Free Essay

Food Cart

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Submitted By dselvera
Words 1591
Pages 7
Mobile Food Carts
Thesis statement: Food Carts are the Future Works Cited “Andrea Juarez”- interview. "Certification 101 Workshop | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin." Certification 101 Workshop | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin. City of Austin, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Gaar, Brian. "Food Trailers Bloom into Key Piece of Austin's Economy." Austin News, Sports, Weather, Longhorns, Business. Statemen, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. "Story - Hey Cupcake!" Story - Hey Cupcake! Hey Cupcake, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. "Torchy's Tacos — Torchy's Story." Torchy's Tacos — Torchy's Story. Torchy's Tacos, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Environ http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/eh_mobilefoodvendor_english__6_23_11.pdf http://www.statesman.com/news/business/food-trailers-bloom-into-key-piece-of-austins-econ/nSLPx/

https://www.heycupcake.com/story

Food Carts the Future Food Carts have always been around in countries like Mexico, Honduras, and Italy. Some of the best food in other countries are often sold at a food cart or stand. It wasn’t until recently that the fascination with food carts began in the U.S. more specifically in Austin. Austin is becoming one of the fastest growing cites in America, so it is only natural that the food cart industry is growing as well. Food carts are going to be large part of the future of the food industry. Since they are already a big hit from the East to West Coast. Food carts have very few requirements to get started as opposed to restaurants that have a greater risk of losing more money. First the owner should buy the actual food cart or truck. Then the owner just has to get the cart up to code with permits and regulations. Since it is a business with food the state of Texas wants the food to be safe so people won’t get sick. The city of Austin requires a mobile food cart permit along with Proof of Texas seals and use of tax permit. Since it is a business where the customer is getting prepared hot food there is tax on food for the customers as well as the owner of the food cart. In Travis County the permit for all Mobile Food Vendor permits cost sixty dollars and the Application Fee is one hundred twenty five dollars, however if the cart doesn’t meet all the cities requirements the owner doesn’t have to pay the permit fee just the application fee. The reason as to why the owner doesn’t have pay the fee is that if the owner fail to bring the cart up to code then owner is not going to be issued a permit so there is no need to pay for something they are not going to receive. According to the austintexas.gov they have a list of a physical inspection list that your cart must have such as Adequate clean and wastewater capacities, hand washing sink, cleanable surfaces, and physical condition, and so much more. The City of Austin also require for there to be a public restroom where the food cart will be located. This is so that the people working the food carts have a facility they can use. Another reason is that customer need a place to wash their hand. The City of Austin also has other regulations like they cannot have prepared food in the food cart. For instance if the food cart sells grill cheese sandwich with French fries then everything that is going to be used to make that meal must be prepared and stored in the cart. Everything the owner of the food cart uses needs to be kept in the food cart and at the appropriate temperature. They also need to give out the food in disposable plates and utensils, because it is not a full restaurant it doesn’t hold the capacity to properly clean plates at the appropriate temperature. Essentially a food cart is like a restaurant without having to get all the building permits, fire inspections, and zoning approval to get started. It is also a lot easier for someone to start a food cart than a restaurant. If someone wanted to start their own restaurant they would be looking on spending thousands of dollars up front for the building, permits and then have to risk all the money they used to build a restaurant and have it fail with in a year or two. The safest way to start a restaurant would be to try your food out on a food cart where there is less risk. When they start off with a food cart they have the option to experiment with food and recipes. For example if someone wanted to make a deep fried food cart where almost everything they served is deep fried food, they could potentially open it and see how people respond to the food. If people response is that they love it then owner of that food cart can open up more food carts in other areas of the city to get more exposure and start building a fan base. No matter where the food cart is, if one person loves the food then they will most likely tell another person and so forth. Then eventually from there they can open a restaurant and have a larger chance at success because the smaller business sample has been tested and found to be effective. There are some Austin local restaurants that started off as a food cart like Torchy’s Tacos for example. Michael Rypka the owner of Torchys Tacos first opened his food cart on Boulding Creek at south first. His business started out as a food cart and now it’s an actual restaurant having ten different locations in all over Austin including Round Rock and Cedar Park. Torchy’s has become so popular that it is even in other cities in Texas. Another food cart that is synonymous with Austin is the infamous Hey Cupcake. The first time Hey Cupcake had opened they had a bakery but, that didn’t last long because it closed just two months after opening its doors. That didn’t stop the owner of Hey Cupcake because he then started the food cart Hey Cupcake in south congress. Using the small business model of a food cart the bakery was saved from extinction and has since become a staple of Austin. Serving some of Austin best cupcakes at 4 locations. I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrea a friend of mine who actually started her own food cart “Twist of Spice” about a year and half ago. Andrea has always had a passion for cooking since she was in Elementary School. She first went to Texas Culinary Academy to study food and the food industry. Then when she graduated had no job for about two years. Stating “I had a dream of owning a restaurant but, no way of bringing it to reality.” Inspired by the multiple food carts she noticed around town she wanted something that wouldn’t cost much money to start since her mom and brother were going to help her invest in her dream. That’s when she thought of owning her own food cart. She went out to go buy a cart. When she first got it the cart wasn’t in the best condition so she had to bring it up to code with the help of her brother. He did all the electrical wiring and removing the rust. It took her about a month and half to get her food cart started. The first location she set her food cart at was off North I-35 near Holly street where Holiday inn over looks town lake. She first picked this location because she thought she would get customers who were traveling from other cities and states to try her food and get her some exposure. That was not the case. Andrea said that “you should not believe false promises with the person who is renting out their trailer lot. He had promised that there would be live bands every week and was going to fix up the lot with lights yet he never came through with his promises.” Even though she managed to turn a small profit it wasn’t where she thought it should considering she was the best seller in her lot. A little after five months she decided that wasn’t the right location for her. Andrea then moved her Twist of Spice food cart to Austin Bergstrom International Airport where with only being there for two weeks she got national exposure on CBS. Andrea said she likes this location better because she has set hours. She goes in nine to five Monday through Friday, she also has the option of staying open later if she wants. She also get the benefit of always having new clients because it’s located at the airport so there will always be a new person trying out her food. She also said that her food cart is doing so well that she can see herself opening up more food carts around Austin or even a restaurant. In the future I can see that a lot of people who dream of having their own business could potentially start off with a food cart. Learn how a business works and how to run it. It also helps create jobs for other people and keeps some of the revenue in the local area. It’s also just a fun experience to have.

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