In Durham, NC the food trucks have been a big part of the city's revitalization. It is, oddly enough, an area with plenty of vacant business space, but I believ

In Durham, NC the food trucks have been a big part of the city's revitalization. It is, oddly enough, an area with plenty of vacant business space, but I believe the food truck owners here value the shorter time to launch, the lower start-up costs, and perhaps they find the perceived barrier to entry to be lower (in truth, I've seen some vendors go brick and mortar, and it took them a great deal of effort to get it rolling). In some areas the food trucks form synergistic relationships with bricks and mortars; a local brewery that doesn't serve its own food, hosts them every night and the entire area around it has become "The Spot" with 4 new businesses opening in the last year. Having moved here from New York, I'm familiar with the situation there as well. There aren't as many swaths of urban "blight", and there is already a good amount of foot traffic so the benefits don't feel quite as dramatic -- but then I didn't work in midtown (where the food offerings are so so bad).