How to Start a Taco Truck Business

Mobile food trucks, including taco trucks, are a familiar site in urban areas, especially on weekdays during lunch. To customers, they are a quick, cheap way to grab a meal or snack. To entrepreneurs, they are a fast, mobile, inexpensive way to turn a profit selling hot food without the headache of a sit-down restaurant. Opening a taco truck business may seem easy, but there's a lot of preparation involved.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Assess your market before you start. First, choose an appropriate location. Look at the areas of your town or city where office workers, day laborers and other people who frequent taco trucks would be concentrated. When you feel you have found the perfect location (or route, if you plan to serve several locations), go on to the next phase.
2. Learn the law. A taco truck business needs a health permit, food handler's permits for employees, a business license and of course you'll need proper insurance for your truck. Check your city's laws about mobile food vendors because they differ from place to place.
3. Get your finances in order. Figure the cost of a taco truck, insurance, refrigeration and cooking equipment and your start-up inventory before committing to the business. Write a business plan to keep yourself focused and on track.
4. Buy a truck. Consult individuals and businesses that are familiar with the kinds of trucks suitable for a taco truck business. You will need a truck that already contains (or can hold) a regular sink, water heater, pot and pan washing sink, vegetable washing sink, plus grills and fryers.
5. Purchase equipment. Never skimp on safety when purchasing grills or cooking units for a taco truck business. Buy a sturdy but inexpensive exhaust hood, and make sure all refrigeration units are able to keep food at the proper temperature.
6. Plan your menu. There's plenty of competition out there, so get together your best taco, fajitas and enchilada recipes and maybe throw in a few surprises the other food trucks don't offer. Remember, it's the food that will keep your customers coming back.