If you own a traditional restaurant in the brick-and-mortar sense and you are thinking about joining the food truck industry, then, first off, you came to the right place.
Not only do we specialize in high-quality food trucks and trailers but we are also about to give future food truck owners advice galore.
Below, we will be dishing out five things a traditional restaurant can do with a mobile kitchen.
5 Things A Traditional Restaurant Could Do With A Food Truck
- One Word: Cater
- Travel To Food Events
- Take More Risks In The Kitchen
- Make Expansion A Real Possibility
- Increase Sales And Gain A New Revenue Source
5.) One Word: Cater
If nothing else, having a food truck will make catering that much easier for your brick-and-mortar restaurant since you can cook food in the truck, you can carry food in the truck, etc. Gone will be the days of you having to rent out a vehicle to do catering. Gone will especially be the days of you worrying about how you are going to get all of your food to a catering job.
While you still have to do a ton of planning for each and every catering gig, from figuring out how much food you need for the gig to making a tailored menu (the customer/host might have some requests for the menu), catering is still that much easier with a mobile kitchen.
You could, of course, have normal business hours and travel from location to location on top of catering, you could cater on a full-time basis or you can just have normal business hours. The choice is yours.
4.) Travel To Food Events
On top of catering and having normal business hours, with a food truck, you can also travel to food events with ease, and that means the possibility of making more money and gaining even more exposure. These food events can be anything and everything, such as parades, festivals, weddings, reunions, parties, Oktoberfest outings and even events that are tailored for food trucks (aka food truck events).
These food events can help take your restaurant business to the next level because you are getting your brand and food out there to more people, and you are also networking with other food truck and restaurant owners at these events, as well as engaging with your customers. If you pick the right events, then it’s a win-win all around.
3.) Take More Risks In The Kitchen
While you most certainly don’t have to do this, you can take more risks in the kitchen with food trucks.
Not only is it common to see a food truck owner change up the menu from time to time but the food truck industry tends to be filled with creative twists on food as well.
It’s one of the greatest appeals of food trucks, really. After all, with food trucks, and although it seems to be getting more and more common with restaurants as well now, you will see chefs combining more than one food concept (fusion cooking).
Simply put, the food truck industry is known for its creative dishes, and that makes it possible for traditional restaurants to get creative in the kitchen — well, once they enter the mobile kitchen industry, that is.
2.) Make Expansion A Real Possibility
An expansion, simply put, is expensive. Not only does a traditional restaurant owner have to come up with the funds to build a new store (and everything else that goes along with that), hire employees, buy inventory, possibly pay for marketing and advertising, etc., but said restaurant owner also has to continue paying for the restaurant that is already established.
Well, with a food truck, an expansion becomes a real possibility.
For starters, here are three reasons why:
Food trucks…
- Tend to have lower startup costs than sit-down restaurants, so that means they are initially cheaper.
- Usually have lower overhead costs than sit-down restaurants, so that means they cost less money to run on a daily basis.
- Tend to have fewer employees than sit-down restaurants, so that means there are fewer employees an owner has to worry about, which means less time spent to hire people and more money saved on top of that.
Food trucks tend to be cheaper all around and fewer employees are needed, and that means an expansion is a real possibility thanks to the food truck industry.
RELATED: How A Food Truck Can Expand A Restaurant’s Brick-And-Mortar Presence
1.) Increase Sales And Gain A New Revenue Source
What can a traditional restaurant do with a food truck? How about increase sales and gain another stream of income.
That alone should persuade a restaurant owner to want to enter the mobile kitchen industry. After all, having more money to do greater things with your business AND having another reliable source of income is a serious win in the business department. It helps a company survive and thrive, and it certainly takes some pressure off of the business owner as well.
On top of opening a new location for monetary purposes, a food truck can act as a mobile billboard for your brick-and-mortar restaurant. Plus, this business on wheels can help gain customers all over the place rather than just waiting for customers to come to you — because a food truck can technically go where the people are since it is mobile.
There are plenty of things a traditional restaurant can do with a food truck, and the five things above are really just the beginning.
Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!
Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.
Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.