Do food trucks pay rent like a brick and mortar restaurant? After all, they are a restaurant, they are just on wheels. Right?
A food truck needs to think about a number of fees they need to pay wherever they park their truck. There are fees from parking permits to commissary fees (for a great list of licenses, permits and fees associated with a food truck business, check out our Start Your Own Food truck Business article). Along with these fees, some areas may require you to park your truck at a commissary when not in use. Other forms of “rent” are at events and in public places.
Do Food Trucks Pay Rent?
Do food trucks pay rent like a brick and mortar restaurant? After all, they are a restaurant, they are just on wheels. Right?
A food truck needs to think about a number of fees they need to pay wherever they park their truck. There are fees from parking permits to commissary fees (for a great list of licenses, permits and fees associated with a food truck business, check out our Start Your Own Food truck Business article). Along with these fees, some areas may require you to park your truck at a commissary when not in use. Other forms of “rent” are at events and in public places.
I also forgot to ask. Do these trucks need 110 or 220 for electric?
Standard voltage for food trucks are 120v and 240v.
I suggest 240 as many trucks who have more demanding appliances like deep fryers will need this
Hope this helps!
this is such great information. thank you for this. I live in the midwest where there is snow in the winter. Do most trucks sell in the winter or are they more seasonal. I am seriously considering providing a truck park so before I do this I need to know if I can depend on the winter. Also the place I am considering buying has a kitchen which I want to turn into commisory. I know there are permits etc I need for that. There are bathrooms in the building but I was wondering if I could get away with providing port a john. Thoughts?
Hi Linda. Thank you fo rth question and glad we can help provide valuable info for you.
This is a somewhat difficult question to answer as every location is differnt and so are the trucks.
What I have experienced is there are more trucks in the warm months and many button up for the cold months but…. this does not apply to all areas and all trucks!
My suggestion is to call around. Tell the truck businesses who you are, what you are doing and see if they are open in the colder months and if they are interested.
In regards to your Port-a-John question, I believe it is best to call the local city hall and ask there as every location will have different laws and regulations.
I know this may not be the most helpful, but hope it helps somewhat.
The best to you and your business!
If you have any further questions, let us know!
Hi Troy,
I am looking into opening a food truck Park or possibly a beer garden with food trucks and read through a few of your answers which were SUPER helpful.
I am narrowing down to charging a flat fee rent + 10% of sales, my question is how do I verify that the food truck is paying 10% of their daily sales, or monthly sales? Is there a way to do this without being to invasive? Do you think charging daily or monthly is better?
Thank you!
Hi Cyn,
I’m happy to hear that I have been helpful! That’s why we are here. Your questions and comments help us get to achieve our goal.
To answer your question, there are a few way to go about this:
1. You could supply the POS system that trucks can plug into so you can verify sales and pay them in check form every week, at shifts end or however you’d like to do it.
2. You could just charge the flat fee plus 10% and hope that everyone pays on the honor system, but put a clause in the contract stating if they don’t pay the 10% they will be removed from schedule for (x amount of time) and so on.
Another option that I have experienced is to just charge 15% of sales… plus pay any cc fees that incur (you know… the 3% fees that CC vendors charge to everyone).
Then provide the pos and have them gave it back and shifts end. You would then pay trucks weekly in either check or DD. This way, everything is tracked and no issues. Trucks pull in, serve, and leave.
One extra tip… I’d also suggest adding power/water for the trucks as well.
1) It’s quieter
2) It helps justify the fees.
No matter what way you choose, just price fairly and you’ll have trucks keep wanting to come back.
(Just my thoughts… a flat fee AND a percentage seems to be a bit steep for a park which is not well known yet, but I will leave that to you)
I hope this helps!
Best of luck.
Hi, i found a field in area close to a downtown for rent, at cheap price, the landlord says i can do a food truck business. I want to rent the place and then create a food truck park instead of running it solo.
Since i would be leasing the place for a year or two, that means continues everyday stuff.
1. I wouldn’t own any truck, just that i will have a private space that I will lease out to food trucks, do i need any license for that if yes, What permits/licenses do i need?
2. I might likely get to sale liquors on site, do you have idea about the permits/license
3. Would it be profitable?
4. Any advise or recommendation?
Thanks for the question Big Thomas
1. As long as you have insurance and your own permits you sould be able to lease out area to other trucks. Only thing would be to make sure you have a written contract between landlord and to make sure there’s a bathroom on site.
2.You would absolutely have to have a liquor license to sell booze. Every state is different so you would need to apply via state/county website. Depending on the laws, you may need to build a stationary bar for it
3. This is hard to answer as there are many reasons it can and cannot be profitable. However, if it’s a busy enough area, it can be profitable. Focus on marketing and local trends to appeal to people. Have some things to do for kids as well…
4. Do market research as to what places are busy and what people like to eat. Have a rotation for trucks as well. Build a website to promote said place and trucks as well. Make sure people have parking or can get there easily.
Best of luck and if you have any further questions or need help, please contact us at https://thefoodtruckguide.com/contact-us/
Hello, I have a hard corner land in Houston texas and wanting to get food trucks parked on my property. How do I know the going rate for them to rent the space? Any help here would be appreciated
Hi Ali,
This is a very hard question to answer as there are a few things involved.
My suggestion is to talk to the food truck owners and work out something that works for both of you.
Common structures are: Flat fee, percentage of their sales or a percentage of their sales in addition to a flat fee.
Best
Hi – I am doing a business plan of an seasonal outdoor facility with beer/wine/outdoor activities/live music and was curious on how this works with getting food trucks. Ideally I would like to have 4-5 trucks that are permanent. Do food trucks typically stay somewhere permanent and pay rent per month? This is the beginning stage of my planning and I know nothing about the food truck world so any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jen. Thank you for your question and this sounds fun!
I emailed you with a longer, more detailed reply, but to give you a high overview, you will want to make sure your licensing is all set, figure out truck supplies, get your figures straight and have an idea what you will want to charge the trucks, and then start reaching out to trucks to see if they would be interested.
You will run into a number of trucks who will not do a permanent gig, but you may get some to and if you do, make sure you have a backup plan in case a truck wants to do an event or they break down etc.
You can read in my earlier post https://thefoodtruckguide.com/food-trucks-pay-rent/#comment-5 how to price things out.
I wish the best in your venture and if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
How much rent would I charge to allow a food truck to park at our place of business. Rent? Columbus, Ohio . On a very busy road, lots of opportunity
Hi Jen,
This is a very hard question to answer as there are a few things involved.
My suggestion is to talk to the food truck owners and work out something that works for both of you.
Common structures are: Flat fee, percentage of their sales or a percentage of their sales in addition to a flat fee.
Best
I really want to rent out my wide-open, spare parking space, and I have many questions.
What do I need to talk about with the food truck owners?
Do I have to provide a charging port for the food trucks or are they self-efficient?
Can’t I just get my parking space ready, call up some food trucks near me, meet them in person, check out their license, agree on a renting price, and be done with it? Is that all I have to do?
Hi Peter,
Thank you for the question.
It appears that you are around the Boise Idaho area. You will want to make sure you read over and obtain the proper Food Establishment licensing. You can see this site for that:
https://myftginfo.com/BoiseIdahoLicense
In regards to your other questions:
What do I need to talk about with the food truck owners?
— You will need to come up with pricing you want to charge.
Do I have to provide a charging port for the food trucks or are they self-efficient?
— Almost all trucks & trailers have their own generators so electricity is not always needed. However, if you have electricity to provide, a truck can hook up to that which cuts down the overall noise in the parking area which could be really good especially if the lot is not that large. If you can provide electric, you can also charge more to compensate for the electricity charge you will incur.
Can’t I just get my parking space ready, call up some food trucks near me, meet them in person, check out their license, agree on a renting price, and be done with it?
— This is the basic idea behind it, but you will need to make sure you have all your licensing in place and make sure every one of the trucks have their appropriate location permits in place along with all other laws that Idaho requires. Unfortunately, I cannot provide an accurate list as each state and city/county has their own requirements.
In regards to pricing and such, you can get an idea of ways to charge and how many trucks you can have etc. from my comment to another who was asking something similar here:
https://thefoodtruckguide.com/food-trucks-pay-rent/#comment-6
Thank you again for your question and if you have any further questions or comment, please do not hesitate to ask.
Good afternoon if someone could please get in contact with me. Had some questions. Extremely interested. I went to Culinary arts sc
Hi Laura,
This is a website to help everyone learn. Please feel free to ask your questions here so everyone can reply and learn. If the questions are of personal level, please feel free to use our contact page.
I have an event coming up that I’m looking at having a food truck at. Instead of charging them, I want to give them a cut of the event proceeds for the event as a bonus. We are all suffering these days. Is this legit or do I legally have to charge them?
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the question.
Not sure where your event is going to be held and there may be certain laws there which you will need to check into, but for the most part, the cost is entirely up to you.
I applaud you for helping the little guys and really believe this could be a huge event that everyone enjoys!
If you need further help in getting the word out for this event, contact us so we can look into helping and best to you and your event!!
Hi, I own a building in San Antonio that is not open for business at this time. I like to lease the parking lot to food trucks. How do I go about connecting with the food trucks in the area and how do I determine the rate I can charge them for my expenses for utilities and restrooms which I will be paying $350/mo for
Hi Manjit. Thank you for reaching out!
Please refer to my last response on ways you can charge trucks.
As for Finding and reaching out to trucks, you can find trucks a few ways;
– Google something like “food trucks in San Antonio”
– Use a directory like https://blueoxdining.com
If you still need help finding available trucks, please contact us on our contact page asking for additional assistance. We will be more than happy to help find more trucks in your area.
I’m have a family event this fall. All day, 9:00 am – 11:00 pm; we are estimating 10,000 people over the length of the day. We want to open the event up for food trucks; how many would you recommend and what would be a fair rate to charge them for the space. We will be providing electric hook ups for the trucks.
thanks
Hi Jim,
Sounds like a lot of fun for everyone!
Unfortunately, I cannot accurately answer your questions as there is a lot of missing information, but I will try to give you the best ideas I can.
HOW MANY TRUCKS:
This will depend on the available space you have to offer trucks. The average food truck is around 16 feet long so you can make a good judgement from there.
FAIR RATE TO CHARGE:
There is no one way to charge trucks. You can charge in a few different ways:
– FIXED RATE: You charge one fee to the trucks and all is set and done
– PERCENTAGE: The truck will pay a fixed percentage of all sales for the duration of the event. Average amount is around 10%
– GUARANTEE: This is a guarantee that the truck will get a set number of sales. This is best suited for large events
– PERCENTAGE OF SALES & FIXED RATES: You charge a fixed fee to attend along with a percentage of sales.
As you can see, there are a variety of ways you can charge. Estimating a total of what it will cost you per truck for electric etc. will help you decide the best way to charge to cover your expenses AND make it a great experience for the truckers and public as well!
Please check back in and let us all know how the event went and what pricing structure you decided on to help others reading this!
Troy