
Since moving to New York and reviving NYCTACO, the major question I’ve found myself asking is “Where the f–k are all the cheap tacos?!” In a city with so much economic and cultural diversity, AND one of the best known places in the world to find amazing food from all over the globe, one would think they wouldn’t be incredibly hard to come by. But, alas, they are. Admittedly spoiled by all of the amazingly delicious, cheap tacos and food trucks I was taking for granted in Los Angeles, I am realizing the business of it all is an incredibly difficult one to sustain.
In LA the latest food trucks are certainly becoming more of a trendy, pop business venture rather than a means to support a life and consistent, reliable income like many of the originals. But in NYC they remain the latter, and with all the economic hardships nearly impossible for any individual to overcome, I am beginning to recognize that keeping one afloat is no easy task.
NYC is an easy city to find yourself lost in the constant flux of expensive and snobby food culture, so how do food trucks stand out? The prices of the food can’t be too low, because there is no profit to be made, thus cancelling out the business entirely. But they also can’t be too high, at risk of being alienated from the “cheap-eats” category. Also, the trendier they become the more expensive it will make them.
Is the business of sustaining a good, authentic, sanitary, cheap, profitable food truck a dream of the past? This article says it’s not, but we can’t help but wonder… How long before the trend dies? And where does that leave the culture of the food truck? Moreover, where does that leave our grumbling stomachs and shallow wallets?
Thoughts? Leave us a comment.
Artwork courtesy of ClipArt.