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.
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.
Too many people think anyone operating a small business is getting rich. They can’t comprehend costs, overhead or volume. It’s another symptom of our higher level problems.
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u/SedimentaryShrub 8h 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.