Catering Trucks: Fight Them or Join Them or What?

Depending on where your business is located, the growth of catering from mobile trucks is probably a concern or will shortly become a concern for you. For example, some of my catering friends in the Napa Valley are seriously losing catered events because clients are now just requesting a group of catering trucks to fill the food and beverage needs for their guests in lieu of hiring a catering company. Again, I’m referring here to trucks that are actively marketing to cater events and taking business from traditional caterers.

This is happening because the trucks offer an easy solution at a much lower cost than traditional catering. Think of these trucks as a form of “drop-off” catering that the guests wait in line for. To clarify, a winery in the Napa Valley might request that a sushi truck, a kebob truck, and a dessert truck arrive at the winery to offer their menu items to guests. The winery either pays for the food consumed or, get this, the guests themselves pay for what they wish!

Most states, with California the most important exception, don’t have clear-cut licensing or construction codes for these mobile kitchens. California, which has an abundance of codes doesn’t seem to have, due to budget cutbacks, the number of inspectors necessary to enforce the codes. Not a happy situation for many non-mobile caterers.

In my view, the real question is “Are the trucks a fade or a movement?” If a fade that the public will soon get bored with, than you can worry less. If it is a movement, then maybe you need to consider getting involved either by purchasing trucks yourself or by bringing some owners of trucks under your brand like caterers hire Japanese restaurants to handle a sushi station.

Some caterers are ticked because of the “unfairness” issue. Many of these trucks (not all) are operating without health department approval and have become the current unlicensed caterer problem to those who are licensed.

As I speak to caterers around North America, I get the sense that most think it a fade that will eventually fade away. Others have quickly realized that, in most cases, the trucks are not the most profitable foodservice concept around since they don’t have the ability to serve larger events and are faced with long lines and slow food dispersion.

My point is simply that perhaps you need to put some thinking into this situation and consider what you will do to fight them, join them or whatever! What are you current thoughts on this issue?