Current Events > Anyone think food trucks are overpriced.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like there are many food trucks with reasonable prices..but its like some of them are as high as fine dining.

If you're buying food from a truck, you're assumed to be a "captive audience".

Food is expensive

Questionmarktarius posted...

If you're buying food from a truck, you're assumed to be a "captive audience".

...What?

cjsdowg posted...

Like there are many food trucks with reasonable prices..but its like some of them are as high as fine dining.

I mean, there are some food trucks that do have really high quality and novel foods that you can't get anywhere else. That its in a truck, is kind of irrelevant, what is important is the actual experience, and that's what warrants the cost being high or not. There is room enough in the world for expensive and cheap food trucks.

TendoDRM posted...

...What?

Think about where and why you'd be buying food from the side of a boxtruck that's just parked there.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Think about where and why you'd be buying food from the side of a boxtruck that's just parked there.

because there are chefs out there with tasty recipes who don't have their own brick and mortar?

TendoDRM posted...

...What?

Many times food trucks are at event. So ppl can't go elsewhere.

I agree. Some of the food trucks I've seen have original food with homemade dishes, but like more than half of them all serve a variation of tacos and tater tots, and they'll charge you $30-40 it.

I dunno Ive never bought a food truck before, but I assume theyre not cheap

Questionmarktarius posted...

Think about where and why you'd be buying food from the side of a boxtruck that's just parked there.

Food trucks are a common thing in many areas.

I mean it's usually just a single person trying to make a living, they can't charge 5 bucks for a burger

I always felt like early on, food trucks kinda priced a premium because it was seen as kinda trendy to get food from one. The kind of trucks that aren't in remote areas.

MC_BatCommander posted...

I mean it's usually just a single person trying to make a living, they can't charge 5 bucks for a burger

Agreed, but I used to assume food trucks would be cheap cause there's no infrastructure they're having to deal with. I thought it'd be cheap street food, but it's really not

For what I pay, halal truck food is amazing.

It's usually no more than 5 to 7 bucks.

In my experience it depends on the event and the probably the food truck.

Obviously if you are at some street fair, the food is gonna get expensive, but my apartment used to have food trucks every Wednesday, and they were mostly fair priced.

But there were a few here and there that were way more expensive than the should be. I think the worst contender was a burger food truck that cost me almost $20 for a Chili burger and fries, when you can see them make it, it is literally a frozen walmart beef patty, and a can of hormel chili. That one truck was a complete rip-off.

MC_BatCommander posted...

I mean it's usually just a single person trying to make a living, they can't charge 5 bucks for a burger

This isnt 1999. But I think the point is that youd assume there are less operational costs into a food truck than an actual store and that would be translated into the prices.

I hope people don't think that just because it's a food truck that there isn't overhead stuff they have to pay like getting a permit/license or reservation spot on an event/place to park at to sell food and continual maintenance on the "Food Truck", insurance, cooking equipment, etc. Brick or Mortar or Food truck, there is always going to be some form of cost associated with it which means a lot of it is going to be passed on to the customers.

Not to mention that some Food Trucks sell "premium" food items that is either a pain to cook or hard to get anywhere else, which means longer lines and higher price point (especially if they're popular). There are "cheap" food trucks out there, but taking inflation into account, they might even more more expensive than buying straight from McDonalds.

I treat carts and trucks differently since the level of food is different. If there's a bunch of food trucks at a smorgasbord, the price could be whatever.

1). It is kind of like movie theatre snacks. You hungry? Well we are the only place here with food, sorry. 10 bucks. For hotdog.

or

2). They rely on foodies to come and feel trendy for ordering from them. Emotional manipulation.

A few food trucks have come by my apartment complex and, without fail, two things happen:

1) I pay $15 minimum for a thoroughly mediocre plate of food
2) I get horribly sick (at least two of them resulted in me puking immediately after eating it)

Yet I keep going back.

They are here now. I was one of the first customers at a taco truck here, they were $1back in 2019. Now they are $2.50 and the street tacos are even smaller.

I'm fairly sure I got e-coli the one time I went to a cart I don't usually go to.

And yes, it was e-coli. The doctor was like "wtf, we have to report this to the county".

One used to come to my former job at lunch and all their meals were $15 and up.

It was mostly barbecue type stuff. They had a smoker. I mean that is high for lunch and I never got anything but not bad I supposed for barbecue.

Most food trucks are grossly overpriced, but I like them so I buy from them anyway.

I really miss the food truck I would always order from my college. Extra spicy medium lamb over rice platter with white sauce for $6. So fucking delicious.

emblem-man posted...

Agreed, but I used to assume food trucks would be cheap cause there's no infrastructure they're having to deal with. I thought it'd be cheap street food, but it's really not

Depends on the city. The license can be expensive and the fee they have to pay the city for their location can be QUITE expensive at times. Food trucks don't just park themselves at any ole location and open up, it's often tightly managed by the city and an important revenue source for the city.