A new trend in the restaurant industry is that a small number of chain restaurants are appearing around the city with their own food trucks. Vans/trucks come fully equipped with an entire working kitchen. Customers have little difficulty tracking the mobile unit with sites like Twitter and Facebook, who make their whereabouts easily accessible. It seems as though customers appetites are expanding "food-on-the-go" and there is an increasing demand for bigger chains to appear with their own truck, which seems to be in the works. Tasti D-lite is an example of one brand already on the move with plans to increase their number of trucks on the road from 1 to around 10.
Franchisors are also investing in food trucks to promote their upcoming opening of stores. While some cities have restrictions about where the vans can park themselves many do not and trucks are able to pull up anywhere. But there is some risk in sales if the weather acts out. For example, Thomas S. Jones and his sister employ "two food trucks to supplement sales for four Cousin Subs restaurants they own in south Wisconsin." They further explain that they have regular customers who expect the vehicle to show up at the corner, in the park, or by an office building. He goes on to explain that "I treat those trucks like a store, never once have I not put them out there." as total sales from this venture account for 5% to 10% of all revenue for the business.
In my opinion this is an innovative idea for restaurant chains. It is making their businesses more accessible to customers who might be on the run and looking for a quick fix. I am interested to learn who are the bigger chains that are considering experimenting with this new trend. These trucks are a simple way to increase revenue as well as expand the customer base of the restaurant. I believe this will be a lasting innovation.
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