BHUBANESWAR: It’s been some years now that food trucks have tickled city gastronomes. Few young entrepreneurs have taken street food business to a whole new level by introducing mobile food stores. Expansion of these food ventures would only pile up more pressure on stationary food stalls as city dwellers have a clear preference when it comes to fast food.
The reason why food trucks are thriving is the high quality of fast food that they serve. The price of these delicious food items is among the cheapest in the entire food industry. The investment required to start such a venture is also quite low. A basic food truck costs around Rs. 5-10 lakh.
These trucks are mostly common in areas like Infosys, Kiit, Patia square, Ram Mandir, R D Women’s college and Rasulgarh among others. These mobile units serve food to their customers at these convenient places at affordable prices. Some of the popular food trucks are Food Factory, Gone South, Qdoba Mexican Food, So Yummy and Flames among others.
Food trucks offer flavours of various regions. From Chinese to Mexican, these wagons also provide dosa, mojito, tea, coffee, pizza, momos, kabab and sandwiches among others.
In the United States, the Texas chuck wagon is the ancestor of food trucks. Charles Goodnight, a Texas rancher, fitted a sturdy old United States army wagon with interior shelving and drawers stocked with foods, kitchenware, medical supplies, water barrel and a sling to kindle wood to heat and cook food. The unique initiative became a trend soon after.
Nowadays, food trucks are also organising food festivals in various cities. A food truck festival was recently conducted at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Multiple TV shows like The Mini Truck, Femme foodies, Eat Station, Food Truck Nation and Food Networks among others shows the rising popularity of this trend.
“We started our food truck business in 2013 with a limited budget. Now it has been about five years and we have grown with each passing year. We serve Mexican cheese lasagna, Italian cheese enchiladas and Fajita among other Mexican delicacies. The response of city foodies has been really amazing,” said Arjun Nayak, Owner of Qdoba Mexican food.
“I want to fulfill my dream of building an orphanage and old age home. I and my wife are doing this as a part-time business to earn some extra money. I work in a private company as accountant and my wife is a govt service holder. We serve Chicken finger, chicken popcorn and Paneer finger among other delicacies,” said Manas Ranjan Panigrahi, owner of a food truck.
“It’s almost like a food industry. There are 20-25 food trucks in my area of residence. Each truck has 5-10 members which mean 200-250 people are employed in this business. Prices are also quite pocket friendly. The crowds usually swell during the evening. Anyone can start this business even with a low budget,” said Jyoti, a MBA student.
“Cheese prawn tacos, honey lemon chicken, thai stick, dragon pasta and quesadilla are some of the lip-smacking delicacies which I savour in at food trucks on a regular basis. The service is also quite good and food items are not overpriced at all,” said Smita Pattnaik, a customer.
“Friday and Sunday,our business is very crowded and other days little bit slower”, said Pratap Barik.
