BBQ Food Truck Business???

Alright, so I work with a couple guys who have a ton of experience in the restaurant management business. We were talking the one day about our disdain for working in a retail grocery store and all the BS we have to deal with from all sides and we came to the realization that our employment situations aren't going to get any better unless we are the ones in charge.

We decided that opening a food truck would be a good entry point into owning our own brick & mortar restaurant some day.

The basis for the menu is going to be my BBQ, which everyone raves about at work, but done in a unique way.

My question is- how do you make money selling food that takes 8+ hrs to cook and shrinks to 50% of it's uncooked weight?

I know there are quite a few Brethren who own restaurants and trucks, so any info/advice/tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Yea, I kinda figured that it would be next to impossible to survive on serving traditional BBQ on a plate because I'd either have to charge so much that I wouldn't get any business or that I'd have to go the other way and serve ridiculously small portions.

I came up with the idea of doing a rotating menu of 1 "traditional" bbq meat along with other stuff like brisket chili, pulled pork pot stickers, BBQ burritos and a couple sides like fresh cut fries, maybe potato salad or something.

Drinks are a huge opportunity too. Most trucks in buffalo sell cans of soda for $1.50, but cost is only about 40 cents per unit.

Selling sauce is something I hadn't thought about. I did think about selling merch, tho, like hats and t-shirts, maybe bumper stickers.

landarc said:

The other guys that are currently in the business can chime in here. I don't like this idea and the primary reason is that restaurants primarily build business with repeat customers, and those customers will develop favorite items, which they will want over and over. To that end, if you are going to be a BBQ place, seriously consider the fact that if you do something well, and have great customer service, you can charge a bit more. I know nothing of where you are located, in terms of business. But, Madman is right, a great product and great service is the best hook in any business.

Setup your meats as plates and sandwiches, give people a lower cost, but, smaller option if they need that, they can go for it. But, offer your best and core products everyday. Restaurant owners often fall into the trap of trying to be everything to everybody, better model, follow your core competency, sell as much of what you do best, as often as you can.

And fries, sell fries :becky: (I'm kidding)

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The whole idea of the rotating menu stems from the fact that you can't really fit a whole lot of ingredients on a truck to make a big variety of different dishes. Each truck may only serve a total of 10-12 different items; 4-5 entrees, a couple sides and a few different drinks.

One way that other trucks in the area get around this restriction is to occasionally swap menu items in and out in order to have a variety of different dishes to keep their menu fresh and keep people from getting bored of the same 5 items.

Now I enjoy BBQ just as much as the next guy, but if one truck was the closest lunch option for me, I would get sick of eating the same BBQ, as great as it may be, 5x per week.

Maybe only having one traditional BBQ plate isn't enough, but I do think swapping things out from time to time will help give me a bit of an edge. If I go with a full traditional menu- Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork and Chicken- that's all ill be able to serve not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'd like to do something a little more creative and different.

I get the idea of do what you do best and understand the importance of giving good customer service as I've been working in it for the past 18 years. I was just thinking that the rotating menu would give me a little more of a creative edge over the competition while helping out my bottom line as well.

This is also why I plan on taking the first couple months to really dial in my menu and see what people really want. After that period, I may be forced to abandon the whole rotating menu entirely, but I think it is worth pursuing.

Anyway, I really appreciate all the advice and tips guys! Thanks again and keep 'em coming!

smoke ninja said:

For profit and ease of variety sandwiches would be great. Pulled/chopped, bbq beef, pork, and chicken. Variety could be in sauce and toppings or types of buns. I think traditional fare would work better if it were a parked food truck in a consistent location with maybe a tour of local festivals to spread the name.

I don't really know though, this is all just irresponsible speculation on my part but we're brain storming here, right?

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Right! Good idea!

Landarc, you are a gentleman and a scholar! Someday you will find that sammie! Lol

Thanks for the links, DerbyCityQ.

Just a couple ideas I've been working on.