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There are a number of staple dishes (pasta with any number of sauces, curries, stir-fries, etc) that can be cooked easily. I'm surprised no one is driving aroun
by prawn 9y ago
There are a number of staple dishes (pasta with any number of sauces, curries, stir-fries, etc) that can be cooked easily. I'm surprised no one is driving around in a van with a cook in the back, and delivering just-made meals. No extensive menu, just focus on specific things on particular days. Aim for something decent at a good pricepoint rather than trying to replicate and deliver fancy food that ends up being like microwaved meals.
- dec0dedab0de 9y agoI have been saying the same thing for years. The thing is that food trucks can do very well by parking where many people are. They dont need to drive around.
- graphitezepp 9y agoI bet if the driving/parking situation for these larger vans were better in cities we would see them driving around taking orders to people.
- hammock 9y agoOr, you know, staying in one place so they still get the walk-up traffic, but send out delivery guys at the same time to fulfill orders via their app. Wait a minute...this sounds suspiciously like a counterserve restaurant ...
- koolba 9y ago... but without paying rent or real estate taxes! Welcome to the 3.0 economy where an established business's fixed costs and adherence to zoning laws is another business's profit margin.
- hammock 9y agoTry that in Chicago, which is maybe the most pro-restaurant and anti-streetfood city in the country. You can only park your food truck in one of 37 designated spots or cannot be within 200ft of a restaurant, and cannot park in the same location for more than 2 hours at a time (barely enough time to prep/clean).
- koolba 9y agoI bet you could work around that with app based ordering and "delivery" consisting of throwing prepared food at your customers while in transit.
- ec109685 9y agoThese folks tried that, didn't work: https://sf.eater.com/platform/amp/2017/1/10/14231188/bento-closed-san-francisco https://sf.eater.com/platform/amp/2017/1/10/14231188/bento-c...
- prawn 9y agoThat sounds a little different. They were offering three options and four out of six sides. I'm talking about 1-2 fixed options on any given night, and someone literally cooking in the back of a van while it drives a circuit. Discounts for pre-orders, or for people coordinating their block/building to order en masse, etc. One driver, one cook. Driver optionally runs deliveries to the doorstep if need be.
- balabaster 9y agoLike an ice cream truck for hot food?
- dagw 9y agoDon't most major cities in the US (and the world) have dozens of these?
- prawn 9y agoFood trucks are generally quite static and not in the suburbs. They pick a spot and stay there for hours at a time. At least, the ones I've seen around the world.
- prawn 9y agoBasically. Imagine an ice cream truck, but with some rice cookers and curries going in the back, playing Bollywood music, and driving a route in the suburbs. Plus an app estimating time until arrival, taking orders, etc. There was an Indian restaurant near my office that was almost always empty - good people and decent food, but they never did anything to try and stand out. They've disappeared now. Were I in their shoes, I would've been trying something like this on the side for sure.