# Anyone run a barbecue restaurant or trailer/truck?



## jcbigler (Jul 14, 2018)

Does anyone here run a commercial barbecue restaurant or trailer/truck?

I'm really seriously considering opening a barbecue trailer or food truck and would like to ask some questions, particularly about logistics.


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## cal1956 (Jul 14, 2018)

pm me


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## jcbigler (Jul 15, 2018)

I've gotten a few replies via PM. 

So I guess I will mention a few of the things I am looking for here for others to see if they have any input. 

Looking for perspectives on the truck with a towable smoker vs a trailer with a smoker mounted on it. (If I get a trailer, I will need to get a new truck as my Tacoma isn't rated for that much weight. A truck (like a Diesel bread truck) could tow the smoker trailer itself.) 

How you go about dealing with storage with less space and not being able to buy in bulk as much. 

If your area requires you to connect with a brick and mortar location every day for commissary services or if you have an exception and what it took to get that.


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## 1215 (Jul 18, 2018)

Two of the guys on our comp team are chefs. (they went to school to cook) We just did our second catering event last weekend. He just created an LLC and made it legit. I've started (and failed) a lot of businesses. Happy to share experiences.


Like I said, out of the 4 of us idiots, two of them are legit chefs (have jobs in food & beverage industry). Then the other guy does global shipping logistics for a really big company (computers & server related... he's pretty high up) and I have a finance & IT background (worked on Wall Street). Not that it matters but I'm the token white guy, logistics guy is Guatemalan (but he speaks Mexican), one of the chefs is legit Mexican (and has a hot wife) and the other chef is a legit 400# (giant) Scotsman. If you can't guess, we are all really good/close friends, our wives/kids are all close, etc. and we have a lot of fun. We started it organically. I said we should enter a few competitions, if we place we'll have a resume and it'll only be a matter of time. He just opened up an LLC, bought a trailer, last winter/spring I made a giant catering cooker (I can weld/fabricate), etc. Oh and the Scotsman works for the Mexican. Like he's legit his boss at his job that pays the bills.


Having an accounting and finance background... and programming/coding... and metal fabrication... and I have a woodshop in my garage... I wear many hats and donate a LOT of time/money/effort/resources to the cause. Not only is he a good friend but the food is darn good. I'm the guy keeping the spreadsheet and cooking the books. You know what a sandwich board is? (those A-Frame chalkboard things) Go on Etsy and find one for $100. I just made two that look 50x better than what you can buy for $100. One of the guys (the Mexican) just bought an enclosed trailer (today). This afternoon I was on the phone with him yelling at him about how dumb of an idea it is to make wooden 'barnwood looking' chafing dish holders (with sterno's inside)... I'll figure it out. Need to make 6 for next catering event. Website --I wrote the code (changed a template), I host, I do the updates, email, etc. Setting him up with quickbooks too. (the Mexican's wife is an accountant)


And stupid stuff like spending money on lights so you can see the cookers or a F'ing spare tire for the trailer so you aren't late for your first catering event... What do you want to know?? 


edit: I probably should have read your last post before replying :) 


your quote: Looking for perspectives on the truck with a towable smoker vs a trailer with a smoker mounted on it. (If I get a trailer, I will need to get a new truck as my Tacoma isn't rated for that much weight. A truck (like a Diesel bread truck) could tow the smoker trailer itself.) 


You gotta do what you gotta do. We are early into this and our experience is competition only. It was a SHOCK to us when we had beautiful smoke rings and perfectly cooked food... Then some (fill in the blank) lady starts moaning that the meat has a pink ring and it's not cooked/raw. By the end of each of our events we were cheating --pre-cooking in the oven then finishing it on the cookers so it looked good for the guests/clients (people buying/eating the food). Was a joke compared to competition. Whatever you do (truck/trailer) I'd 110% have yourself an "oh shit" backup plan... You can't tell a bride the food will be 3 hours late. Ovens come in handy. Maybe truck and trailer?? 


Your quote: How you go about dealing with storage with less space and not being able to buy in bulk as much. 


Both our chefs (fat guy and the one who made it over the wall) work for a big food service company. They do food & beverage at a large place but they work for the F&B company, not the institution. As an employee they can buy at company rates. But... The Mexican is a Mason. (I sincerely don't mean that to be disrespectful, I love him (and the Guatemalan's wife... she's Mexican too) to death but trying to keep it somewhat anonymous). So they work in food service so they have stuff --or they can borrow (and return) stuff. Makes a really big difference to the bottom line starting out. Getting back to the Mason thing. He's a Mason, fat chef is an Elk (so am I and so is Guatemalan) and one of them is a member of a VFW. When you've been around these organizations enough you get to know people and if you hold a position at these places they sometimes let you order a few extra cases of paper plates or napkins... Or you can walk into the meat packing store with a wad of cash and buy it at their volume prices. So that's how we do it. 


Your quote: If your area requires you to connect with a brick and mortar location every day for commissary services or if you have an exception and what it took to get that. 


That's food lingo that I don't understand. When we run out of stuff, if we are close enough, usually the Mexican (because he's the boss) will drive to work and borrow stuff then replace it. That's our commissary. Or Shaws/Stop & Shop. Each time we've done events ticket sales were way down and the weather was supposed to be crappy. Weather turned out to be beautiful and they had huge ticket sales the day of the event. We got clobbered. Badly. 


One of the things I'm worried about is storage. Yes they work in F&B but cases of napkins, gloves, etc. take up space. I'd say get absolutely as much space as you can. And don't put a smoker on/in a food truck. Unless you really know about trucking and balancing loads, if you hand that off the back, behind the rear wheels, it'll drive like shit and probably be dangerous. Towing a trailer is much safer/easier and will give you more room in-truck. Also.... You can buy a really nice Miller welding setup used for cheap. Can weld steel, stainless and aluminum that way.


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## jcbigler (Jul 19, 2018)

Umm...wow. Thanks for the reply. There's certainly a lot there to digest. 

It turns out there is a small restaurant for sale in my town in a great location. It would make a nice little barbecue shack. 

But, I'm flying to Miami, FL on Thursday for a job interview Friday. So we'll see how that goes. Barbecue may still just be a hobby for me depending on how this job interview job.


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## 1215 (Jul 19, 2018)

Well. Owning a brick and mortar establishment is hugely different than owning a mobile catering business. Hugely different.


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