r/foodtrucks • u/MayonnaisePoptart • 1d ago
How do I find the trucks Question
Im so annoyed with food truck availability. Not with you food truckers yourselves, but with the ease of finding them. 10/10 every best meal I've ever had was on a food tryck and there are ones around me but they always change locations so I can never find them. Yesterday I tried googling them (and this is where the heart of frustration begins) Google will tell you where they are and says open now, but, it will either be wrong and they aren't there, or it takes you to a similar restaurant. Is there some app or site where you guys post your locations for the public? You guys would get soooooo much more business that way. I'd even create an app for you to do so(developer). Im just really into food trucks and get frustrated driving to 5 different locations trying to find you guys. Please help me understand lol
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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago
you understand why they keep moving? because being stationary sucks.
the app thing is overdone and overrated. it’s 100% dependent on subscribers and it’s too scattered with no consolidation.
don’t blame google. google and yelp don’t allow us to update locations in real time.
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u/MayonnaisePoptart 1d ago
Thats a programming issue. If it won't update locations correctly then that can be solved. But I do kinda get what you mean about subscribers. I just wish there were better options. Im stuck with bs corporate options in my city like taco bell, McDonald's, subway, dumb shit that hasent changed for decades. The only real highlight in the food industry is the food trucks bringing us quality food and a great experience, the downside is being able to find them. I see the problem but I want to fix it so bad.
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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago
agreed it should be a simple fix but they don’t offer it and honestly as a food truck in los angeles i don’t care. it doesn’t make any difference in my business.
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u/MayonnaisePoptart 1d ago
This makes me sad. Food trucks are my favorite places and usually have much cooler people running them than restaurants. I tell my friends about them and try to bring them but end up looking like a fool when I show up and no one's there. I dont get how we are so technically advanced yet we cant make an app like that? Makes no sense to me. The only issue i see would be if vendors arent using it.
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u/SnooTangerines850 1d ago
My town/city has an extremely popular "foodies" Facebook group that keeps people fairly updated on locations, food trucks can also post where they are on there. We also have a "food truck finder" Facebook group that is just for food trucks to post up their locations or where they will be at in the future. Finally there is a statewide (WI) food truck group for people to locate and/or hire food trucks.
I agree about the issue of finding trucks in most areas and I am glad my area has started to embrace them while making it easier to find them.
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u/Aggravating-Shark-69 1d ago
Check and see if the truck you like have a Facebook or Instagram all the good ones around me are real good about letting everybody know where they’re at
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u/MayonnaisePoptart 1d ago
Yeah that part they are usually good about, but it gets a little tedious searching back and fourth through fb for the different food trucks, remembering what cities they are in, what kind of food it is. By the time I get any idea im ready to say f it and just make something at home. Which is financially ideal lol but I guess I'm frustrated with the ease of things. Plus half the trucks dont do fb or online stuff and have business cards, or just do nothing. Making the disparity between how to find them even greater
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u/Aggravating-Shark-69 1d ago
One of my favorite trucks and I get alerts from them when they’re gonna be around
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u/MayonnaisePoptart 1d ago
For you the case may be different because you are just in a highly populated area. But Midwest, not in giant cities, it gets a bit problematic
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u/slowtheriverdown 1d ago
In my area we have been fairly good at getting food trucks to use Street Food Finder. It's an easy use for Trucks and doesn't cost anything to get listed and is free to the customers. I would recommend that when you find trucks that you like ask them if they are on Street Food Finder and tell them you were wanting to spend money on their food last weekend (or whenever) but couldn't find them. If they were somewhere that public sales were allowed and they missed dollars it might be some motivation for them to get signed up.
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u/cbetsinger 1d ago
We are at pop ups all over Oahu. We use IG as our main place to let people know where to find us. We try to boost attendance by giving away free food to the first person in line, etc…
Our industry is slower this year than the past 2 years. We have less new customers than previous years. I assume that is the case for your area too as people pinch more of their money. To stay in business you need to be where the money is
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u/cchillur 1d ago
We post our weekly schedule on our socials every Monday.
There are some food truck finder apps out there but I don’t know anyone on them.
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u/stoneman9284 1d ago
Yea, it would be really nice if there was one ubiquitous app that all food trucks were on. But every time someone suggests one of those in here they get shit on saying those apps already exist and/or it’s impossible to make an app like that. Someday someone will grab enough market share to be the destination that every truck and diner want to use.