If you are going to have a go at the prepared food business, you have a few choices when it comes to getting started.  Many people lease a restaurant space and simply dive headfirst into their venture.  While this may work for some dedicated and talented people, many others see their dreams fall by the wayside when they can’t keep up with their costs.  For this reason, many people try launching their business with a mobile kitchen.  There are plenty of reasons for this.
First, it costs just a small fraction of what you would have to pay for restaurant space.  This means that you have a longer time frame to build your loyal customer base.  Second, operating a mobile kitchen lets you move your business where the customers are.  This means that you can set up shop at festivals, events, or even large construction sites.  The third reason buying a mobile kitchen for sale is a great way to get started is that you have very low overhead costs.  It is easily possible to do all the work by yourself with a mobile kitchen, which eliminates the need for hiring employees like wait-staff, dishwashers, and cooks, which are pretty much a necessity for conventional restaurants.

Types of Mobile Kitchens for Sale

There are many different types of mobile kitchens for sale, because they can be used for so many things.  Of course, you have the option to either purchase a new truck or get one second hand.  Unless you have a large amount of start-up capital, it is usually a wise idea to look for used mobile kitchens for sale.  They cost only a small fraction of the new price and there are many of them out there due to the high turnover rate of this type of business.  You should be able to find one that has the accessories you need.  If it looks a little rough on the outside, you can usually paint it and decorate it nicely for a lot less than the price of a new truck.

Here are some of the more popular items mobile kitchen trucks are selling food to people:

• Ice cream and shaved ice
• Coffee, espresso, and other drinks
• Shakes and fruit smoothies
• Hot dogs
• Tacos and Burritos
• Burgers
• Falafels

Of course, there are plenty of successful entrepreneurs who sell their own unique items.  Nearly every large university has food trucks that provide students with inexpensive and diverse lunch options.  While the school cafeterias are unlikely to offer interesting dishes like Chinese of Middle Eastern cuisine, food trucks can easily fill this void.

Popularity of Mobile Kitchens

Although there have been mobile kitchens roaming the streets for decades, in recent years some of them have achieved almost inconceivable popularity.  There are now hundreds of gourmet mobile food kitchens roaming the streets of Los Angeles and other cities.  One enterprising landowner even set up a mobile food truck station on his vacant lot, with numerous trucks offering their culinary delights.  You can read more about this story in this article.

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There are a few different types of mobile kitchens, and each one is built to serve a specific purpose.  The main kinds of mobile kitchen are small food trucks that sell meals, tent kitchens that can be set up for events, and finally large modular kitchens that are enclosed in trailers.  Let’s take a look at these three types and what each one is used for.

Mobile Kitchen Trucks

The most common type of mobile kitchen is the truck that is used as food vending business.  You can find them on city streets, in company and construction parking lots, and in fairs and festivals.  These trucks are great for running your own small vending business because you can drive them around to where they are most needed.  Many people make good livings with these trucks, and in some cities people truly love them, standing in long lines for a simple lunch at one of these mobile truck kitchens.  Read this LA Times article for information on this mobile food phenomenon.  If this business sounds like something you want to get into, you don’t have to dish out the huge sum of money that a new truck will cost.  Look for mobile kitchens for sale on Craigslist or the newspaper for a used mobile kitchen, which will be a fraction of the new price.  When buying a used mobile kitchen truck, some sellers will want you to pay extra because you are really taking over their business.  While this might add to the price, one advantage of doing it this way is that the previous owner will have already gotten the health and safety permits necessary to operate, saving you a bit of time, hassle, and red tape.

Mobile Kitchen Tents

Mobile kitchen tents are the type that you see on the grounds of county fairs and company picnics.  Although you can buy them, most of these are rented from large rental companies.  These tents are usually only used for short events because they can’t really be locked up like a truck or trailer can.  Additionally, they are exposed to the weather.  You can find a mobile kitchen rental in every larger city, and these tend to be cheaper than large kitchen trailers because you can pick up the equipment in a smaller truck or van and transport it yourself if you want to.

Mobile Kitchen Trailers

A mobile kitchen trailer is normally used for temporary meal preparation in places where normal kitchens are unavailable.  Common uses are disaster stations, volunteer stations, festivals and fairs, and for use as a kitchen during renovations.  Most people rent these kitchen trailers because the cost of setting up a new one is usually very expensive.  Different types are available, with each trailer set up to do a specific task.  You can choose from all inclusive kitchen trailers, freezer trailers, prep stations, and others.  Some customers rent a few of these, place them side by side, and use them to feed hundreds, or thousands of people.  Another important thing to know about kitchen trailers is that there are deep discounts available for long term rentals.  This is because the delivery and pickup costs are so high.  In many instances, it is actually cheaper to rent them for a month than for a few days!

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There are certain situations when you need a mobile kitchen.  They come in a wide variety of sizes, from small, compact units to huge setups that can feed thousands of people.  Here are some of the situations that require the use of a mobile kitchen:

• Company and special events
• Food trucks and vendors
• Disaster relief:  Workers and volunteers need to be fed
• Renovations:  For when you can’t shut down your kitchen while you renovate
• Fairs and festivals
• Military camps
• Trade shows
• Temporary health care units and hospitals

Mobile Kitchens for Sale

While many people rent a mobile kitchen, there are many situations when you should buy one.  The most common reason why people buy one is because they want to use it for business.  A mobile kitchen rental is fine, but if you are going to use it more than a few times, it easily makes sense to buy one.  People all over the world have successful businesses that are run out of mobile kitchens.  If you don’t have a lot of starting capital, it is fairly easy to find a used mobile kitchen for sale.  People sell them every day, all over the world, which means that you don’t have to pay top dollar for used mobile kitchens, and can start your business with less money.

Mobile Kitchen Rentals

If you just need a mobile kitchen for one situation, you should definitely rent one.  Mobile kitchen rentals are available worldwide, and they vary from small-scale operations that rent vending trucks to large scale businesses that can customize and deliver an on-site mobile kitchen that is literally big enough to feed an army.

Mobile Kitchen Rental Costs

It is a given that the rental costs are going to vary depending on your needs, the location, and the company you choose.  Here are a few guidelines to think about:  It costs a lot to deliver and return a mobile kitchen to its location, so the prices for one day or a few days are going to be expensive.  All rental companies should give steep discounts for weekly or monthly rentals.  It is often the same price to rent a unit for a month as it is for only a few days.  Small kitchen trucks can be rented for as little as $150 per day, depending on the condition, size and intended use of the truck.  Large kitchen trailers cost $2,000 or more per day, but monthly rentals start at around $6,000 and go up from there, depending on the size and features.

Types of Mobile Kitchens

There are two basic types of mobile kitchens.  The first kind is the mobile kitchen truck.  This type of unit is an all-in-one cooking machine.  You can just drive it to wherever it is needed, and then park it and get to work.  Mobile kitchen trucks are good for smaller operations and food vendors.  The sides of the trucks generally open and awnings can be erected as well.  They are run by generators that power the stoves, grills, refrigerators, and other appliances.  These trucks can be custom made by a number of manufacturers, and are the easiest to find used.

The second type is the mobile kitchen trailer.  When you need to feed a lot of people at the same time, a truck usually just isn’t going to cut it.  Mobile kitchen trailers are the solution to large scale cooking in locations that don’t have permanent facilities.  There are different types of kitchen trailers, each specializing in a different area.  Here are some of the most common mobile kitchen trailers that are available.

• All-in-one mobile trailers:  Have everything you need in one unit to cook basic meals
• Bakery production trailers
• Food preparation trailers
• Dishwashing units
• Refrigeration and freezer trailers:  You can get them separately or together.

These mobile kitchen trailers are also called modular kitchens because you can mix and match them to fulfill your needs.  You can get any number of different mobile kitchen units and put them together to meet your demands.

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