{"id":9623,"date":"2023-01-09T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T15:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getcraver.com\/where-should-i-park-my-food-truck\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:26:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:26:47","slug":"where-should-i-park-my-food-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getcraver.com\/blog\/where-should-i-park-my-food-truck\/","title":{"rendered":"Location, Location, Location: Where Should I Park My Food Truck?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s a lot that goes into deciding where, and when, you should park your food truck. As much as we just want to drive it down the street and throw it in a park, there are some serious business decisions that go into finding the ideal parking spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the original NaanStop<\/span><\/a> food truck for example. Neal and Samir Idnani first tested out their quick-service restaurant concept, NaanStop, by running a food truck in LA. As Samir explained<\/span><\/a>, there were a lot of options available to them: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSo with the food truck, there were definitely a bunch of different ways to find your locations. There were locations where a lot of food trucks would go, like a food truck park almost what it is today. There are festivals, there are doing your own scouting, driving by and seeing a different location and then doing the research behind it, seeing how many people are walking in to, if it’s\u2014we found that there’s an affinity between Trader Joe’s customers and NaanStop or Whole Foods customers and NaanStop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Samir Idnani, Co-Owner of NaanStop<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So while NaanStop found its parking spots near health food stores, your perfect parking spot might be different. But don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve laid out all the options here for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Goes Into Choosing A Parking Spot?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LA\u2019s a big place, and where Neal and Samir parked their truck could make or break them. Why? Because foot traffic is important for any successful food truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to make sure every day was a successful one, they did their research. Samir explained that they did traffic counts of locations before moving the truck to a new spot\u2014\u201chow many people are coming by, how many people are walking versus driving. As a whole, you can get as surface level or as deep as you want on doing those analytics to find those locations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For them, foot traffic was the most important consideration. But, it\u2019s not the only one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few more:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Do you need special permits for that city or jurisdiction?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Whose land are you parking on? Do you need their permission?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How popular is that location for other food trucks? Do you need to go early to secure your spot?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. If it’s an event, who do you contact to register and get the right spot?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. How many customers do you expect to get at this location?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ll dive a bit deeper into these questions in the next few sections\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Neighborhoods & Side Streets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Some neighborhoods are super walkable and just perfect for a food truck to pull up and park in. The big part of picking out streets and neighborhoods to park in is just knowing your city. Where do people go for a walk outside? Where do people work, and need to grab lunch nearby?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In bigger cities, like New York, Miami, and Chicago, choosing which neighborhood to park in can mean a difference of thousands of dollars. CARTO did an analysis of food truck sales<\/span><\/a> in New York City and found that trucks in the West Village made $5,234 in average revenue per week, while trucks in Queens made an average revenue of $6,128 per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But, that doesn\u2019t mean you can just leave your parking spot in the West Village and drive over to Queens. Cynthia Lubin, the owner of Earth N Zest<\/span><\/a>, a smoothie truck in NYC, explained that you can\u2019t get a regular food truck license in New York anymore: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    \u201cSo with New York, I don’t know about like other states, but with New York, they’re not giving out regular food truck licenses anymore. What they’re doing is they’re giving out, what’s called a residential food truck license<\/a>. So you actually have to, now, you actually have to ask permission to other locations in order to actually park your food truck there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – Cynthia Lubin, Owner of Earth N Zest<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Other cities have parking regulations you need to abide by too. In Chicago, food trucks can\u2019t park within 200 ft of a restaurant<\/span><\/a>. So if you\u2019re trying to park in West Loop, that might be physically impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Similarly, in Washington DC, food trucks can\u2019t park before 9:30 am<\/span><\/a>. So, if there\u2019s a popular neighborhood or street you might have fierce competition in order to claim a parking spot. And even once you get a good parking spot, you can\u2019t stay there more than two hours without facing a hefty parking fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All this to say, finding the right street to park on may come down to counting foot traffic, like Neal and Samir did, and looking at your local bylaws and regulations. But, once you\u2019ve found a good one, it\u2019ll pay off like gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Partnering With Private Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    When it comes to parking on a business\u2019s property, or in adjacent parking spaces, you first need to build a relationship with that business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In most jurisdictions, you\u2019ll need the permission of the business to set up in their parking lot. In New York, you\u2019ll also need permission<\/span><\/a> if you\u2019re parking in public parking spots adjacent to a business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hops Kitchen<\/span><\/a> is a food truck company that partners with breweries to provide food to their customers. Since most breweries don\u2019t have their own kitchens, the partnership makes sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Michael works with the brewery owners to develop menus that fit their brewery, \u201cIt’s a hybrid. We kind of create a counter inside the facility and take orders and we even do small items like pretzels and nachos out of there. Then our food truck is connected to the building and we pass food through the wall more or less. I like to call it a hybrid of a food truck and restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because Hops Kitchen negotiates long-term contracts with the breweries, they can arrange marketing, special menu items, and hours for the food truck. That stability allows both companies to build a solid partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cynthia parks her food truck in front of a local gym, \u201cWhen my local gym actually re-opened, I actually asked the owner if I could post there from Monday through Friday, and he agreed and this is exactly how\u2014I’m posted there throughout the week.\u201d The set hours have allowed her to build up a loyal customer base that comes to her after every workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Types of businesses to partner with:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n