While starting up in the restaurant business is a daunting task, growing trends in the food truck market are giving entrepreneurs a different way to start their business.
However, buying into the food truck trend also means owners must comply with a myriad of city and county regulations, which can raise the cost of opening the business.
For Rob Cardenas, owner of FM 31 barbecue, the journey as a business owner in the food truck industry is unpredictable and, in some instances, costly.
“If you’re serious about doing this, you need do it because you’re passionate about it. Don’t do it for profit, at least in the beginning. Margins are extremely low when you start and you need to put a lot of time into your business before you see results.”
–Rob Cardenas, owner of FM 31 food truck
Cardenas is a traveling vendor and does not sit in one location. He instead tries to move his business to festivals, events and parties.
“I’m not in the business of waiting for customers to come to me, so I have to go to them,” Cardenas said. “It’s time-consuming, sure, but it’s a business model that works for me. But every city is different. Which means every city has a different permitting process than the last.”
Cardenas said he has spent around $10,000 on his truck for permitting approvals.
Despite traveling across Central Texas region, FM 31 is based in New Braunfels, where Cardenas said he is required to have a $1 million to $2 million insurance policy on his truck.
Amid challenges, Cardenas said owning his truck is a rewarding experience, allowing him to spread his company’s name by traveling and growing his brand.
“If you’re serious about doing this, you need to do it because you’re passionate about it,” Cardenas said. “Don’t do it for profit, at least in the beginning. Margins are extremely low when you start and you need to put a lot of time into your business before you see results.”
Changing the stigma of food trailers
According to a survey conducted by The Hays Free Press, the perception of food trucks are changing.
Twenty-one percent of participants said food trucks are as clean as any restaurant, compared to 3.5 percent of participants who believe food trucks are not clean at all.
Additionally, 45 percent of participants said they dine at food trucks to look for unique and diverse dining alternatives.
“The negative stigma around food trucks is going away, but I still feel we are at a point where people are on the fence about dining at a truck,” Cardenas said. “But now we are seeing pit masters and quality chefs at food trucks who love what they do and are committed to making an amazing meal.”
Sixty-two percent of participants said they would like to see more food trucks where they live and work, with 17 percent stating they wouldn’t.
But opening a truck is tough and exhausting work. Cardenas urges business owners not to cut corners and to follow city/county regulations. It may be costly, but the benefits of operating by the books heavily outweigh the repercussions if found out of compliance.
With a little bit of capital saved before opening FM 31, Cardenas was able to start his business with complete ownership of his truck and with no debt.
“From my personal experience, if you want to go into the food truck business, it is best to go in alone, because profit margins are so low on a truck,” Cardenas said. “I’ve seen fellow business owners struggle because they have investors and loans involved with a truck, so even when business is slow, those payments need to be made. If you can, go in alone.”
