Practical Tips
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | September 4th, 2010 | Filed under News
How do you pick a good employee to work in your food truck?
The owner of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar in Manhattan recently told Nation’s Restaurant News that not only do his employees have to be “able to steam fresh dumplings, prep all the fresh sides like the green salads and sesame noodle salad, and be able to drive in New York City,” but they also must know how to “handle hot weather days, cold weather days and being harassed by other vendors. Basically, they set up the entire store in the morning and tear it down at night. They also have to be good at not getting tickets. They have to feel very confident in troubleshooting when the truck goes down because so many things can go wrong that we don’t have checklists like we do in the restaurant. Instead, we just tell them to leave the truck how they’d like to pick it up.”
How do you select a lucrative location?
In a three-part article entitled “Behind the scenes with an L.A. Food Truck,” posted on Serious Eats, the owner of the Manila Machine reveals that it is sometimes necessary to send a “staging car” to hold a good spot and that revealing your secrets on Twitter may put you at a disadvantage. “Are there other restaurants in the area? Can you assume that the people in this area will want try your food for the first time? Are there any cops around that may shoo you away even though you are following the letter of the law? Are there other food trucks in the area that may not welcome your presence?” vendors must ask themselves.
Not Cool!
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | August 23rd, 2010 | Filed under News
Last week in New York city, ice cream trucks got into a brawl over territorial rights to a few feet on the street.
A video of the clash between a Mister Softee truck and a competitor with a similar name was linked on the blog The Consumerist, proving that there is nothing soft about peddlers of icy treats!
Ugly words were exchanged, followed by punches and a call for the police. The incident took place at the corner of Broadway and W. 60th St., near Lincoln Center. Content may not be suitable for tender ears…
Trouble in Paradise
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | August 20th, 2010 | Filed under News
The City of Atlanta Police Department revokes the vending permit it just granted to the Yumbii truck to operate on the public right of way (typically at 5th and Spring in Tech Square), claiming that such permit was issued in error!
The owner and his supportive family are scrambling to find a comparable (highly visible) spot on private property and resume a business granted full approval by the Fulton County Health Department.
Unincorporated DeKalb County, meanwhile, prohibits vending entirely, and many locations (including the Emory campus and many large buildings) are tied to preexisting food service contracts and can’t align themselves with the demands of an enthusiastic public.
What is it going to take, Atlanta? Don’t you know that the street food movement is growing by leaps and bounds as seen on the Food Network’s new show the Great Food Truck Race.
Whew
Posted by Hillary Brown | August 12th, 2010 | Filed under Carts, News
Reader Foodie Buddha provided an update on the Snowball truck:
It’s not closed. The health inspector showed up on Monday and shut them down for like 15 minutes (or something like that), it wasn’t long at all. They are open and operating without a problem!
Air Tran Loves Street Food
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | August 11th, 2010 | Filed under News
If you fly Air Tran in August, reach into the pocket in front of you and grab a print copy of this article on Atlanta’s street food written by Stephanie Davis Smith.
