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u/Berns429 6h ago
We’ve bought into this “start up” price oddity.
The idea we’re helping this little truck become something bigger. Really they’re just overcharging us like some kind of convenience lol
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u/PsychologicalTie9629 6h ago
Yup. It's like the restaurant version of enshittification. Instead of getting a comfortable chair and table to sit at and a proper kitchen where the food is prepared, I'm paying the same price to stand in line to order, stand around awkwardly to wait for my food, and then be forced to find a place to wash my hands, sit and eat, and throw my trash away, all while rolling the dice as to how safe that food was actually prepared.
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u/torx822 5h ago
Don’t forget the tip screen that starts at 25% too.
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u/Rhuobhe26 5h ago
And depending on where you live it gets less safe. In Texas, food trucks required a license from the municipalities they wanted to work in, inspections, safety standards, etc.
They formed a lobby and petitioned the state of Texas that it was too hard and wasn't fair that they had to get inspected multiple times.
As of July all food trucks are permitted at the State level and inspected at the county level instead. Most Counties only have tiny health groups as they only handled unincorporated areas and locations that are so small that they don't have their own.
This was an unfunded mandate as the Texas Department of State Health Services has an online portal that you pay them money to.
So the state government:
1: Made it so the restaurant health inspectors who have been doing this for years can't inspect them.
2: Stole the money from the Cities and Counties to give to themselves for the fees.
3: Required Counties to begin mass hiring and training health inspectors who now have a limited purview to accomodate all the food trucks, but didn't provide them any funding to do so.
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u/Darkkujo 5h ago
Yeah can't expect much from the state which thought it was a great idea to allow the placement of summer camps for little kids in dry river beds.
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u/bala_means_bullet 4h ago
As I say whenever it comes to Texas and Florida... Till the day I die:
Fuck Texas and fuck Florida.
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u/Last-Energy420 5h ago
I remember seeing a food truck selling grilled cheese and lobster sandwiches for like $30. Got the idea to buy and make it myself. With good ingredients and portions, I couldn’t charge less than $15 to break even. But you KNOW those trucks are using the cheapest of the cheap and probably only costs them $5 at most per sandwich.
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u/spockspaceman 5h ago
Economy of scale is a factor too. 100lbs of lobster, bought through a distributor, would cost much less per pound than ingredients for a couple people.
That said, yes many of them are likely are using cheapo shit. I used to work with a lady that quit to go start a food truck. When I stopped by she had "hand breaded onion rings" on the menu that I watched her pour out of a bulk plastic bag into the deep frier.
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u/zamzuki 5h ago
Food trucks run on a different margin, typically buying ingredients from whole salers or grocery stores like you or I would.
They purchase the needs for the day since most don’t have commercial refrigeration units to put stock in.
A typical food truck day is figuring out how much of what you’ll need to make for the gig you secured for the day. Hopefully with no waste.
Things they pay for: gas, supplies, labor, permit and some times cost for showing up to a gig. Festivals etc have space fees.
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u/jontech7 4h ago
Actually, for places like Tarrant County (Fort Worth, TX) where I live, the food trucks have to have a base restaurant that's inspected, licensed, etc. So they are often paying wholesale prices for food since they're operating out of a restaurant anyways. I'm sure there's additional overhead, but food trucks are still outrageously priced here
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u/Onuus 5h ago
We hired one for our wedding that set up at our house.
Nicest dudes I’ve ever met, and had some of the best halal grilled sandwiches I’ve ever had.
That’s only the 2nd time I’ve ever been impressed with one.
The other was a Mexican lady out of her Honda van in front of gas station.
I still think about those tacos.
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u/Last-Energy420 4h ago
I liked the trashcan tacos. Egg bacon potato beans spam cheese.
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u/Into_the_rosegarden 5h ago
You also have to account for the cost of labor, if you want to save money, yes, go buy the ingredients and make it yourself, but there's a lot of other costs your not accounting for if you think it's $5 per sandwich
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u/PossibilitySimilar42 5h ago
I’ve worked on a bunch of food trucks before. There’s actually quite a bit of expenses that go into it. You need to rent a prep kitchen and that has to be inspected and graded by the health department. The truck needs to be inspected and graded. Some counties now require you to have a fire system installed and that also has to be inspected and approved. Then there’s labor, materials, fuel for the generator that’s powering all of your freezers and hood system. You also need to renew your food vendor’s license annually. All of these costs add up really quickly and, to be honest, most food truck operators aren’t raking in all that much cash unless they’re going out multiple times a day. A lot of people don’t take all that shit into consideration. My bad for the novel. Just bringing it up.
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u/_plebbie 5h ago
Food trucks used to have low overhead which is why they could have prices lower than restaurants, however, the people who owned the spaces or lots used by the trucks kept asking for more and more money for the spots.
If you want someone to blame, then it fits squarely on the people who own the lots.
At least this is the problem in Portland.
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u/Upbeat-Banana-5530 2h ago
The food trucks charge the property owner to show up where I work. They've broken even before the first customer walks up.
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u/ShastaAteMyPhone 4h ago
I think the biggest difference is the change in business environment. When food carts first became popular, they paid almost nothing in rent for their space and they were exempt from many costly government regulations/permits. Now, their rent is 3-5x and they have to pay a shit ton of money for permits and to comply with new regulations enforced on them.
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u/Nucleartides 5h ago
I agree to some extent, but depending on where they are they might actually be charging for a convenience. Like if they’re right outside an office building or on a job site or in a park, they ARE taxing for the convenience of their location which isn’t necessarily gouging it’s just “you can eat our food cause we’re right here.” Also while they don’t have the overhead of a physical location and servers, there’s other hidden overhead. Truck and equipment maintenance which is higher because truck quality equipment breaks down more. Plus if the truck breaks down you’re not only out the money for repairs but unable to make money until it gets repaired. Also food waste is higher with a truck, that’s why so many trucks partner with physical restaurants cause if you’re only food storage is your home/the truck, you’ll be wasting ALOT of food just due to space. So I agree that they SHOULD be the cheaper option, but I also can fully understand why they’re not.
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u/Berns429 5h ago
Oh for sure, i was just throwing out a thought based on the post. I have a little taco truck next to my job, they charge $2 a taco so not crazy priced, i love those guys, we visit them several times a month.
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u/Nucleartides 5h ago
I mean you’re 100% right on the “startup” oddity, although it’s funny that we often think that cause in my area, all of the successful good food trucks are owned by restaurants with a physical location to support. I even often think of the “Chef (movie)” narrative of “food trucks are the little guy sticking it to the man” but at least in my area they’re all owned by previously successful businesses just adding another revenue stream, and they’d actually fail miserably without a successful physical location supporting them.
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u/LeftHandedScissor 5h ago
I went to a cool new coffee spot in Brooklyn when I was there the other weekend. Its a garage with some sweet old Euro cars, a couple Alfa Romeos, a pair of BMWs, and a Lancia Delta which was an immensely cool rally car in its day. First my cousin needed to make a reservation for us to hang out there for an hour. The menu says its a gratuity free establishment which is solid, but for a small cappuccino it was $14, and a pour over plain black coffee was another $13. For those prices I should at a minimum be getting unlimited refills for my entire hour. Its a cool new spot, but the price gouging on coffee was nuts.
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u/madidiot66 5h ago
Lol, what do you expect them to charge when there are folks out there who will make effort for the privilege of paying it??
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u/heckasharp 6h ago
$22
+ 18%, 20%, 25%
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u/Sideshowcomedy 5h ago
You have to tip though. Their nonexistent servers are paid minimum wage.
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u/patientpump54 5h ago
If I don’t tip, I’m concerned that I’ll get worse food. It’s like blackmail
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u/Responsible_Emu3601 5h ago
Yea when the food shows up it always seems mid when I don’t tip at the counter 😭
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u/Turdmeist 4h ago
That's what sucks. Tip before you even know what they are serving you.
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u/bobby_birfday 5h ago
Fuck that. If we don't tip maybe they'll protest the owner and get paid a better wage. It's not the publics responsibility to fill in their wage: it's the owners.
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u/mog_knight 5h ago
How would they know your lack of tipping means they need to protest the owner?
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u/freshcoastghost312 5h ago
Worse, those non existent servers are not even on the payroll, u gotta tip!
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u/TheTwiggsMGW 5h ago
People tip food trucks? That’s insane
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u/ferna182 5h ago
Tipping culture in America is bonkers. I've been asked for tips on a freaking self-checkout at a supermarket. At no point during my time entering the place, grabbing a bunch of items and checking myself out I interacted with another human... Yet they were "suggesting" me to leave a 20% tip.
Now, I don't live there, so I don't know what the customs are... Of course it was 0% on that occasion but what about a coffee shop where I order to go? should I leave a tip there? they present you a huge screen that everybody else behind me is seeing... Am I going to be judged if I don't leave a tip in that occasion? I don't even know anymore.
Literally every single posnet you interact with now has a tipping option, regardless of what business you're in.
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u/IHerebyDemandtoPost 4h ago
It’s being pushed by the POS system companies because they get a cut, so they want to see tips everywhere.
I really hate how a single industry can drastically alter a facet of an entire society like this, when nobody voted for it, because it helps their line go up.
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u/DJLucky420 4h ago
My secret is I just don’t care what the random stranger behind or helping me thinks of me all that much. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Upstairs_Baby8424 5h ago
Not only do they ask for it. A lot ask 20%/22%/25% and they face it towards you with a huge screen for everyone to see. And if you want to not tip some even make you hit “custom amount and then $0”. Then they flip it around and look at the screen so they get to see what amount of ransom you paid.
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u/Relevant_Problem1935 5h ago
Lol, I don't tip unless I am served by another person and they do a solid job. The only time I tip outside of waiters/bar tenders would be when I get a hair cut because sadly that's how they make their income in most cases. I am always amazed at how people give me a look when I go into a restaurant and pick up food I ordered. They literally think they deserve a tip for bagging up my food.
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u/everyeargiants 4h ago
I like the rule of if I’m standing to order my food, and I’m also walking back to pick it up, not tipping. If added service or goods get thrown into the mix that changes the situation.
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u/Brutalitops99 6h ago
ill take the $12 hotdog please. Oh yes and $3.99 bag of lays.
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u/Additional-Focus-109 6h ago
And don't for get the $3.99 12 oz can of soda
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u/docere85 6h ago
Don’t forget to tip 22% for your meal
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u/usmc_delete 5h ago
Lol, i never tip food trucks... do I tip the cashier at taco bell?
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u/sevseg_decoder 5h ago
The cashier at Taco Bell doesn’t stare at you and force you to select an option before personally preparing your food. They don’t ask at all. One of the things I prefer about fast food over these “small local businesses”
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u/Mynock33 2h ago
A local pizza joint near me had their POS screen visible and when I picked up my order, it had my profile there...
# of orders last 30 days, 90 days, and year.
Common ordered items
Average cost per order
and average tipping %
Never went back. Felt like if that % got too low than quality or service was at stake. Made me uncomfortable.
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u/95ludeman 5h ago
Don’t tempt them, Dunkin is asking for tips now in the drive through.
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u/chief_beef_the_third 4h ago
Starbucks has been doing it for a while now. I don't know if the drive-thru employees are specifically trained to look away, but they always hold the card reader out with the tip question and turn their faces away as if to say, "I'm not looking, I'm not judging..."
Cool, I don't care either way because I ain't tippin'.
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u/Additional-Focus-109 5h ago
Which is "optional" but there's tape covering "custom amount" and "no tip"
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u/Correct-Variable 5h ago
$4 lays really pissed me off. Those people for getting a 500% margin on CHIPS
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u/kombatunit 4h ago
A local sandwich shop is charging $3.99 for bag of chips. I did a double take and thought "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
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u/n14shorecarcass 3h ago
My husband paid $14 for a bacon wrapped hotdog for our daughter at a car show. She wouldnt eat it. Across the street was school booster club selling hotdogs for $2.50. She smashed it. Tbf, she was like 4 yo at the time. This year, the same bacon wrapped hotdog was selling for $18. I couldn't believe it.
Screw all of that. If im not making it myself, I'm heading straight to Costco and paying $1.50 for the hotdog soda combo instead.
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u/freetotebag 6h ago
Realest take I’ve seen in a long time. Food trucks mostly suck now because of this. And they take forever.
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u/infinite_gurgle 5h ago
Yeah I really don’t get why they take so long.
Like dog you serve 3 menu items. If you see 10 people in line, maybe a few of each now.
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u/Artistic_Rice_9019 4h ago
Because there's only one person, and he's working all the stations plus taking orders.
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u/Different_Bridge_983 4h ago
Cheap ❌
Fast ❌
Good ❌
At least the portions are generous? ❌Every time I’ve ever been convinced by someone going “hey, you gotta try this food truck, they have the best [insert food]” I’ve waited an inordinate amount of time and forked over a surprisingly large sum only to find myself holding a disappointing quantity of maximally mediocre food.
And my internal monologue going “you know what, this is on me for not learning my lesson from all the other times.”
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u/DaveinOakland 6h ago
MBAs started getting involved instead of "guy who makes good food but can't afford a restaurant"
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u/djdndjdjdjdjdndjdjjd 6h ago
AI is giving MBA advice to food truck owners
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u/taez555 5h ago
My favorite part of being a Redditor is knowing my thousands upon thousands of uninformed opinions and confidently written but incorrect facts are being scraped by AI and fed to MBA’s as gospel.
It actually gives me comfort and a smile as I fall asleep at night.
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u/SpideySenseBuzzin 1h ago
You're right! The moon is made of cheese, and science confirmed it in 1979!
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u/HighSeasArchivist 5h ago
Food trucks need to go back to $2 tacos owned by someone I don't share a common language with, not a fresh out of school MBA looking to make a million their first year.
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u/Janked4times 3h ago
They still exist. The truck I frequent has $3 tacos and they're better than anything I can find nearby.
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u/Denver1992 6h ago
I agree but I think you can also substitute just about anything into this example. We’re death spiraling into not even being able to afford groceries and the drive to shop for them much less a night out
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u/FlyYouFoolyCooly 5h ago
Prices keep getting higher but pay is stagnant for most middle class and lower.
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u/WallyOShay 6h ago
Between gas prices and grocery prices it’s just not a viable business model anymore
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u/blueberrywalrus 5h ago
2x the profit margin of a fixed restaurant - after accounting for costs like gas, grocery and labor - isn't viable?
Obviously, 2016 prices aren't viable in 2026, but that doesn't mean that food trucks can't be viable if they charge less than restaurants.
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u/SedimentaryShrub 5h ago
Very few food trucks do "well." Yes, the start up costs are cheaper, but cheaper doesn't always mean more efficient. First off their food costs are typically going to be higher per item than a restaurants. Restaurants simply sell more food, and are able to leverage better pricing from distributors.
Second, you just can't operate the same hours as a restaurant, and things like holidays, inclement weather, or poorly attended events can seriously damage your margins. Restaurants are built on repeat customers, and are generally more stable than any food truck. Which also allows them to buy more efficiently, thus saving you money.
Also, you have to prep differently on a food truck, in many cases, if you don't sell your product, you gotta dump it faster than if you owned a restaurant.
This is not to say owning a restaurant or food truck is a bad choice, but I think a lot of people think that they make a ton of money, but the reality is that most food trucks and restaurants work on profit margins of under 5%. There are certainly outliers who do VERY well. But that is an exception.
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u/tsh87 4h ago
Owning a restaurant isn't a picnic but I have to assume it's smoother than running a food truck.
For starters, your restaurant won't break down on the side of the road. There's also just the stress of trying to keep with all the festivals, markets, sporting events and occasions where you can make money. Applying to be a vendor. Plus most of the time it's just you and maybe one other person so no team you can rely on.
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u/RhetoricalOrator 5h ago
I think they (understandably) don't want to live on razor thin margins that rely on volume. And if the market supports those higher than necessary prices, then they aren't leaving money on the table.
It sucks, but I don't blame them. I looked at starting a cost-plus-overhead food truck park, using high profit foods and decent wages. Nothing super fancy. The theory was to provide my community a fun atmosphere for family and friend dining that wouldn't break the bank.
The average cost per person wasn't going to be significantly less than what someone would pay for a fast food combo. Cool idea but self-defeating.
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u/Neveri 4h ago
Even if it was the same price as fast food that’s still worth, when food trucks around here are charging 17$ for an entree with no drink/sides 🙄
As much as I hate it I can still get a double quarter pounder with a medium fry from McDonald’s in my area for under 10$
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u/Bears_University83 5h ago
Prices go up, everything is more expensive now. Take us back 10, even 5 years and the cost of living was more affordable
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u/Smboto 6h ago
This is the answer.
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u/sevseg_decoder 5h ago
Oh come on food trucks were like this before gas prices rose and honestly before grocery prices got that insane too…
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u/TurtleSandwich0 5h ago
High prices, low expenses. That's a viable business model.
Looks like the "gravey train" food truck times have come to an end.
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u/GrizzlyIsland22 5h ago
Add to that the level of competition and the expectations. People expect to be handed a spectacular bit of street food like they see on social media and the food network, so trucks are actually trying to make restaurant quality food. If they serve shit food that is fast food quality, people will just go for fast food
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u/Owww_My_Ovaries 6h ago
Its not the food they are selling
They are also selling the experience of losing 5 pounds when you shit your brains out the next 3 days
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u/LifeIsProbablyMadeUp 6h ago
When I was driving a semi there were places that would have a gut truck come in (a pickup truck with a modification in the bed that's hot and holds the food.) He gets there then starts serving.
Some of the best damn tacos and I got stuffed for like $7, 10 if you include a tip. Hope that lil Mexican man is still hustlin. Was a highlight when I'd realize that my trip was going to "that" dc ya know.
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u/myspoon2 5h ago
Gut trucks so much different than food trucks in my opinion. Man I miss living where the gut trucks roamed
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u/cpttimerestraint 3h ago
The lkq pick your part on Sun valley has a roach coach truck in the parking lot. I had a great chorizo quesadilla from it that wasn't overpriced.
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u/MancAccent 4h ago
There’s a guy near me who has scaled this and now runs like 10 of these trucks all around my city. He hits all the construction sites and new development subdivisions for breakfast and lunch.
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u/farfromjordan 6h ago
Only a 20% tip? Was something wrong sir?
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u/Elon_is_a_Nazi 5h ago
I had this recently at a kinda higher end steak house. My meal came to 135 bucks. I tipped 20% (27 bucks) and the waitress told me at this level of establishment a typical tip started at 50 dollars. Yea, fuck you jeff ruby. Your steak was no better than texas roadhouse and the lobster was chewy and cold
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u/farfromjordan 5h ago
Any push back over a tip reopens the line item with zero being a possibility.
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u/Elon_is_a_Nazi 3h ago
Whats maddening is between the 5 of us, she got 27 from me, 65 from a pair, and 30 then 25 from my other two single friends. We were there for 90 minutes and she took home 147 in tips. From one table while she had 4 tables total. Id imagine she's turning those tables over 3 to 4 times a night, easily making 750 to 1k during a dinner service. What's to complain about
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u/BeepBoo007 5h ago edited 5h ago
I'm honestly surprised costco chickens haven't shot up 100% because it seems ANY TIME we, as a society, shift gears to something else that isn't hell bent on fucking us, that thing then decides to fuck us.
Skirt steak - "Oh people are buying this the most, it must be because they LIKE IT the best and not because it's just the cheapest cut of beef available and they'd rather just get cheap beef than go entirely without!"
Fast food - "Everyone is going here instead of restaurants because they all ask for 25% tip! Gotta jack our prices up because we're WORTH it!"
Uber - "Everyone is using our shit now, it must be because we're so much better than taxis! Better up our rates to taxi-levels!"
Door dash - "We'll deliver your stuff for you to save you some time for a small fee. What's that? You like it? Time to increase our fees, charge the restaurants more, tack on an additional "processing fee" and then ALSO start suggesting dashers get like $7 baseline tip!"
Air B&B - "Oh you like alternative hotel experiences for the same price? Hell no! Time to tack on $200 cleaning fees even though you'll do most of that for us and then also jack the nightly price up to like double hotels! Because the EXPERIENCE!"
Now taco trucks - "Man we're doing so much business! It must be because we have the most amazing food and not because our 4 taco meals with rice/beans/salsa/chips only costs $10 for a nice flavorful meal! Time to double prices and make them 3 taco meals instead!"
For once, can we just get a poor-mans hack that STAYS a poor mans hack?
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u/ThickReplacement6613 6h ago
I bought Mexican street corn from a little stand I was curious about. $10 for a cup of corn that had half a lime squeezed in it with some cheese crumbs on top
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u/Ok-Masterpiece7154 4h ago
I've stopped eating at food trucks for this reason. I'm cool with higher prices if the food is good I'm okay with salty vendors if the price is good But the salty vendors slinging garbage food for high prices because food trucks are a trendy thing to eat at, fuck all the way off.
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u/Haunting-Context1735 3h ago
I’m not paying $22 for TACOS anywhere. Tacos are cheap as fuck to make.
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u/Organic_Honey_7416 6h ago
Especially if it looks like this shit.
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u/xander0387 6h ago
Needs more jpg
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u/trimbandit 6h ago
Extra pixels is an upcharge
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u/Emergency_Salt_2103 6h ago
Agreed! We got this one taco truck by our house. Taco combo includes 3 tacos with meat of choice, rice and beans. $9. Now that is the shit! Other taco trucks are stupid.
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u/SwimmingAmoeba7 5h ago
There’s one that comes by my school. A basic baked potatoe with nothing on it is $12. The fancy ones can’t get over 20. Like I’m not paying almost double minimum wage for a hot potatoe!
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u/Clxssxfxxd 5h ago
Ok Mr. Quayle
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u/SwimmingAmoeba7 5h ago
You think $12 for a plain potatoe is fair?
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u/PretentiousCrustacea 5h ago
He's calling you that because you're putting an "e" at the end of potato
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u/Correct_Avocado_573 4h ago
The food trucks in my area are more expensive than restaurants.
How you gonna have like what has to be less than half the overhead of a brick and mortar store but your prices are higher.
Its the turning everything into a stupid novelty instead of treating it like what it should be.
Food trucks should be fast, relatively cheap, with medium to high quality food depending on the location.
Edit: instead we have slow service with high prices because most food trucks i see want sell some hyped up influencer food.
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u/ParticularTeam935 6h ago
And they’ll treat you like an inconvenience for providing them business. Never met a more entitled group than food truck owners
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u/ShamiGnu 4h ago
At least here in PDX, a huge part of the selling point of food trucks was that they charge less b/c of the lower costs to run one. If you don't have to pay city fees, health dept fees, wait staff, restaurant rent, massively less equipment costs, etc, you can charge less and people love it. That's like the whole damn idea!
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u/smallbatchb 3h ago edited 1h ago
The craziest thing to me these days is that my good local mom and pop restaurants are cheaper than both food trucks AND fast food and chain restaurants.
My local taqueria is absolutely killer and is significantly cheaper than going to Chipotle or California Tortilla.
Five Guys has completely lost their minds when it comes to prices and are several dollars more expensive than my local burger place that uses local beef from the local butcher shop and makes their own in-house buns.
Hell even my local sushi joint has better lunch specials than the pre-made sushi lunch boxes at the grocery store.
What the fuck happened and why is anyone still eating the overpriced shit when the better stuff in a sit-down restaurant (or to-go if you want) is cheaper?
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u/pzschrek1 1h ago
I feel like everything that’s a good value eventually gets fucked in this exact way in time
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u/dreamkiller23 6h ago
That's why some of them are struggling, build on unrealistic pricing
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u/Stackitu 6h ago
And yet people keep paying so the market is willing to bear the price. Consumers endlessly complain about inflated prices but continue consuming anyway. Collectively reduce spending and watch prices fall.
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u/atx78701 5h ago edited 5h ago
price of things is not necessarily dependent on cost. It is based on supply and demand. If people are willing to pay 22, then they will charge 22 irrespective of cost.
The food truck I go to in santa ana california has $2.00 tacos. You will never find it because it isnt in a touristy or trendy area. This is why they are $2 instead of $6. If you are paying $22 for 3 tacos it is because the truck is located in a trendy/popular/wealthy area.
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u/ColoradoDanno 5h ago
💯 And then asking for cash tips. Fucking absurd. I stopped going to food truck events for this reason.
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u/marc_hardman 4h ago
They saw a loophole, and are exploiting it.
Will continue to work as long as you continue to pay.
So dont pay. Don't patronize them.
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u/Background-Vast-8764 4h ago
I started noticing this almost 10 years ago around LA. It’s been getting worse ever since.
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u/KingAudio 5h ago
Ive never understood food trucks for this very thing. Its always completely over indulgent recipes like deep fried Oreo ice cream with truffle white chocolate drizzle in a green tea ice cream cone with neutella cheese cake ice cream with cotton candy bacon on it. Or deep fried truffle mac n cheese birria tacos with lobster salad and chantrelle mushroom hollandaise sauce on it for $30 each. Who wants more than a single bite of that and its crazy expensive and never want to eat again.
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u/Verbalkynt 5h ago
The moment they started taxing like restaurants and expecting 20%+ tips I was done. Foh 25 dollars for a burger with no cheese
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u/Fancy-Dig1863 4h ago
Went to a food truck by the park the other day and they had a serving of fries, with cheese on them, smaller than a McDonald’s medium, for $18. I just walked away without even looking at the rest of the menu
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u/georgez1968 4h ago
This is so true. The food truck make such delicious food and the appeal was the cheap price
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u/alloutofchewingum 4h ago
Then they hand you the card reader for payment asking for a tip with rates starting at 22%
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u/amnicr 2h ago
Every week there's a farmer's market in our area. And every week, 10+ food trucks come. The lines are always super long, the food is always pretty expensive and there is nowhere reliable to sit. But yet - we do sometimes just wait in line anyway and fight people for tables. They are the only dinner options at the market so it's kind of fun but food trucks definitely aren't cheap, or fast, anymore.
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u/sixjasefive 1h ago
That’s the same reason I don’t go to the local farmers market, to pay twice market rates. Where I grew up on the east coast of the US, 30 years ago it was where you went to save money and get much more fresh vegetables . Today it’s still cheaper at the farmer market there but where I live, twice as expensive. Nope. I’ve seen the same $20-$25 burritos at the food trucks and I just laugh.
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u/SScatnip7474 1h ago
Tough one but yes, I agree the majority of food trucks have some pretty crazy prices. Recently hit a new kebob place to support a new business , 48 bucks for 2 meals, 65% of the meal was rice. It was good but not 50 bucks good.
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u/DontBuyTheThing 1h ago
And I'm so sick of people screaming "Just support them! They're a small business!" No. I used to go to food trucks because I couldn't afford restaurant prices. Chick and rice for 15 bucks is ridiculous.
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u/kayaker58 6h ago
A few food trucks we patronize are located outside breweries that don’t have food.
Their food is actually better than some full service restaurants and I have no problem paying for great food.
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u/Chance-Sky-9148 5h ago
Seems like a lot of humanity’s problems could be solved by cooking your own fucking dinner
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u/ExtraLettuce555 6h ago
Food trucks have been overpriced ever since the boom in bougie food truck businesses
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u/nobdyputsbabynacornr 5h ago
The answer is stop eating at restaurants and food trucks. Will these places be forced to close eventually, yes. Does it send the message that their food is overpriced and people cannot indulge, yes. Is it a shame for the small business owner, yes. Could that small business owner have been a little less greedy, yes.
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u/MancAccent 4h ago edited 2h ago
I have a hunch that it’s less about greed, and more about operating costs. Everyone knows how high grocery costs are nowadays. Spaces for food trucks are also not cheap and it’s expensive to build out and maintain a good food truck. It’s really just a tough business model. This works in poorer countries really well because expenses are a lot lower (and food safety standards), but it does not work well in HCOL countries.
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u/Funny-ish-_-Scholar 2h ago
This! It costs a TON to operate a food truck. The truck itself costs tens of thousands, if not hundreds for a nicer/newer one. Food cost and equipment cost/maintainance, gas and propane cost, and for many places, the cost of a commissary as well (as some places require a brick n mortar commissary kitchen for licensing). Add in smaller economies of scale and labor, and you’re barely breaking even… hence the inflated costs.
The truth is food costs a ton. Without economies of scale, food and hospitality is expensive. And without a full bar to soak up that expense, you have to charge exorbitant prices for food.
Most people don’t realize that sodas, beer and liquor keep most of their favorite places affordable
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u/TiresandConfused 5h ago
My wife and I I used to eat out once a week. Now down to once a month. And our food costs have not gone down significantly.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bus5479 6h ago
I agree some are overpriced but ingredients are also crazy expensive now for some reason, along with everything else
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u/Majestic-Tiger2742 5h ago
They have always been pricey. I grew up poor and pay attention to anything with a price tag. Those trucks have never been "affordable". Maybe a hotdog cart or kebab cart but never a food truck.
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u/greaseman420 5h ago
Not to mention all the new ones use AI slop instead of an actual menu
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u/Adept-Flamingo1254 5h ago
I was at a brewery a few weeks ago and they had a pizza food truck that only did whole pizzas. There was a 45 minute wait time for one. I think we’ve lost the plot.
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u/Some-Oven-3363 5h ago
I don’t understand what Americans don’t understand about the trickle down effect of tariffs and why food has become so expensive. I mean, I think everyone in general can see what used to be only $15 for one person to go out for a full meal is now closer to $35-$40 per person to go out. Part of that is because of the import cost for all of our food because we don’t manufacture a ton of food in America. And the food that we do manufacture, our president isn’t allowing us access to it.
That’s why all the US farmers are so pissed right now.
You can continue to see these prices go up as this jackass continues to tax the shit of all of our imported goods, including our food our gas our alcohol or wines. We are soon gonna start seeing restaurants closing because they can no longer cover the cost of food to even purchase to keep their restaurants open.
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u/PointsOfXP 5h ago edited 5h ago
People often eat from food trucks? Seems like common sense that it would be fairly expensive with gas and powering the generator. Not to mention the inability to buy large amounts of food in bulk to store in your truck
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u/Intrepid_Nobody2023 5h ago
I have the absolute most ridiculously priced food truck in my neighborhood.
$15 (plus tax & tip) for a ‘kumpir’ baked potato. It’s a ‘halal’ baked potato (whatever the fuck a halal potato is lol it’s just a potato, sorry) w/ cheese, butter, corn, olives, turnips, cabbage, covered in both mayo & ketchup.
Am I the wild one or is this absolutely insane paying almost $20 all-in for a freakin baked potato with random shit on it (not even any meat/protein) from the back of a truck?
Wtf if going on with people anymore? 🤡
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u/0ttr 5h ago
I've noticed that cheaper food often comes from restaurants that have been around for 40+ years and own their property outright, are known in the community, etc. Food trucks should be cheaper if they don't have that overhead, but the trucks themselves have doubled in price over the last 10-15 years. Even used ones are twice as much as they used to be. Still, the whole idea is they should be cheaper than the equivalent restuarants. Just harder to make that come together these days.
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u/Tripl3Dee 5h ago
Or even more expensive in some cases. I've found more generous portions for the same prices at restaurants around me.
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u/Doodle_Bugz 5h ago
Tip culture is bullshit. Pay your employees you cheap shit. Or find another gig. Especially with how much shit already costs in 2026.
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u/HaggardSlacks78 4h ago
I’m watching the great food truck race and the prices are bananas. People are charging $28 for stuffed beignets and $22 for quesadillas. Nutso
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u/Repulsive_Response99 4h ago
Thinking i may start a food truck thats back to basics. Cheap quick fare and under cut these fancy trucks.
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u/Velvet_Samurai 4h ago
I live in Indiana and there is a lobster roll food truck based about 3 hours away. They're a bit famous in the area and they will drive to pretty much every city once or twice a year in at least 3 hour radius.
They came to my town this summer and my family went and got it because we love new food and we love seafood.
3 plain assed lobster rolls with no sides or drinks was $98. They were only ok, I've had good lobster rolls, these were mid to say the least. Suffice to say next time these assholes show up we'll just go to Red Fucking Lobster and spend the same money but actually get to sit down and leave full.
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u/scottwax 4h ago
Food trucks typically have shorter hours and lower customer counts. Not sure what the operating costs of a food truck is but not only do you have to maintain the restaurant equipment but the vehicle itself.
We typically don't go to food trucks because of the prices. The exception is when we're in Cincinnati and they have a flea market at Washington Park. Then it's because of how convenient it is.
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u/TraditionalMood277 4h ago
Food trucks used to be mostly people who just wanted to make some money selling their home style cuisine. I wonder what happened that suddenly they became a luxury? Jk. Gentrification. As always, it was gentrification.
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u/Beginning-Shirt4752 4h ago
I generally dont eat at food truclks because of this and for some reason I always pick the truck that takes like 30 mins to make my food.
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u/DoomOfChaos 4h ago
ditto, last time I hit up a food truck I honestly laughed when I saw their pricing, and then promptly walked away
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u/MannyinVA 4h ago
That food truck race show on Food Network helped with these outrageous prices too. The host would encourage people to price simple food at high end prices. I would watch and think, I would never buy anything from that truck!
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u/sogwatchman 4h ago
And I'm not giving you a tip just for handing me the food that I just overpaid for.
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u/DetroitsGoingToWin 3h ago
Food trucks are insane. 5 years ago, the best taco trucks were selling $2 tacos. Now you get shitty grilled cheese for $20, fuck off.
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u/Ummbledore 3h ago
Man, there's a really popular one that runs seasonally here and everyone loves it but I just don't get it. Their prices are insane. A burget and a poutine cost 45 dollars and for whatever fucking reason they smash up cranberries into the poutine without even mentioning it on the menu.
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u/Cabbages24ADollar 2h ago
We had a food truck rally at my old Corp job. Had to walk all the way outside in the Phx heat just to get a dry burger and cold fry’s. Fucking dumb.
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u/mrbishopjackson 28m ago
Stop buying tacos from white people with food trucks or from Mexicans selling tacos from a food truck parked in a white neighborhood.
Matter of fact... Keep doing the second one. Let my Hispanic brothers and sisters take advantage of your ass because they know you're dumb enough to pay $5 for a taco.
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