Starting a mobile food business was the topic of a recent workshop hosted by the Valley Community Small Business Development Center. Photo by Edward Smith

The Central Valley enjoys a vibrant food truck scene — but it also takes it seriously.

Before the pandemic, mobile vendors and food trucks were popular at community events, catering to hungry crowds.

When restaurants were limited to take-out and delivery because of COVID, demand for food trucks soared. While eateries have reopened their doors since, the popularity of street fun hasn’t waned.

On July 19, the Valley Community Small Business Development Center at Clovis Community College hosted an in-person mobile food vendor workshop, inviting students and the public to get more information on starting their own mobile food business.

Presenters at the event covered topics including rules and regulations regarding mobile food units at pop-ups and events, food trailer realities and requirements, passing inspections and more.

Shawn Vaquilar, owner of California’s Custom Concession Trailers, a mobile food trailer manufacturer in Fresno, said in the last few years demand for complete trailer builds, remodels and repairs has gone up.

Vaquilar said there was a huge uptick in the purchase and operation of food trucks through the pandemic.

Even now, Vaquilar said the company still hasn’t seen a decline in demand. He expects it to continue.

Vaquilar said the most popular trailers have a length of 16-18 feet, which provides an operating space for two to three people. Those cost $65,000 to $70,000 for a full build-out.

Like any manufacturer, the company has also encountered challenges caused by the pandemic.

 

“Whether it’s building out food trailers, or residential and commercial buildings, everyone is feeling the hurt of the global supply chain. But I haven’t seen a downtick at all in growth potential or sales up to this point,” Vaquilar said.

Daniel Betancur is founder and sole proprietor of Cen Cal Mobile Food Consultation Services, which he started in 2021. He is also a former senior health inspector for the County of Fresno. He has seen the explosion of interest in people wanting to make an investment in the mobile food space.

An attractive feature of food trucks is the lower startup cost compared to a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Betancur said. For $70,000-$80,000 down, they can have skin in the game.

“Some people just want to be an owner, and have control of their product and branding. And I’d say about 70% of my clients have worked in the food industry, so they know what they’re getting themselves into,” Betancur said.

One brick-and-mortar problem that transfers to the mobile space is staffing. Other challenges including branding and finding the perfect location.

“The best thing to do is try to get involved with some organization that already has other food vendors together at a certain location,” Betancur said.

Betancur said to increase foot traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations, restaurateurs are purchasing mobile food units, setting them up in their parking lots, preparing the food in the restaurant and then selling it from their mobile units.

Mike “Oz” Osegueda, president and founder of Fresno Street Eats and the FresYes Fest, is active in setting up events that bring the community, small businesses and vendors together. He said the local scene is quickly maturing, though it still faces restraints compared to other urban areas.

“There are different limitations with the county and the health department here — things you can’t get away with here that you could get away with in Los Angeles. But I think that allows us the opportunity to organize a little better and have more of a scene where people collaborate and build things together,” Osegueda said.

Osegueda has noticed more young people wanting to start their own businesses in general, and the idea that you can start your own businesses, and build a following on social media is inspiring a lot of young people to try their hand with a mobile food business.

“If you have a good product, you could get it out to people and worry about the rest later,” Osegueda said. 

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