Category: Food Trailers

Categories: Food Trailers

Today’s food trucks and trailers are no stranger to innovation or creativity. While mobile kitchens were once simple make-shift means of necessary grub on the go, the mobile food industry has helped shift food trucks and trailers onto a whole other imaginative level.

The availability and selection of mobile kitchens have helped advance what hopeful entrepreneurs can do with food trucks and trailers.

The industry has also demanded more creative, out-the-box options- and budding business owners were quick to jump on board.

We’ve seen hundreds of food trucks and trailers in our time, but these five beauties take the cake for us in terms of creativity and inventiveness.

(We’ve seen a whole lot of super cool food trucks though, trust us.)

Five Mobile Food Trucks That Are Seriously Inventive

The Pancake Selfie Express

The creative director for The Holiday Inn Express brand conjured up this insane (but effective!) way of combining yummy food on the go and our love for the selfie all in one.

Sounds a little out to lunch, right?

Well, we love it- and so does everyone else, it seem. The mobile kitchens travels around serving up delicious pancakes with your selfie on top.

These personalized dishes brings food truck and trailer dining to a whole other level, with the engagement element driving long lines outside The Pancake Selfie Express. Customers snap a quick selfie using software built into the truck, which is then sent to a printing device.

Viola- your face on a pancake. Eat up!

Pancake selfie express food truck

The Fair Food Co.

If they’re run properly, food trucks can be quite environmentally friendly.

The Fair Food Co, however, decided to create an even more environmentally friendly option for food on the go. Owners of THB Disturbance and The Hardy Boys created the three wheeled food “tuk tuk” that guzzles quite a bit less gas than traditional counterparts.

The edamame shack aims to provide a much healthier alternative for people who really only do what a snack to tide them over.

They sustainably source the edamame, as well as ensuring their takeout boxes are made of recycled bean pods.

By exploring different alternatives for transportation and waste management, the food mobile industry can become even more environmentally friendly.

Tuk tuk food truck

Kitchen Of The Unwanted Animals

There’s two cool things about this mobile kitchen.

Their commitment to reducing food waste is nothing short of impressive, with the entire menu built on using the meat from animals that aren’t typically used.

This venture has been the centre of much debate, particularly from animal rights activists- but the truck maintains that safe and healthy consumption of these meats (such as pigeon, horse, goose etc.) plays a notable part in reducing food waste.
Secondly, though- Kitchen Of The Unwanted Animals is built within a Jeep. A Jeep!
Huffington Post called this mobile food truck- “maybe the craziest food truck yet.”

food truck

The Seattle Barkery

A food truck for dogs- finally! Don’t worry though, everything made and sold in this gem is good for both humans and canines.

Fancy a peanut butter and banana cookie?

If your dog does too, you’re in luck.

These clever owners used the truck for mostly product inventory to be sold, but the “barkery” also houses a small kitchen in the back to conjure up fresh little treats and snacks.

We can’t get over the use of space, though- the food truck operates as a small kitchen, but has really been transformed to house and sell product like a mall kiosk.

Genius.

seattle food truck

The FoodShare Truck

Another beauty that used a food truck to effectively transport and sell product, this socially green initiative aims to deliver fresh fruits and veggies to Toronto’s food deserts.

The aim of this truck is to connect areas that are unable to get fresh produce with their 5 servings a day. Typically, the path of transportation for fresh produce runs dry to many Northern communities, as well as areas a little off the map.

The result? Many communities pay insanely inflated prices, or some have no option at all- their diet is doomed to lack fresh fruits and veggies.

It’s a complete retrofit of the original point of a food truck, but the versatility of these mobile kitchens provides an alternative path of transportation for goods that communities are lacking.

The FoodShare Truck is part of the Mobile Good Food Market Initiative, which falls under the Toronto Public Health Project.

Happy As Larry

Fresh pizza? From a food truck?

Yep! 100%. “Happy As Larry” sells fresh pizzas and pies from a converted truck – a truck that hauls a revamped storage container that’s a full Italian-style eatery.

The gigantic wood fire oven required some creativity, and the space of a shipping container provided just that. Their Napoli-style pizzas are known across the entire Australian nation, with the interior of this beauty being an attraction by itself.

In addition to the wood fire oven, “Happy As Larry” house a fully stocked commercial kitchen to serve up

Happy as Larry food truck

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Categories: Food Trailers

Hiring A Food Trailer For Your Wedding Is A Hot Trend

Food trucks/trailers and weddings. They’re not really two things that you would automatically pair together, but these mobile kitchens are becoming a budget friendly and memorable option for catering weddings.

We’ve been to quite a few weddings in our time, but one of all our all time favorites was our dear friends last June- a hot, but beautiful day out in the town of Canmore, Alberta.

The wedding was a small, super laid back celebration designed with an all Canada theme; plaid made many appearances, and the cocktail of the day was of course the classic Caeser.

But really, what’s one of the best parts of wedding for the guests?

(Aside from the open bar, of course.)

The food.

The typical catering options weren’t present at this wedding though. Much to our unbiased delight, our childhood friends opted for a food truck to feed the drunk and hungry.

And absolutely nailed it.

The Canadian themed food truck offered up poutine, bannock, lobster rolls, Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, nanaimo bars and a few other North American classics. Awesome, eh?

Why Hire A Food Trailer For Your Wedding?

Hiring a food truck or trailer is a great alternative to traditional catering options, and when paired with the right theme, can make for an unforgettable wedding.

  • Food trucks are typically more flexible in terms of booking them and the space and resources required.
  • If you’re on a budget, mobile kitchens are much more cost effective when it comes to feeding your guests.
  • The menus offered by food trucks and trailers can be more unique and tailored to your
    weddings theme and dietary needs
  • Little to no clean up for you or your guests post ceremony celebration- yahoo!
  • Mobile kitchens leave way more time for socializing since guests aren’t being served food at set times, and at set tables.
  • Working with a food truck or trailer can be a lot less stress than designing a catering menu from scratch.
  • The food is fresher, since food trailer vendors are literally bringing the kitchen to the wedding-
    compared to food that is prepared off site, then brought over
  • If you and your guests love to eat (or need a lot of food to control the open bar) then food trucks and trailers give you way more bang for your back, and the entire wedding can eat all night- not just once.

There’s A Few Drawbacks To Hiring A Food Truck For Your Wedding

Of course, a food truck or food trailer may not work for everyone’s wedding- and that’s ok! Mobile kitchens have their limitations, which may present a problem for some weddings.

  • Typically, food trailers can only effectively serve 75 people or less at a time. By effectively, we mean little wait time for your guests and constant replenishment of grub.
  • Mobile kitchens are weather dependant, creating one factor that’s entirely out of your control. Rain or shine? Not so much for food trailers.
  • Food trailers don’t really do fine dining, and for some, it’s just simply what they want their menu to be at their wedding.
  • Just like the struggles of licensing and permits (especially these food trailer owners, who found out the hard way) – certain cities impose stipulations on mobile kitchens that make it really difficult to use a food trailer at a wedding venue.

Just like any alternative really, what may work for some may not work for others- again, totally ok.

How People Started Hiring Food Trailers For Weddings

From an industry standpoint, it’s a new trend to choose a food trailer for your wedding. The idea has only been around a few years, and actually had a slow start.

Of course there is a perception about what mobile kitchens are, and where they should be. A wedding didn’t use to fit in that category, with caterers and venue kitchens being the choice for ceremonies.

Until some food trucks really nailed it; then the idea went somewhat viral.

Captured by younger couples mostly, mobile kitchens at a wedding started a social media buzz that paired well with more casual and alternative wedding styles.

The days of wedding tradition are dwindling down as people redefine how they plan and execute their wedding. Less emphasis on tradition = less emphasis on traditional food.

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Categories: Food Trailers

Blogs are awesome.

No really, they are.

Food truck and trailer blogs are even better.

Blogs quickly became a key part of great content strategies, with over 31 million blogs in the US alone. Preferred by most readers for their transparency and specificity, blogs quickly surpassed sponsored and generic website content for valuable information sources online.

Not to mention, the personal touch behind each post keeps people coming back- readers are drawn to the persona behind the blog, and more intimate relationships are formed.

The thing about blogs is that their recent, genuine and honest. Following blogs can keep you in the loop more effectively than searching content.

Which is why you should be following these food trailer blogs like, yesterday.

You Need To Be Following These Ten Food Trailer Blogs

We picked ten blogs that as food trailers owners, you should be following. Info right at your fingertips about the exact topics you want to know about?

Great, right?

Just how we shared what apps you should be using, we share the winning blogs!

The Best Food Trailer Blogs On The Internet

#1- Food Truck Operator

This blog is a little bit of everything, for everyone. These guys are awesome at keeping up to date with relevant news, events and announcements- but they also share success stories, design ideas and helpful business tips.

#2- Food Truck Empire

These guys post frequently, which makes them an awesome blog to follow for consistent and new information. They love to cover unique food trucks and new additions to the scene, as well as market trends and very, very helpful business tips.

The star of this blog is their knowledge of the industry, and the content they produce about it. You never miss a beat.

#3- Roaming Hunger

This blog is totally outside the box. They cover everything from experimental marketing to content about the wedding industry. It may seem strange, but they cleverly relate everything to continued success of food trucks. It offers you some insight about how to really get your food truck out there and thriving.

The best thing about Roaming Hunger is that they produce pieces of content that are literally made for social sharing, fetching high engagement and conversion rates- all for you.

#4- Food Truckr

Food Truckr is probably the most inspirational food truck and trailer blog out there. It’s geared at writing posts to excel your food trailer business, written by veterans in the field that really know what they’re doing.

As expected, they write tonnes of valuable content as well as news items for the mobile food industry.

#5- National Food Trucks

Now, we’re just going to note that these guys don’t update as frequently as the rest.

But man oh man- the quality and quantity of information available on this blog makes it an insanely valuable resource for food trailer owners looking for concrete stats and information. And if you’re looking for event and geographic information regarding your food trucks, this is the blog to visit.

#6- Good Fynd

Specifically geared towards marketing for food trucks, Good Fynd is the best blog to go to for marketing tips and tricks for your food trailer.

#7- Food Truck Empire

Kind of like Roaming Hunger, this blog is a little wacky as well- it’s more industry based, so content can really vary.

These posts are easy reads, and refreshing content too – trust us, you haven’t read anything like even half the stuff in this blog.

#8- Mobile Cuisine

This is the blog for all things mobile food. Just like our favorite blogs, there’s everything for food trailer owners here- design, marketing, events, industry news and business tips.

They also hold wicked contests every quarter, which can be really fun for their readers.

#9- Boston Food Truck

Full of industry news, marketing strategies and business tips, Boston Food Truck also offers seriously robust social media strategies for food trailer owners.

These guys are also equipped with a food truck finder and food truck reviews (so you can have a little spy on your competition!)

#10- Behind The Food Carts

This isn’t a blog for hard hitting news or business tips.

Behind The Food Carts is a photo centered, story telling blog that just gives you a really good and easy read.

Mobile kitchen entrepreneurs share their stories, and the blog pays tribute to the beautiful food out there.

The blog won Saveur Magazine’s “Best Culinary Travel Blog” in 2013 and has over 200,000 followers on Tumblr alone.

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Categories: Food Trailers

The History of Food Trailers (Yeah, Thank Food Trucks!)

When we think of the mobile food industry, our minds generally jump straight to food trucks. With over 25,000 operating food trucks in the US alone, the food truck industry is nothing short of booming.

But the trend isn’t new.

Food trucks have been around foreeeever; (seriously, since as early as the mid 1700’s) – but people rarely know that the history of food trailers actually has a much longer time span.

The two are totally similar, but the more prominent nimbleness of food trailers actually made for a better option during periods of long travel and less urbanization.

With that being said, the history of food trailers is actually really, really cool- and paves the way for a solid understanding of how food trailers have evolved to meet different stages of demand.

The First Food Trailers Started in NYC

1691. Yep- 1691 marked the first year that food trailers made an appearance on the streets of New York. Granted, they looked a whole lot different back then- somewhat mirroring push carts- and definitely no fancy trimmings and deep fryers.

Fun fact: Back in these days, NYC was actually called “New Amsterdam.”

The models were inherently basic, but they did the job of feeding the “working class” of these times. Very few had any means of actually cooking food on the spot; rather, they sold fruits, clams, oysters and other ethnic fares that were prepared at a home base and brought to the streets.

Chuck Wagons Stepped Up the Mobile Food Game

Chuck wagons are the perfect example of the early evolution of the food trailer Invented by Charles Goodnight, chuck wagons were designed to feed the cattlemen and wagon trains travelling within the Old West.

The much larger capacity of these chuck wagons, compared to food trailers/push carts available back then, allowed for both food prep and service in one go.

In the space of the “chuck box” was a fitted cooking space, which folded up and down to be used as a surface to cook and prepare food on. The same area of the wagon was also fit with shelving and drawers for storage of food and utensils.

Since they were being used to feed cattlemen during long cattle drives, these chuckwagons also sported water barrels attached to the wagon bed. They were really designed to support it’s purpose of being a completely mobile kitchen. The demand was completely derived from the need for food on the go during these crucial trips.

Still, the sophistication of these chuck wagons was as to be expected during the early 1800’s, so the menu whipped up from these kitchens remained simple- salted meats, bean dishes, potatoes, biscuits, coffee etc.

Moving On To The Freight Wagon

The year of 1872 marked the first full diner built on the back of a freight wagon. The first notable freight diner grew in Boston in 1873 was built by Walter Scott, who first designed the diner to meet the need for food on the go for journalists working late.

In fact, Scott began his mobile food business in a much more humble way years prior, serving sandwiches and baked goods out of his basket (on foot) in Rhode Island for many years.

After upgrading to a pushcart, he started “Night Lunch Wagons”- serving sandwiches, pies and coffee at all hours of the night. Originally planning to feed late night journalists, Scott found quickly that night shift workers, health care professionals etc. all benefited from food on the go.

Restaurants typically closed at 8, leaving dozens of customers visiting Night Lunch Wagons on a daily basis for fast grub.

Roach Coaches?

We know- the name is a little off putting.

Roach coaches are mini restaurants hoisted onto a truck chassis. Typical models have sides that open for easy access, and full kitchens within the space.

Started in the 1960’s, roach coaches were typically found on construction sites (the target market of the first roach coach operator), but were found pretty much everywhere within the next decade.

Roach coaches are pretty much the perfect blend between a food truck and food trailer, and really paved the way for some wicked modifications entrepreneurs could make to get into the mobile food industry.

The Ice Cream Truck Actually Began The Food Truck Movement

Ice cream has been around forever, but never became mobile until milk became pasteurized in the late 1890’s. Before this, ice cream was unfairly linked to scarlet fever, diphtheria and bovine tuberculosis.

By 1904, the hysteria of ice cream had lifted and several trends were born- including the famous ice cream cone. Technological advances during the same period saw fast paced advances in refrigeration options and the birth of portable electric coolers.

Couple this with the beginning of Prohibition of the 1920’s (where people sought decadent treats to replace banned spirits) and you can only imagine the soaring growth of ice cream trucks.

Fun fact: The first ice cream truck was started by Harry Burt of Ohio, who also first discovered chocolate covered ice cream bars. Thank you, Mr. Burt!

Now, it’s important to note that ice cream trucks were the starting point for “food out of a truck.” Following the invention of the ice cream truck, creative individuals saw mega potential- the first taco truck hit the streets of East LA in 1974, the first burger truck made it’s way outside colleges in the early 1980’s….. you get the point.

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