The Food Truck Handbook: Start, Grow, and Succeed in the Mobile Food Business

by David Weber

Food trucks have become a wildly popular and important part of the hospitality industry. Consumers are flocking to these mobile food businesses in droves, inspiring national food truck competitions and even a show dedicated to the topic on The Food Network. The relatively low cost of entry as compared to starting a restaurant, combined with free and low-cost ways to market them to the masses via platforms like social media, are just two of the reasons that food truck business are drawing in budding entrepreneurs.

Author David Weber, a food truck advocate and entrepreneur himself, is here to offer his practical, step-by-step advice to achieving your mobile food mogul dreams in The Food Truck Handbook. This book cuts through all of the hype to give both hopeful entrepreneurs and already established truck owners an accurate portrayal of life on the streets. From concept to gaining a loyal following to preventative maintenance on your equipment this book covers it all.

Genres: Business, Food, Nonfiction

270 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ryan Manganiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to start up a food truck or a brick and mortar restaurant, I just love entrepreneurial related books, and this one happens to be an excellent read. Sometimes books on any one particular subject can run on about specifics, and leave you either lost or bored out of your mind. But this one covers all aspects of what you should and should not do in every subject you’ll want to be up to speed in, if you decide to venture into the highly competitive field of Food.

Although I must say that I am actually assuming it does, since I am not a food expert, I don’t really know if it does in fact cover all aspects of the industry. If it doesn’t, the author sure as hell made it seem like it did. This review is based on my limited knowledge pertaining to the field as a whole, and is a mixture of both speculation and assumption. There… you’ve been warned.

One of the greatest things about this book that I found extremely appealing was its vast amount of references and resources to follow up on if you would like more information on any of the many topics the author covers in this book. The entire ass end of this book is comprised of a whole slew of worksheets, checklists, important rules and regulation pertaining to food truck laws for each individual state, and additional interviews. I glanced over all that stuff, since I’m not actually opening my own food business, it wasn’t really relevant or necessary for me to actually look it all over in great detail. But for any of you out there thinking about getting into the food business, or for you experienced Foodies, this book is definitely something you should purchase and keep with you as a go to reference guide in the field.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My high rating for this book has a lot to do with the fact that this book was EXACTLY what I needed to prepare to launch my own NYC food truck. Easy to follow and enjoyable to read, yet full of plenty of details, great tips and fun interviews with other food truckers. I kept a notebook next to me while I read this and wrote down things like: "test COGS at 30% to set final menu prices," "ask insurance broker if there are fees for additional insured (there shouldn't be!)," "sign up for free Google Voice phone number," and "consider hourly time limit on catering rates to cover staff pay." Really practical advice. My only complaint is that this book wasn't around three years ago when I started planning the food truck business. Of course if it had, it might have scared me off! Weber doesn't sugarcoat things, but he also makes sure to highlight the joys of street vending too. I feel so much more prepared after reading this handbook.

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book so many times and it still finds ways to surprise me with more things for opening up a food truck. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who is interested or is looking at the idea of owning a food truck.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and thorough guide for any budding food truck owner. Not planning on opening one soon but it's fascinating to see the planning, logistics and potential pitfalls of running a mobile food business. Definitely gives you an appreciation for the untold hours behind every food vendor. The appendix of templates would be useful for anyone seriously looking at starting their own food truck - and possibly deterring anyone who hasn't realised how organised and committed you need to be.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Food is one of the most universal experiences, and cooking is a near universal skill."

I bought this for my husband, but when it sat on his nightstand for a few months I just read it myself. It's very formative and full of amazing information for any business person looking to branch out into thee food truck industry.

[Tammy Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for reference for my dissertation at university and it's such a clever, easy to read little book! Full of facts etc if you're wanting to learn about the food truck industry or just interested about it!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great real-world guide to starting and running a food truck. Complete with checklists and expenses templates. The author speaks from experience and also includes about a dozen interview transcripts from other real-world food truck owners. The bulk of the content is truck specific (vs food trailers) and centered around the challenges of NYC. But most is applicable nationwide. The handbook stays very positive but does not ignore the pain points in this industry. Great read for those considering this avenue to small business ownership.

[Jesse Taylor-Vigneux · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good boss, but I do find this though that it only glances over certain subjects and topics. Plus reading this in the year of 2024. There’s a decent amount of information that is far out of date. Though this seems like a cliff notes version of what you should knowthis is also a very good book to give you a basic idea of how to run a food truck.

[David Brinkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very helpful. I would say in business operations in general, but also for the food truck business many resources many references to helpful books. Anyone opening a business in food service should at least consider this.

[Link · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is really outdated, especially the finance section

[Dwayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A how-to guide that is practical and inspiring. It's also challenging with plenty of reasons NOT to get into the food truck business. The author is president of a food-truck advocacy group and wants to encourage business owners to use high-standards and honesty. Includes lots of interviews with food truck owners.

[Mahmoud Khoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your thinking to start a food truck business or in the process of starting this book is for you, very informative contains a lot of practical ideas, and plenty of resources probably took the author years to gain this knowledge. If your serious about your food truck business buy it and read it. Put game of thrones on hold for now :)

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read about starting a food truck business. Even though it's new, it already needs more social media information and how to integrate gps tracking for customers. Of course, I'm a techie.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and practical guide. Don't try to start one of these businesses without reading this book.

[Hanim]

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[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Somewhat of a reality check too. I enjoyed it tremendously.