I need your local knowledge... areas for mobile food vending

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Guitarmaan

"Second, it will help if you learn spanish. At least in my neighborhood. Most of the school kids can speak english but most speak spanish better than english. I'm not saying you can't start out without spanish. Just that I think it would be worth your time to learn the language". - locolobo13

It's interesting you say that, because my wife and I have discussed learning Spanish. We'd like to learn it anyway, but if it helps with business too then that's another reason to learn it!

"One idea for you: If you're from the UK and have any sort of accent (doesn't matter if Cockney, midlands, Welsh or BBC) you have an advantage with dealing with people here". - NotQuiteNative

That's encouraging to hear, because I imagine business is very competitive and the jobs market very tough right now. I once worked for the BBC actually

One option I have is to hire a truck from a vendor on a trial basis to see if I can make something of it. Some companies will hire out and supply stock also. That way I don't have to put my own money in straight away. I've no doubt there will be a lot of vendors out there vying for the same customers. But that's life generally, and the nature of competition. I am certainly prepared to put the hours and research in to give it a real shot.

I wonder if the Glendale sports and entertainment district might be a good draw if there are regular events. I'd have to find spots close enough but not so close to fall foul of trading rules there.

"When you say 'around here' are you speaking to your specific neighborhood or part of the valley? I ask because every evening this summer at a City of Phoenix park near my house the playground is packed and two separate ice cream trucks make regular stops." - Bungle

I'm interested in what you say here, because you refer to "summer". So does that mean that even though Arizona has such hot weather throughout the year, events and games still only occur during summer? I kind of assumed there would be a year round market due to the climate. Maybe I was wrong though?

Been there, done that and thankfully sold off the business. First off, health dept permits are not cheap. Then there's all the "other" people that have their hand out. Trust me when I tell you these venues you talk about are well aware of food trucks,carts and vendors and charge space fees (usually upwards of 40% of gross) and some will tell you what to price your product at. Then there's the competition. Trust me again when I tell you that pretty much whatever you're thinking of selling it's being done x3 or more and most of the real good places/events are already locked up or so expensive to get into that you'd be a fool to try it. An example, we did (sold) what you're talking about doing (selling).
One event wanted $1000 for an effective sales period of 5 hours. That's one heck of a lot of product to sell to generate not only that fee but all your other overhead. Needless to say we (as did others) opted out. With all this said were I to do it now I'd get a couple of Easy-up tents and look at doing all the art/craft fairs and things like that. Those don't let trailers in, you've got serious foot traffic and way lower overhead. If you've got a good product at a good price you'll do just fine.
Look at Island Noodles as an example. We've known those guys since they started in Montana and they've grown quite a bit but not changed a thing. Still work out of tents and sell a good fresh product at a decent price point. They always have a line and I'm sure make some $$.
Take a look at the "vendor's bible", it's called Craftmaster news Craft Shows, Art & Craft Fairs, Street Fairs, Festivals and More this is a book listing all vending events nationwide with all the info that you will have to have like gate counts and contacts. Nobody talks about this book being available, it took us a year to finally have someone who we became friends with tell us about it.
I don't mean to scare y'all off but do mean to give you a realistic view of what you're about to sink many thousands of dollars into.
If you're still dead set on a food truck check out *** UsedRides.com *** they have some deals on there.
Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

[Guitarmaan]

Originally Posted by jimj

I don't mean to scare y'all off but do mean to give you a realistic view of what you're about to sink many thousands of dollars into.
If you're still dead set on a food truck check out *** UsedRides.com *** they have some deals on there.
Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

Thanks for the heads up on what the reality might be. I don't want to go into something that just turns into an expensive headache.

I'm still debating over what exactly to do. Mobile vending appealed because it has a lot of benefits, including being your own boss and being outdoors. Icecream sounded like a winner due to the climate.

On the other hand, health care for the self employed is a serious problem. And it could be that alone that dictates which route I go. For our own security I may be better off aiming at employment in delivery work, driving etc. I have been a meter reader for an energy firm here in the UK, but things are done differently in the US. I think most meters are read remotely.....

[PoppySead]

Well, a market I wish more venders would get into is delivery to the elderly. There are a lot of older people here who would love a steady daily deliver of food. You would have to do more than ice cream and some have restricted diets but you should look into that area. You could get together with some retirement communities. They have public meetings and allow businesses aimed at their age group to come and show and sell their products.

Something to think about anyway. Good luck to you!

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Guitarmaan

Thanks for the heads up on what the reality might be. I don't want to go into something that just turns into an expensive headache.

I'm still debating over what exactly to do. Mobile vending appealed because it has a lot of benefits, including being your own boss and being outdoors. Icecream sounded like a winner due to the climate.

On the other hand, health care for the self employed is a serious problem. And it could be that alone that dictates which route I go. For our own security I may be better off aiming at employment in delivery work, driving etc. I have been a meter reader for an energy firm here in the UK, but things are done differently in the US. I think most meters are read remotely.....

You've got no idea how hard it is to keep ice cream in a frozen form when the heat hits about 95 degrees. If you're doing scooped Ice Cream which is what we did many times we had to resort to dry ice in a serving glove tossed on top of the product. The freezers just can't keep up since you're opening and closing the doors constantly. If you do soft serve which is what 99% of the trucks do be prepared for a huge equipment expense upfront, the machines and the generator needed to run them are not cheap not to mention that then puts you in competition with the rest of the crowd. If you're thinking of pre-packaged ice cream you can forget it, that market is saturated.
To get going doing the vending thing you're looking at about a $30-$40k startup cost when it's all said and done depending on what truck you get and what equipment. We went the middle of the road route, did some things ourselves, found the deals and got some stuff for free and we were still in it $28k cash plus extra start up capital for things like event entry fees and stock. At any given time you can have $3000 to $5000 out in just fees and this is before the event even takes place (most time months) and sometimes you've got it out before you know you've even been accepted. We avoided credit like the plague as I didn't want to be under the gun of credit payments if we hit some bad events and didn't make a dime (this happens on occasion, probably 3:1).
To make a go of it and make money in todays vending market you need to be prepared to travel, sleep where you vend (RV is imo a must) and go wherever you can get a decent event. It's hard work but I loved it, meeting new people all the time, catching up with other vendors you'll see time and time again and making friends with some of them. You'll certainly eat well as vendors trade amongst themselves at every event and generally watch each others back.
It ain't for everyone that's for sure!