How to open a cafe on wheels: business idea, how to open, investments, equipment, what you need to open + real cases

When talking about food trucks, we primarily mean mobile kiosks, carts and auto-buffets. For the most part, it is “mobility” that attracts many beginners to this business. It didn’t work in one place - nonsense, the snack bar on wheels moves to a new retail location without much difficulty. Small investments in business, a relatively “easy start”, low market saturation and a large selection of franchising solutions make street fast food on wheels a very attractive business...

Kitchen on wheels where to start

Before planning the placement of a point and drawing up a menu, you need to go through competing food service outlets and look at the range of their products. As a rule, it is not very wide, but includes various delicious foods and baked goods. You can offer visitors:

Shawarma
Hot dogs;
Pizza
Samsa

Hot dogs and shawarma are always in demand. It will be good if you can offer a wide range of hot and cold drinks. You can also open a snack bar, for example, in the format of a pancake or national cuisine. If you decide to work as a franchise, you will already be offered a ready-made set of dishes.

Menu and food delivery

The main feature of any kebab shop is high-quality grilled meat.
Consider customer preferences and try to diversify the menu as much as possible. For example, some religions prohibit eating pork, so in order not to lose customers, you can offer them kebab made from tender chicken fillet. The establishment's menu should include types of kebabs made from different types of meat. For example, you can offer visitors traditional pork or lamb shish kebab, tender grilled beef, baked chicken drumsticks, and even an exclusive seafood composition of salmon, shrimp or snails. Vegetables must also be served with meat. You can cook them very tasty on the grill and serve them as a side dish for barbecue. Dessert. In any establishment, even a kebab shop, you can offer visitors the opportunity to try something sweet. Traditional desserts in the warm season include ice cream with various toppings and syrups, fruit salad and chocolate-covered fruit slices.

Don't forget about drinks too. It is advisable to sell both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks so that each visitor can choose the one that suits their taste. The menu should include juices, fruit drinks, coffee, tea, as well as alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks, such as draft beer.

I recommend that you don't get too carried away and create an extensive menu. The fact is that meat and vegetables spoil very quickly in the warm season. And the use of frozen foods significantly affects the taste and appearance of food. Therefore, it is better to have main dishes on the menu, but always from fresh products that will be delivered several times a week.

Delivery of products

Opening a kebab shop involves selling home-cooked dishes, for which you need to purchase the appropriate ingredients.
It is quite possible to conclude profitable contracts with vegetable and butcher shops. The only recommendation is, don’t be fooled by the low cost of meat, always ask for certificates confirming its quality. Otherwise, you risk the lives of your visitors, because it is very easy to get poisoned by meat.

Want to save money? Find farmers and buy goods directly without intermediaries. With the same success, you can open a home farm for raising poultry, pigs, sheep, and then the problem with the supply of products will be solved.

Basic concepts of fast food on wheels

What types of eateries are there and which one is best to open? Snack bars can be quite varied in format. There are mixed-type eateries that sell a wide range of fast food: pies, donuts, pancakes, hot dogs, etc. Or a snack bar can be based on one product: pancakes, pie, donut, dumplings, tea, grilled chicken and shawarma. The type of products sold depends greatly on the location of the eatery. For example, in residential areas of the city, it is more advisable to open grilled chicken or dumpling eateries for those who do not have time to cook at home. But on central streets and train stations this type of product will not be in demand, since it is not possible to consume chicken or dumplings on the go. Pies, shawarma, pancakes and hot dogs - this is what is best sold to “pedestrians”. At the same time, in residential areas, pies are not so good, since most people prefer to eat nutritious food at home.

Overtake "Chaikhona"

Mobile food trucks appeared in the early 20th century in Texas for seasonal farm workers and cattle drives. Walter Scott's van is considered the prototype of modern food trucks. In 1872, he parked in front of the offices of a local newspaper in Providence: journalists often worked at night and regularly went out for snacks. One of the most famous trailers in the United States is Kogi Korean BBQ. Since 2008, they have been selling Korean and Mexican food.

In Russia, mobile snack bars became popular only in the early 2010s. In 2013, a Durum-Durum van appeared in Moscow, selling shawarma. It was launched by former bank employees Denis Pugach, Alexander Grabko and Karen Isajanyan. The partners thought about opening a regular cafe, but assumed that it would require a lot of money. We decided to start with a food truck to see if there would be demand for the product.

On eBay, entrepreneurs bought an American Airstream brand van for 10 thousand dollars (330 thousand rubles at the 2013 exchange rate). They spent an additional five thousand dollars (165 thousand rubles at the 2013 exchange rate) on customs clearance and transportation. The truck was delivered to the port, then transported by ship to Germany and from there to St. Petersburg. Afterwards the car was transported to Moscow.

The entrepreneurs spent 225 thousand rubles on the purchase of equipment (shawarma grill, gas cylinder, two refrigerators, washbasin and pump). The launch cost them approximately 720 thousand rubles.

Location is everything to us!

A lot in this business depends on the location of the outlet. The assortment, design of the diner, and polite staff will not play the same role as the right location. It happens that a snack bar in one place earns several times more than a similar point 50 meters away.

If you plan to open a 24-hour retail outlet, then the issue of choosing a location becomes even more important. For such a point it is necessary to have a continuous flow of visitors at any time. The best option in this case is to locate the eatery near the highway. In this case, the main clients at night will be taxi drivers and young people.

Features and format of business

The kebab shop is a “one-dish” themed establishment. This cafe exclusively prepares and serves grilled dishes. Basically, this is meat of different types and methods of preparation, from traditional kebab to rare steak. In addition, the barbecue menu often includes sausages and smoky sausages, as well as seasonal grilled vegetables.

Before opening such an establishment, you need to decide on the format. Traditionally, kebab houses are divided into two types: open-type establishments and closed ones.

Summer barbecue on the highway

This place is usually a small portable tent with an outdoor kitchen and outdoor tables for visitors.
Here everyone can fully enjoy the atmosphere and experience all the delights of outdoor recreation. As a rule, barbecue and other dishes are prepared right on the street, and every visitor can watch the cooking process. Most of these establishments are located along the highway, outside the city. Most often, visitors to roadside kebab shops are passing motorists, truckers, as well as people who decide to relax in nature. As a rule, these cafes provide customers with not only the opportunity to purchase barbecue to take away, but also relax in comfortable gazebos or summer tents.

The only disadvantage of a summer kebab shop is the seasonality of this type of income.

Stationary indoor kebab shop

The second option for opening this themed catering establishment involves renting a premises with a specially equipped kitchen for preparing food, as well as a resting place for visitors to the kebab cafe. This option is more profitable, because it is possible to sell grilled meat dishes all year round. But as a rule, the demand for such food in winter drops significantly, and not every novice entrepreneur can afford opening a stationary establishment. Therefore, for beginners on a limited budget, I recommend opening a summer kebab shop on the street.

Land question

You should start a “snack business” not by purchasing equipment, but by agreeing on the location of the point. Just because your cafe has wheels does not mean that it can park in the same place as regular cars and freely sell fast food. Such an action will certainly attract the attention of regulatory authorities, district administration and police officers. An administrative fine may be imposed for such a violation.

To avoid such persecution and gain a foothold in one place, you should contact the owner of the land with a request to rent a trading place, or obtain the appropriate permission. If the land plot belongs to the municipal authorities, then regarding rental issues you should contact the city (municipal) property management committee. As a rule, it is this department that deals with concluding lease agreements. In addition, the administration’s trade department can present you with a layout diagram for non-stationary retail facilities, that is, those places where it is possible to place such facilities without any “administrative delays.”

Necessary equipment

In principle, you will need most of the equipment from the “arsenal” of a regular stationary cafe, these are:

a couple of refrigerators;
microwave;
oven for cooking;
coffee machine;
water heater;
the required amount of disposable tableware (using others would be impractical), napkins, and hygiene items.

Place a container inside for used disposable tableware. If the furniture is located inside, then it should be attached to the floor so that during movement nothing “moves away” along with the table.

From “non-standard” equipment you will need:

TV;
voltage converter to 220 volts;
audio system with speakers located throughout the vehicle interior.

Which franchise to choose

Opening a franchise business will help reduce the risks of a bad start. In some cases, this may turn out to be a slightly more expensive solution, but a businessman, opening under the wing of a well-known network, receives a lot of advantages. Firstly, you don’t need to worry about the design of the outlet, equipment, technology and range of goods sold - everything is provided by franchising. Secondly, the franchise company will train your staff absolutely free of charge, give recommendations on how to increase the income of the diner, and will support your business in the future. Thirdly, by opening under a well-known brand, you begin to sell a well-known product that does not need to be further promoted - the consumer already knows what he is buying. Therefore, there is an almost complete guarantee that your point will be profitable, all that remains is not to make a mistake with the location. The only disadvantage of working with a franchise network can be described with this phrase: if you use someone else’s brand, be kind enough to work according to its rules!

Experts recommend starting with several eateries at once, even if this requires large investments. There will be no less “running around” with one point, and the profit is several times lower than that of a chain of eateries.

OKVED code

After purchasing a car buffet, you must register your business activity (individual entrepreneur or LLC) with the local tax service. When filling out the application, you must indicate OKVED code 55.30: “activities of restaurants and cafes,” which also includes the activities of eateries.

The most often chosen tax system for a snack bar is a special regime - UTII, which sounds like “imputation” in business language. This is the most profitable type of taxation for a given business and the amount of tax largely depends on the area occupied by the facility (and it is usually small) and the mitigating coefficient k2 established by the regional authorities. The auto buffet itself, since it is a vehicle, must be registered with the traffic police.

What documents are needed for a car kitchen?

After registering a business and installing a snack bar, the facility will need to be approved by regulatory authorities, namely Rospotrebnadzor and Pozhnadzor. To approve the operation of a snack bar, Rospotrebnadzor must provide: an agreement for disinfection, an agreement for cleaning clothes, an agreement for examining ventilation systems, an agreement for garbage and solid waste removal. In general, for general information, you can study SanPiN 2.3.6.1079-01 - “Sanitary requirements for public catering organizations.”

Food truck from the point of view of legislation. Mobile Commerce Law

The law on mobile commerce has not yet been adopted in the Russian Federation. Final readings will take place in April 2020. The bill currently includes:

Reservation of a certain main location for the business
Extension of contracts for the provision of services with any contractors without bidding
Framework rules for food trucks

Mobile trading involves obtaining permission to sell certain types of goods and dishes, as well as to move your eatery around the city and, separately, around the region.

Staff

To ensure the smooth operation of one eatery, the employment of at least two sellers will be required. Work schedule - 2 through 2. It is better to pay wages according to the principle of salary + percentage of daily revenue, but not less than a fixed amount (for example, at least 400 rubles per shift). Thus, staff motivation increases significantly.

The image of the ideal snack bar worker: a woman between 30 and 50 years old with at least 5 years of experience in catering or retail. Finding such a person is not easy, but it is such employees that make the diner truly successful.

Suppliers

A separate issue is finding food suppliers for the diner. As a rule, some time after the opening, suppliers will make themselves known. Depending on the type of fast food, these may be local producers. For eateries in the “grilled chicken” format, the main suppliers are local poultry farms, for the “snack and pie” format – local bakeries. In addition, you can order semi-finished products (for example, puff pastries, pancakes), and bake the finished product directly at the point of sale.

How much can you earn at a snack bar?

You shouldn’t expect a lot of income in the first months of operation, since the point is still just gaining a regular clientele. It is also not recommended to set high prices and engage in dumping. Ideally, prices should be slightly higher than at the next counter with grandma, but lower than at McDonald's.

A well-promoted outlet with good service has revenues of up to $600-800 per day in the spring and summer. In winter, income drops somewhat, since eating “fast food” in cold weather is not always convenient, so many people prefer to eat in stationary establishments.

As for competition, you shouldn’t be afraid of it. Wise businessmen reason like this: “You don’t need to be afraid of competitors, you need to analyze them.” In general, street fast food has one feature. When a snack bar is located near well-known food chains, for example “Kroshka-Kartoshka” or “Stardogs”, revenue does not fall, but, on the contrary, increases. This is where the “food zone” effect comes into play, when the consumer knows that in such and such a place you can quickly have a snack. And therefore all the eateries in such places have a high income.

Step-by-step plan for opening a diner

Before drawing up a business plan, you need to understand the features of a food truck on wheels and how it differs from restaurants and cafes. First, decide on your pricing policy, since you will have to work with low-income people: students, schoolchildren, public sector employees. Secondly, do not skimp on the quality of products - find good suppliers. The next step is choosing the location where your establishment will be located and the vehicle. After this, you need to start purchasing equipment and recruiting personnel. About the work of snack bars on wheels.

Possible risks

Main risks:

low quality of food;
low traffic;
poorly designed menu (does not meet the expectations of the target audience);
unsatisfactory staff performance;
closure of the outlet at the request of regulatory authorities due to a gross violation of SES standards;
lack of a unified concept and corporate identity.

A kitchen on wheels is a promising area for business in the catering industry, which can bring up to 600,000 rubles per month. The main thing is to choose the place wisely, create a menu and take into account seasonality.

Which taxation system to choose for registering a business when opening a snack bar

When registering a business, you can specify the UTII or simplified taxation system. Many entrepreneurs choose the latter option. To do this, you need to submit an application to the tax authorities to switch to “simplified taxation”.

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