SERVED ON WHEELS Jesus Garcia
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dedicate this book to whoever is thinking of starting a business in the food industry. I also hope this book will provide information about the alternatives to restaurants.
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would like to thank my interviewees for their time and input on food trucks. I would like to thank Freestyle Academy for providing support and information on how I can piece together this documentary, especially Mr. Greco, who helped me come up with my topic.
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MENU Preface Introduction Advantages Investment Downsid Conclusion Works Cited
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Preface
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hen I first started the Documentary project, my project was going to be based on a punk rock band. I was a couple weeks into the project when the lead singer, who had agreed to be part of my project, turned out to be unreliable. I had to switch my subject and start from scratch. I had a couple of ideas, with the most interesting one being with someone that works with Facebook, but that one was the hardest one to access, and I doubt the star interviewee would have been available. One of my other ideas was to interview the owner of a taco truck called “El Taco de Oro.” I wasn’t extremely passionate about this subject when I first thought of it, but Mr. Greco brought up the idea of how the subject can be important with
the issue of rising commercial rent and failing restaurants. I got in contact with the owner of the taco truck through my friend Gerick Rivera, who works in the taco truck. The first day I visited the truck it was probably a bad time because there were a lot of people present at the park during a soccer tournament. I had to wait for a couple of hours until the workers weren’t busy anymore, but in the meantime I got my pictures. When I entered the truck, they were extremely nice and even made me some free tacos and let me get some free snacks. The experience there was a fun one, and I won’t forget how they much of a help Jorge and his workers were when I was far behind on the project. 9
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IntroductIon H
ave you ever dreamed of running your own food business, but are too afraid that your dream will likely be crushed? This is a common anxiety people who try to venture out into the food world face. In an attempt to become more independent and start their own business. Fortunately, there is another method of diving into the food business that provides less of a risk. Food trucks are an option individuals should consider if they want to try to enter this growing industry. Food truck culture has grown over many years and has been showing no signs of slowing down with the food truck industry value potentially going from 803.8 million dollars in 2014, to 996.2 million dollars in 2020 (“Value of the U.S. food truck industry”). The food truck trend began in Los Angeles with a man named Roy Choi, who was named Best Chef in 2010. In 2016, he was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” list. Choi began his adventure in 2008 through his gourmet Korean
taco truck “Kogi.” This truck revolutionized the food industry and brought forth the food truck movement (LaPorte). There are many different opinions as to what the appeal of food trucks are, that “the food comes out faster, and you don’t have to wait much” (Rivera G.) or that “it’s usually fairly inexpensive, so it’s not gonna break the bank and its also gonna be good food,” (Stone) but it is undeniable that people are loving food trucks and the trend isn’t gonna stop any time soon. “If you had to choose between a food truck and a restaurant, which would you pick?” “The truck,” (Borrega) was Jorge’s response to this question. Jorge is a co-owner of a series of taco trucks under the name “El Taco de Oro.” He and many others started their adventures in the food industry by acquiring a food truck and abused the benefits of having a mobile and cost efficient truck to sell their food in rather than in a traditional brick and mortar establishment. 11
Chapter 1
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Advantages
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ne of the most prominent advantages towards owning a food truck is the mobility of the truck. Since the establishment is inside of a truck and not a building, food truck owners have the ability to choose where their adventure takes them and take advantage of the fact that they can move to a location that they believe can provide them the results they desire. 13
Food truck owners have a handful of possible locations that they can go to: park in a gas station, populated street, college campuses, and several more areas that has the potential to drive sales. There are usually areas that they would require permission to be parked at and at times there are certain guidelines they must follow, but that shouldn’t discourage them, because a lot of food truck’s success comes from the location. Sometimes locations can even influence their prices. If they are in an area where things are usually overpriced, then they can also make their products cost a bit more, but have people still be willing to buy your product. Jorge states that,
“You can place yourself in a position you like. In this occasion, if it doesn’t work, then you can move to another, and if that doesn’t work you can move to another, and with a restaurant you can’t” -Jorge Borrega
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The essence of Jorge’s argument is that “a restaurant is fixed,” so it doesn’t have as much opportunity as a food truck. Food truck owners can go pretty much anywhere with a food truck, so make sure they abuse their mobility in order
to get the sales they desire. Since restaurants don’t have the ability to move wherever they can find a profit, many are usually suffering from low income since they can’t do much about the amount of customers that decide to turn up at the door. The best they can do is more advertising, which costs a lot of money; whether they decide to advertise on a billboard, television, or on the internet, it’s going to cost a lot of money, and the area they live in can also affect the amount they have to spend on it. In a restaurant, unless they’re in a good location, they have less of a chance of acquiring customers. Usually, with fast food giants such as McDonalds and Taco Bell overshadowing their efforts, it is a lot harder for them to make a name for themselves and it will lead to them shutting down their business and cutting their adventure in the food industry short. In a 2003 study by H.G. Parsa, associate professor of hospitality management at Ohio State University, suggests that “failure rates for rest restaurants to be closer to 60 percent or less after three to five years” (Grabmeier). There really is not much anyone can do about a failing business that involves a cost effective method that is almost guaranteed to make an effect on their sales. As long as food truck owners have the ability to be able to move from place to place, the chances of their food truck endeavor failing are very small. Overall, the ability to move to the customers is an essential resource to have if food truck owners want to have less of a risk of not turning a profit.
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Chapter 2
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Investment
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ood trucks are also a great alternative to your standard plot of land because of their relatively lower costs. The price of food trucks is considerably a lot lower than the prices of buildings. Food trucks as well as the equipment prices can range from $25,000 to $100,000 (“The Food Truck Empire Support Staff�), while restaurants usually cost $100 - $800 per square foot depending on the size, location, and many other factors (Gromfin). Unless someone wants an extremely compact restaurant, they will have to pay a much larger sum of money than they would with a food truck. 17
Most of the time with buildings, you have to pay in monthly payments that can be a lot of money depending on where you want the building.
“If you were to get a restaurant, you pay an elevated price, if you rent it, the price is extremely high, minimum $3,000 a month. With the food truck, you don’t pay any rent, and that is an investment that someone wants to reach as a worker.” -Jorge Borrega Rent is usually extremely high in places like Mountain View, Los Angeles, etc. and it can make restaurants a larger risk than usual; if you were to buy the building in one payment, the price will still be affected by the area, and the amount of money they would be paying would be a lot bigger than the cost of a food truck. With hefty monthly payments restaurant owners would have to hope that business is good and that people would actually visit their restaurant in order to fill that months quota. However, with a food truck, they wouldn’t have to have that fear, since, most of the time, they pay for most of the expenses in one payment. Of course, they can do that with a restaurant as well, but it’s going 18
cost a lot more money than a food truck, and not everyone has access to millions of dollars. After those payments, they still have to add up the cost of the ingredients which is usually not a big investment, unless they have way too many things on their menu. Usually a food truck has a fairly simple menu that only requires a handful of ingredients, so they wouldn’t have to waste as much as a restaurant with several food choices. Food trucks like “El Taco de Oro” have spent up to $500 worth of ingredients each day to be able to have enough to sell, (Borega) so with a restaurant that has a wide variety of food choices would have to pay more than $500 which can be a huge investment to certain people, especially if restaurant owners don’t end up selling anything; at least they won’t have to spend $500 daily. Sometimes, bad employees can lead to a restaurant’s downfall since they also have to be paid in order for them to be willing to work at their job. But, with a food truck, employees and food production are a lot easier to monitor and the problems could be taken care of a lot easier. As a food truck owner, you can make yourself more prominent, so the workers would know not to slack off or do anything that may be counter-productive. Food truck owners can also put their products out there more instead of having to be in fear of having their efforts on their restaurant be for nothing. Also, food trucks can innovate with their marketing and what they are selling, and there would be a higher chance of people seeing it if they were to put their truck out there. In the end, the price of buildings can cost way too much for people to be paying for and monthly payments put a deadline that they have to be weary of, so food trucks are a good alternative towards people who are not willing to spend as much as a restaurant and not have to be fearful of not meeting the amount of money they need for monthly payments.
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Chapter 3
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Downsides
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hile food trucks can have their advantages, and could be potential stepping stones towards making a name for yourself in the food industry, they have their fair amount of disadvantages. Food trucks are by no means an easy way to start your adventure; it is only simpler than running a restaurant, so there will still be risks to starting your adventure in the food industry. 21
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Serving food in a truck may not be for everybody and many would prefer beginning their adventure with a restaurant. Food trucks usually are very cramped spaces that it just couldn’t be for too many people and the workers could potentially hate the work environment and in turn, not do a good job in their work. Food trucks could also have problems with the city if they do not fit certain guidelines. Jorge states, “If a food truck were to be in operation, it’s gonna need hot and cold water, and a system of fire, so if in a case, if the city were to inspect them and at that moment they don’t have hot water, or a system of fire, they can close us.” (Borrega). These may not be hard guidelines to follow, but if by some slight chance, one of those decide not to work at the moment of an inspection, they can shut down food truck owner’s business and they wouldn’t be allowed to make money. There are several scenarios that can occur that would hinder their adventure. They could either have an extremely hard time getting permission to reside in areas and fit the required criteria that the area requires for them. There is also a possibility of other restaurants that can overshadow them. This isn’t a problem that is reserved for small restaurants; it can also affect food trucks and can prove to be a huge obstacle in their business. Admittedly, it’s not always a bad experience having to run a restaurant. Many people usually enjoy the experience in dining in restaurants. Gabe, a chipotle worker, states that “actual restaurants is more of a dining experience” and that “food trucks are something you go to on your break, something to go get food. But you go to a restaurant to go to the restaurant. The restaurant is part of experience” (Stone). Sometimes even customers at a food truck can be even more of a handful compared to customers at a restaurant. Usually food trucks are expected to serve you food quickly without much wait. “There’s people who come from other jobs who have certain time to eat, you have to try to get the food out
as fast as possible,” “when you cook you have the pressure coming from many people waiting. People can get very impatient” (Rivera, Y). There are occurrences where workers are being unreasonable and become impatient with the workers and that could cause a lot of anger towards the job and the customers. Initially, this can happen in restaurants too, but they are sometimes expected to take longer to prepare the food because most aren’t known for bringing food extremely quickly, they aren’t there to get the food and go, they are there for the experience. There are also certain occasions where the owner of a taco truck could also have their adventure into the food world cut short. The city that they decide to work in requires that their food truck has running water, both cold and hot, and a system to combat a fire, like a fire extinguisher. If they do not meet the requirements to be allowed to run a food truck, the city will shut them down.
“You can’t just run the trucks just to run them, you have to complete requirements issued by the city. If you don’t fit the qualities, you have the risk of the truck being shut down.” -Jorge Borrega
This statement from Jorge shows that this is a common fear to food truck entrepreneurs, and the fear of being shut down is not reserved for people who run restaurants. As you can see, there is always gonna be a risk to starting an adventure into the food industry no matter what method you choose, the food truck method is just the easier one compared to the restaurant method, but don’t just think it’s going to be smooth sailing from the moment you purchase the truck.
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conclusIon T
he food industry may be extremely hard to tackle no matter if you were going to invest in a food truck or a building, but food trucks are still a more cost-efficient method that has many perks mobility-wise compared to a traditional brick and mortar establishment. To anyone that wants to take a step into the food industry by investing in a food truck, don’t be afraid to take the step and head into your adventure.
“This is a method to make yourself independent. This is a method to have a better opportunity than being a worker. If a person is interested to have their own business, then this is one of the ways of having one with less worry, less risk, and earning a bit more than being a worker in any other job.� -Jorge Borrega
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works cIted Borrega, Jorge. Personal Interview. 11 March 2018. “The Food Truck Empire Support Staff. “The Complete Breakdown of Food Truck Operation Costs,” 10 Apr. 2014 https://foodtruckempire.com/how-to/costs/. Accessed 24 March 2018. Grabmeier, Jeff. “Restaurant Failure Rate Much Lower Than Commonly Assumed, Study Finds.” Ohio State News, 8 Sept 2003. https://news.osu.edu/news/2003/09/08/restfail/. Accessed 3 April 2018. Gromfin, Ryan, How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant?, https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-open-a-restaurant, 14 Sept. 2016 LaPorte, Nicole. “How Roy Choi Built An Empire From One Beat-Up Taco Truck.” https://www.fastcompany.com/3038398/how-roy-choi-built-a-food-empire-from-on e-beat-up-taco-truck Fast Company. 18 November 2014. Accessed 6 April 2018 Rivera, Gerick. Personal Interview. 22 March 2018. Rivera, Yesenia. Personal Interview. 6 April 2018. Stone, Gabe. Personal Interview. 27 March 2018. “Value of the U.S. food truck industry from 2014 to 2020 (in million U.S. dollars).” Statista, 2018, https://www.statista.com/statistics/444924/industry-value-us-food-trucks/, Accessed 12 Mar. 2018. 27
About The Author
Jesus Garcia’s hobbies include playing games, speciďŹ cally on his computer, joking around with his friends, watching YouTube videos or TV shows, and listening to several different types of music. He is not especially talented at many things, he just knows how to do certain things better than other people, especially when it comes to anything on the computer. His dream for the future is to be able to live in a house with some friends and be able to make a couple of people’s days better either as some kind of entertainer.
SERVED ON WHEELS Jesus Garcia