What’s your vision for your food project?
Food truck? An army of food trucks? A restaurant?
There’s no right or wrong answers here – but it’s always a great idea to see some examples of what other successful food pros did while building their businesses.
Some people use food trucks as a stepping stone to brick-and-mortar restaurants. It can be a great way to build the business while also developing your food, your audience, testing your market, etc. Here are some examples of restaurants that started out as food trucks:
Location: Austin, Texas
Food Truck Launch: 2009
Restaurant Open: 2011
The barbecue that Aaron Franklin serves up is nothing short of legendary. When Franklin Barbecue opened as a small roadside trailer, would anyone have been able to predict that it would lead to a James Beard Award in addition to satisfying the tastebuds of Anthony Bourdain, President Barack Obama and many others? Wow.
Hungry fans will wait hours to feast on Franklin’s epic brisket, which sells out every single day (literally). In addition to managing his thriving restaurant, he ships nationwide, has authored best-selling cookbooks, teaches a masterclass, has a line of BBQ pits, and even hosts the Hot Luck live music and food fest.
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Food Truck Launch: 2010
Restaurant Open: 2014
Technically, this restaurant didn’t start as a food truck. It didn’t even start as a stand. One rainy day, Stephen and Colleen Sheehan packed some catfish, cast iron, and cornmeal to serve at a local brewery’s tasting room. Shortly after, they got a cart (Delacata) and impressed diners at every event around town.
The Sheehans fantasized about combining their culinary passions with a lifetime supply of free beer and they achieved that goal and more when Elk Horn Brewery was established in 2014. Elk Horn can now proudly boast about their brews earning plenty of gold, silver, and bronze medals in a wide variety of competitions including the World Beer Cup and World Beer Awards. Elk Horn quickly rose to the top of the brewpub scene in Eugene and local diners share enthusiastically about the food and their experiences.
Location: NYC, Stamford, CT & Washington D.C.
Food Truck Launch: 2010
Restaurant Open: 2011
Mexicue’s founders David Shallice and Thomas Kelly had the odds stacked against them when they took on the ferocious competition of the New York City food scene. To their pleasant surprise, their mexican and barbecue inspired mashup quickly drew lines that stretched down the block as their customers raved.
Their first full-service restaurant thrived in Times Square. They impressed a founder of Ruby Tuesday, acquired additional investors and they now share their bold creations at 3 hot spots along the east coast.
Location: Bay Area of California
Food Truck Launch: 2009
Restaurant Open: 2011
Rana and Akash Kapoor founded Curry Up Now without any food background and they even admit that they “were stupid” when they first launched. After some trial and error, they added a couple additional trucks to their fleet before opening their first restaurant. Amazingly, within 5 years, they opened 3 more restaurants.
Curry Up Now is now franchised with about 20 locations across the country, and the Kapoors anticipate that the brand will continue to expand. This seems likely, considering their inclusion on Inc 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies List, their feature on the TV show Ugly Delicious, and investments from Joe Montana among others.
Location: Miami, Florida
Food Truck Launch: 2010
Restaurant Open: 2015
Who says a food truck can’t be sexy? Self-taught chef Brian Mullins along with his wife Fatima and friend Christian Dickens created a unique concept that has brought the world Ms. Cheezious
Miamians began their love affair with Ms. Cheezious in 2010 while owners began collecting awards including a spot on Food Network’s Top 25 Food Trucks In America and Daily Meal’s #1 Food Truck in America. Along with their brick and mortar restaurant, they have also added 2 additional food trucks to keep their customers satisfied.
Location: Portland, Oregon
Food Truck Launch: 2011
Restaurant Open: 2011
It is hard to believe that Salt & Straw’s thriving ice cream creators (Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek) started out testing flavors in their basement with thrift store ice cream machines. The owners instantly shocked and hooked customers with exotic flavors like Bone Marrow with Bourbon Smoked Cherries and Arbequina Olive Oil.
The Malek cousins were able to convert their mobile ice cream cart to a brick and mortar creamery within 3 months. They started showing up on lists of America’s best ice creams and have now expanded to three additional storefronts along with offering nationwide shipment for home deliveries.
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Food Truck Launch: 2012
Restaurant Open: 2014
Owner Tamara Brown started her food truck in 2012, without any restaurant experience. A registered dietician, she wanted to share her knowledge and passion of healthy, balanced diets. Reviewers rave, perhaps amazed that such delicious food can also be incredibly nutritious. Sassy Spoon opened after 3 successful seasons as a food truck.
Building a food business can feel overwhelming – especially when most of the model brands out there are intimidatingly advanced and successful.
But, if you do a tiny bit of digging, you’ll often find a story that’s a lot more relatable.
Many great restaurants started in different forms – including food trucks (way more often than most people realize!).
Have a look around your city and dig into your favorite restaurants’ stories. You’ll find more food truck models than you’d expect!
photo credit: By Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76686536
