Did you know that we have Food Truck Rallies in 4 different locations? Every month we host a Rally in Riverview, Lakeland and Plant City. We also offer a Rally in Fishhawk once every quarter!

2020 is even more exciting because all of our Food Truck Rallies are themed! Here’s the list of our themes for the first half of the year:

• January – Break Your Resolution
• February – Celebrate your true love… CHOCOLATE!
• March – Suicide & Mental Health Awareness/Prevention - Portion of our sales will be donated back to a local nonprofit
• April – Wing Fest
• May – Cheese Fest
• June – Summer Cookout (BBQ/Summer Grilling)

As always, be sure that you’re following us on social media where we will be hosting fun giveaways and sharing all the latest news. Cheers!

What!?! Why? Where's the food truck I was looking for?

It's not easy running a food truck, and many things can (and sometimes do!) go awry. There are a number of issues that can cause a food truck to cease operation, prevent them from remaining operating safely or even from arriving to their destination in the first place. In the event of one of these unfortunate occurences, what's a food truck to do?
 

The first step is to make the best possible attempt at communicating the issues being experienced, especially if you may not make it to your committed event or shift. If a booking agency is responsible for the job (like Tampa Bay Food Trucks!), the truck should call us immediately so that we can make the client aware, as well as update any and all promotional information we have live for that scheduled shift. The sooner we are made aware of a problem, the better! In some cases we will be able to supply the venue with a replacement truck. Second, any efforts the truck has made on Facebook, Twitter etc. should be updated and apologies made to their fans. Citing a reason often helps put disappointed customers at ease. An example of what NOT to say would be "Sorry, I'm at the beach" whereas a more reasonable explanation would be: " We are not available at XYZ location as our generator will not start, leaving us unable to serve you! We are taking the truck in for service now, we are so sorry we had to leave our shift early. Looking forward to getting back up and running, and seeing you all again soon."  
 

As a fan, there is nothing worse than driving 25 minutes to get to a food truck before the end of their shift and then when you roll up...no truck. As food truck enthusiasts, I think we can all imagine the disappointment! One of our employees recently had this frustrating experience while traveling. After taking 30 minutes, a 10 month old baby (and all that jazzy stuff that rides along with him) they left their vacation rental with the intent of eating at a specific food truck. Despite arriving before their shift was over, when they arrived the truck was nowhere to be found. They called to see if perhaps they had the location wrong? Not only did the truck not answer, but a voicemail received no return phone call. 

Food Truck Concept Developement

Making of The Mac Shack Continued

Earlier this week we posted about developing a food truck concenpt, breathling life into an old business and watching the concept take off.  At this point, the truck made it’s way into the shop for repairs! It took D&S Truck and Trailer several days of chasing down unnecessary electrical wiring and switches within the truck to eliminate the battery issue. They finished the job with a box full of wires to show us, that had accumulated over years of different people working on the truck. Once the truck was restored to proper working condition, we washed it off and began sanding all of the paint that was currently on the truck to prepare it for rebranding. 

The exterior was the biggest and most time consuming aspect of  the project. We soon discovered the finish on the outside of the truck was uneven, so we elected to paint the truck and apply the logos in decal form. 
After several days of sanding, a coat of primer was applied, followed by the supreme cheese yellow base coat. With just this basic paint it already looked like a brand new truck! 

After the painting was completed, we added wood paneling to the exterior to give the truck a “shack-like” appearance. Next, we went over the wood panels with a stain to give it a nice, weather-beaten look, and sealed it with a clear gloss topcoat. 

The interior of the truck was in need of some minor work; namely the cabinet hardware was stripped off in order to make room for the wood paneling that would cover it. A new shelf  for the serving window was built, and the hood cover was cleaned and painted to give it refreshed look.

At this point, it was finally time to drive the truck over to one of our sponsors in Land O’ Lakes: Local Wraps. They had created some beautiful vinyl logo decals for us based on our favorite design, to add to the exterior of the truck. Local Wraps prepped the truck’s surface with alcohol, and applied the vinyl decal.

Always the team to get the impossible accomplished, we finished up at Local Wraps with only 3 hours before it’s debut service! We returned the truck to it’s owner and Mac Shack was a giant hit at the Lakeland Food Truck Rally at Munn Park in Lakeland, a large rally we host on the second Thursday each month.

We were thrilled to note that the rebranded Mac Shack truck far surpassed the sales accomplishments of the truck in it’s former life (with it’s original menu and branding) when compared to all of their previous appearances at that same event. We at Tampa Bay Food Truck Rally are here to help you achieve the most possible success with your mobile food truck business. Whether you’re brand new to the market, just have questions, or find yourself floundering, be sure to reach out to us today regarding our business consulting services.

** Update** 3/10/16

During this build we were not able to complete the exterior aesthetics of the Mac Shack for it’s debut rally showing. We have since updated the paintwork to the front of the food truck to give it a real shack like look. The completed truck will be appearing at the Lakeland Food Truck Rally today, make sure you stop by and check the Mac Shack out!

Hello Food Truckers! We appreciate how tough it can be to successfully manage your business' social media presence on top of everything else, but we also know utilizing social is a key component of your truck's marketing strategy and subsequently, your business' success. To assist you, we have put together a 5 part series filled with tips, tricks and advice to ensure you are making the most of your social media accounts.

Look to create a new entry once a day or so and make sure to post your weekly locations! Up first are some highlights and things to keep in mind when getting set up on social:

Part I - Set Up

• Ensure the page you have set up for your truck on Facebook is in fact a business page and not a personal profile. (Facebook will often delete businesses masquerading as people because they have the ability to solicit fellow users in a way business pages do not.

• Keep your social media accounts professional and focused on promoting your business. Refrain from rants, politics, or anything other than promoting the positive aspects of your business and attracting more customers.

• Fill out the profile and about sections on your social media accounts. Your website, contact information and menu should all be up to date and easily accessible to customers.(Also please regularly update your menu with TBFTR on our site! If you need you link, please e-mail lauren@tbftr.com!! It is very important that these are kept current.)

• Publicize whether you accept cash only, or credit and debit cards! This helps customers prepare to attend an event and eat at your food truck.

• Share your story, and don't be afraid to display some personality within your content. Food trucks are mostly small businesses, and fans appreciate a way to connect with you – if you have some fun facts or a story to share, let everyone know who you are, what you do and why!

Check back next week for our tips and tricks on posting! Have any questions? Comments? A specific topic you would like to see addressed? E-mail lauren@tbftr.com.

Located at the intersection of need and solution, the modern day Food Truck is no longer the eyesores of the office parking lot. When the recession hit in the mid 2000s Food Trucks became the solution to economic decline of the working class. What started with the basic burgers, tacos & sandwiches has evolved into the one-stop-shop for gourmet cuisine on a reasonable budget. Whether you’re craving Savory Abracadabra Crepes from Krepelicious or The Scallywag Seared Scallop Wrap from Rollin’ Zoinks Tampa’s Food Trucks have adapted to the need for variety from their daily customers.

Beyond the wide food selection, modern day food trucks have evolved in their marketing campaigns to attract new business. From incorporating mobile payment systems such as Square and Apple Pay into their social media marketing efforts, Food Truck owners have found a way to mix convenience with accessibility in ways that typical fast food restaurants have yet to provide. Other ways that the food trucks of today have adapted to the needs of their followers are by involving them in every step of the process. By rewarding their visits through Foursquare, Crowdsourcing recipes through Facebook and even special deals targeted to Twitter followers using a special hash-tag, Food Truck owners are using free social media tools to build the network beyond their daily routes.

Who said Food Trucks have to only serve Breakfast and Lunch options? Tampa Bay Food Trucks have welcomed a Mobile DJ Truck perfect for bringing the party wherever you’d like: backyards, public parks and even outdoor wedding receptions. Need a dance floor? No problem. Want to add a barista? They have great connections to book for you .  What about tables and chairs? Also not an issue they have everything you’d need for an awesome event.  If your sweet tooth has been bothering you, have no fear Lizzy Cakes Food Truck is not too far away. With their menu covering every craving from cakes, pies, one of a kind cookies and to die for maple bacon brownies to their white chocolate key lime pie there’s no need to suppress your desires for sweets any longer.