id="x_7_i96">Up to this point in the mobile food industry’s history, eating at food trucks in many locations of the country is still a unique dining experience. But diners in the Los Angeles, California, or Sarasota Springs, New York, areas have an opportunity to dine somewhere that’s the epitome of unique. Diners in these two cities now have another mobile food option: the bustaurant, a restaurant within a bus (see Figure 2-4).
Photograph courtesy of Lorraine Murphy
FIGURE 2-4: A bustaurant seats its customers.
Instead of the typical standing at a curb, ordering, and eating, the customers of these new eateries are given the option to step onboard and be seated at tables inside the bus. Although these buses are outfitted with state-of-the-art kitchens, the ordinances that regulate them prohibit kitchen operation while they’re moving. For this reason, most of the food is prepared off-site, or in the kitchen only while the bus is stopped in a designated parking area.
One of the biggest differences between the bustaurant and its land-locked restaurant brethren is that if you get seated with a bad view, you may have a better one shortly. The other big difference is the price involved in purchasing a double-decker bus (prices start in the $250,000 range for a standard bus without a kitchen).
Using a double-decker bus to operate your food truck business will clearly differentiate you from your competitors, but it has its fair share of problems as well. You must have a commercially licensed driver, and the size of the bus alone can cause issues of parking on the streets because most shop owners won’t take too kindly to having their entire storefront blocked by the side of your bus.
In other parts of the country, vendors have converted smaller buses for use only as a serving platform as opposed to a place to seat guests. If you choose to go that route, you may still need a driver with a commercial license, but you’ll have fewer parking restrictions to deal with; however, you lose the customer seating option that the double-decker bus provides.
Figuring Out How to Get the Vehicle of Your Choice
Your first step in determining what type of vehicle you can afford is based solely on how much capital you have on hand or how much you can be approved to finance. After you’ve determined your budget and figured out how to finance your business (check out Chapter 5), you’ll be ready to look down the various avenues in which you can acquire the platform for your mobile business. The following sections discuss leasing a vehicle, buying or building a brand-new vehicle, and buying a used vehicle.
If you don’t have access to a large amount of start-up capital but know you’ll have enough to make payments for your vehicle, you may want to lease a food truck for commercial use.
When buying your truck, you may need more than $50,000 at the time of purchase, depending on the size of the truck and the amount and quality of your equipment. Leasing is a much better upfront value because you can get a similar vehicle for a payment of only $3,000 a month. Also, commercial truck leasing offers a huge advantage over outright purchases or financed truck ownership in that truck lease payments are tax deductible for your business.
Purchasing a new truck is what most start-up food truckers whom I’ve spoken with prefer. The high prices of buying new ($75,000 to $300,000) are their only source of hesitation. Being able to set up your truck the way you want with all the right kitchen equipment and options is very desirable. This scenario is similar to buying a new car: You don’t have to worry about how the last owner drove it or how they maintained the kitchen.
An additional advantage to buying new is the warranty. Be sure to ask salespeople about the warranties they offer and what each covers. Another question you should ask is whether the dealer supplies a loaner truck should issues arise that take your truck off the road. The longer you’re off the road, the longer you’ll need to rely on an alternative plan to sell your product.
Finally, if you decide to purchase from a dealer, be sure the asking price is fair. Research similarly equipped vehicles in similar condition. If you don’t have any skills in haggling, either learn how to haggle or take someone with you who can. In many cases, sellers are willing to accept offers as low as 15 percent off their asking price. Saving money on the front end can only help you in the long run.
❯❯ Nissan: www.nissancommercialvehicles.com
❯❯ Sprinter: www.sprintervansusa.com
If you can’t find a new truck with the proper equipment configuration, customizing a vehicle is an option. The main advantage, of course, is having the truck setup of your dreams (instead of having to deal with a poor kitchen layout or a kitchen that isn’t equipped for the style of cuisine you plan to sell), but this is by far the most expensive route and can take the most time before the truck is ready for delivery. Although most timing quotes are from four to six weeks, be sure to talk with the shop’s previous customers to see whether the seller followed through on his promises or whether it took much longer. Missing a proposed opening date because you received your truck one to three months late will make you look quite unprofessional. Reneging on timing can hurt any positive word of mouth you may have already received and can be very difficult to recover from.
