There comes a time when every successful restauranteur needs to decide – should you open another restaurant?  Whether you want to open a second location or a brand-new venture entirely, it’s a big choice.  But rather than starting from scratch in a new building, there is another option that might be even more beneficial for you: buying a food trailer.

Why Should Restaurant Owners Buy a Food Trailer

You might be thinking a food trailer is only good for fairs or sporting events where you can sell funnel cake, hot dogs, or other basic dishes. But that’s not the only plus of owning and operating a concession trailer.

Check out these three reasons restaurant owners might benefit from buying a food trailer.

1. Food Trailers Help You Test Out New Markets

If your restaurant is on the east side of town and you’ve got your eye on [...]

Just like all small businesses in the U.S., a food trailer has the potential to be extremely rewarding and profitable.

It’s the ultimate venture for someone looking for a truly independent business. With a food trailer, you pick your own cuisine, strategy, and employees. Plus, you don’t have to be fully committed to a specific location – you can decide to pack up and move any time you want.

While there are a lot of food trailer businesses out there, just take a look at how many concession trailers you see at your next fair. You definitely have the ability to turn a profit if you know what you’re doing.

How Much Can You Make Running a Food Trailer

It all depends on how much you want to work.

If you just want to use your concession trailer at smaller sporting events and festivals, you could bring home [...]

Accidents happen.

Try as you might, it’s impossible to avoid all incidents with your food trailers.

However, there are a few things you can do to minimize your risk of having an accident at your concession trailer.

3 Times to Be Especially Careful with Your Food Trailer Business

It goes without saying, you should always practice basic food trailer safety – whether at an event or at home. But there are definitely certain times when it’s more important to ensure you’re operating safely.

Here are three moments in your concession trailer operation that you need to pay extra attention to safety.

1. Food Trailer Safety While Towing

Concession trailer safety begins even before you arrive at your event. If you’re not properly prepared, some of the biggest accidents can happen while transporting your food trailer.

Here are a few pre-departure [...]

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own restaurant?

You’ve picked out your name, the type of cuisine you want to serve, and the perfect location in that new food hall in the up-and-coming neighborhood in your city.

But there’s one problem: you have no experience running a restaurant, let alone a concession trailer. So, before you go all Top Chef, take a second to think about if you’re really ready for all the hard work and effort that goes into running a restaurant – especially if you’re a rookie.

3 Reasons You Should Open a Food Trailer Before a Restaurant

If you’re seriously thinking about starting your own dining establishment and you have little to no experience running a restaurant, you might be better suited to earn your chops with a food trailer.

Here are three reasons a food trailer probably makes more sense than a restaurant.

You’ve mapped out your concession trailer strategy. You know exactly what you want to sell and where you want to sell it.

But before you hit the road, you need to make sure your mobile business has the proper certifications and permits you need to operate legally.

Make Sure You Obtain These Concession Trailer Permits

There may be some exceptions, but most food trailer businesses need to get at least these six certifications and permits to stay within the law.

1. General Business License

Your concession trailer is considered a business, so you need to obtain a general business license that covers your home location as well as any city where you might be selling.

2. Food Service and Food Safety Permits

Any business that prepares, cooks, or sells food – that means your food trailer – must obtain food service and food safety permits from their local county.

Concession trailers have their benefits over traditional food trucks when it comes to interior space to prepare and cook food. But those benefits don’t matter unless you have a vehicle that can effectively move your food trailer from one place to another.

The Best Way to Tow Your Concession Trailer

To determine the best vehicle to tow your food trailer, you first need to understand how much your trailer and equipment inside will weigh. A good starting estimate would be between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds – but this weight could differ depending on your menu and equipment needed to prepare your food. Using that weight as a guideline, here are three suitable options you have to tow your concession trailer.

1. Towing Your Concession Trailer with a Pickup Truck

The first option that probably comes to mind is your trusty pickup truck. People use trucks to tow anything from campers to construction equipment. [...]

There’s no shortage of food options at most popular outdoor events.  From the smallest carnival to the largest state fairs, you’re pretty much guaranteed to see other concession trailers – some of which may be selling the same food that you offer.  Just because the competition is saturated at these larger events doesn’t mean that you can’t find outdoor locations to be successful with your food trailer. You may not get the same crowds as you would at a state fair, but consider these four outdoor events to bring your concession trailer.

1. County Fairs

Okay, we admit you might run into the same problem at smaller county fairs as you would at larger carnivals.  In most cases, these fairs use the same vendors        year after year, and it might be difficult for a new guy to get in on the action – especially if your food trailer [...]

One of the great things about food trailers is your culinary options. You could use your trailer to sell anything from gourmet fare to the simplest dishes.

But if you’re looking to turn a profit quickly, you should consider selling funnel cakes in your concession trailer.

Why Funnel Cakes?

Walk around any fairground and you’ll likely notice the longest lines at stands selling the most traditional fair food – corn dogs, cotton candy, and yes, funnel cakes.

Not only is this food one of the favorites across the country, it is especially easy and cheap to make. Most traditional funnel cake recipes include less than 10 simple ingredients. And if you make the batter ahead of time, you only have to worry about a handful of items in your concession trailer so you can quickly make large batches to keep up with the demand.

3 Factors That Will Impact Your Daily Concession Trailer Funnel Cake [...]

So, you have your own concession trailer. Now what?

You need customers, and marketing your new concession trailer business is a top priority.

What that means is marketing and doing it the right way. You must find your own path, while also keeping up with the times. It’s a sticky situation, but with the right tips, your food trailer can grow faster than spinach does.

Luckily, the folks at Custom Trailer Pros have you covered. Read on for an inside look at increasing your business the right way!

Pick an Eye-Grabbing Name and Logo

This is one of the hardest, yet best, ways to garner attention. If you’re serving kebabs, having a name like “Jon’s Kebabs” isn’t going to knock the socks off anyone.

Some good ideas that involve the potential consumers include having a fan vote via social media or opening a crowdfunding [...]

Mouth-watering, delicious, incredible food.

It’s what sets apart the food trailer industry and can give you lines around the block.

Now it’s your turn. You’ve made the business decision to start your own food trailer, yet something’s eating away at you: deciding what food to serve.

Yes, the specific food chosen to serve hungry bellies will define your business, for the now and future, but it’s not all rotten tomatoes regarding this significant decision. If the best choice isn’t apparent to you, don’t worry. We’ve gone ahead and laid out some of the most lucrative options to consider when opening your new calling.

5 Trendy Foods for New Food Trailers

Are you tired of all the taco trucks or BBQ trailers in your town? If you’re investing in your own food business, picking a solid backbone to your menu can be crucial in welcoming new customers. Here is a quick list of some foods that [...]

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