Last month we asked whether New York was in the midst of a food truck shakeout. Either we were prescient, or the good people at Crain’s New York Business read New York Street Food.
Yesterday Crain’s ran an article called “The Rise and Stall of Food Trucks” that summarized all the stuff we’ve been talking about over the past few months:
* How difficult it actually is to make a living from a food truck;
* The glut of new food trucks in New York cannibalizing each other’s business;
* The increase in new food trucks causing more problems with the police, restaurant owners, and neighborhood residents;
* How the law against selling “merchandise” from a metered spot is now being enforced due to the Paty’s Taco case;
* How much food truck revenues have suffered since the police crackdown;
* The way a few vendors have expanded with new food carts instead of new food trucks;
* The importance of private events to food trucks in providing another source of revenues;
* The introduction of new food trucks lots where trucks can legally sell, such as the Long Island City lot and The Lot on 30th St;
* The NYC Food Truck Association hiring a lobbyist and trying to work with different city agencies in an attempt to craft a solution;
We have talked about all of these items in the past few months, but now that Crain’s has written about it, it’s officially official.
Keep reading New York Street Food for all your food truck and food cart news. We were, and will continue to, be there first.
