this just sort of surprises me. Is a food truck just something people are a little hesitant about here or is this a good untapped market? What are your thoughts?

A few thoughts based on comments from truck operators I’ve spoken with:

1) Aside from all of the standard startup costs, the trucks are tightly regulated and fees to operate can be pricey. Not sure how it would compare to Florida, but I’d imagine it’s more challenging here.

2) The locations can be hard to come by. In Boston, they have to locate a certain distance from Preexisting brick and mortar restaurants. This is the result of pushback from restaurant owners who feared food trucks were going to kill their business. The result is that, at least in Boston, there are many locations that would be perfect for a truck that aren’t allowed due to the distance requirement. It also means prime locations are few and far between and there’s a lot of competition for them.

3) The weather makes the business seasonal for a lot of them. While office workers will still frequent their favorite trucks in the winter, it’s hard for many to operate daily. A number of them pull the trucks off the the road and/or just do special events.

4) One truck owner I talked to said that he operates at a loss doing midweek lunches downtown, but he does it to keep the brand fresh in people’s minds because the special event catering is where they profit - work parties, weddings, festivals, brewery rotations, etc. Many also do it to test the market for brick and mortar. BonMe, Chicken and Rice Guys, Roxy’s, etc. all started as trucks before going to brick and mortar (still operating trucks too). Some restaurants give up the truck when they go brick and mortar (Mei Mei is one). It seems all of them have a goal beyond just doing lunch for the office crowd. In the suburbs, you may be limited to that.

[GeoffD]

This article captures my halal food cart experience when I used to work in Philly all the time. Most days, I'd take the elevator to the ground floor, walk outside to the nearest food cart, and bring a $5.00 styrofoam clamshell back into the building. I first encountered them in New York.

Link: https://billypenn.com/2016/07/30/why...hilly-streets/

[queerfaith]

I think most communities will ban styrofoam soon! The evil stuff is not recyclable.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by queerfaith

I think most communities will ban styrofoam soon! The evil stuff is not recyclable.

Neither is most cardboard once food oil/grease is on it.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by queerfaith

I think most communities will ban styrofoam soon! The evil stuff is not recyclable.

All the food trucks in the city use paper packaging.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2w5VOegk1g/

[CrowGirl]

Thank you for all the input! Very helpful. And you are right about the environmental impact - I'd need to think about how to minimize that. In Florida they had a neat franchise that sold premade healthy meals that you could just pick up and go but they had containers that they would recycle - you got a free meal every time you brought X number of containers back. I'll have to think about how viable something like that might be combined with a food truck. Probably not as helpful but worth considering.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Neither is most cardboard once food oil/grease is on it.

Cardboard will decompose about 1000 times faster.

Plastic can be recycled but in practice isn't.

Reusable containers are usually against the health code.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Cardboard will decompose about 1000 times faster.

Plastic can be recycled but in practice isn't.

Reusable containers are usually against the health code.

I think only certain types of plastic are recycled. If the plastic makes a crinkling noise, it isn't recycled.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Cardboard will decompose about 1000 times faster.

Plastic can be recycled but in practice isn't.

Reusable containers are usually against the health code.

Of course. I never implied its not preferable. Just not really recyclable.