• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Small town food truck ideas

By Becky McCray

A colorful food trailer at a farmer's market

Katharine & Company’s trailer serves up breakfast burritos at the farmer’s market in Beaumont, Texas. Photo (CC) by Sheila Scarborough.

Today, food isn’t limited to restaurants. Food trucks, pop up cafes, and other mobile food options are taking hold. But what works for big cities doesn’t necessarily work for small towns. What are the rural options for mobile food?

In northwest Oklahoma, we commonly see barbecue trailers and trucks. At events like festivals and fairs, food trailers are the usual. And there’s a long history of roadside farm stands and truck sales. With our recent oil boom, we’re seeing food trucks used to feed workers on job sites way outside the city limits.

The urban food truck trend is more about better-quality food, more specialties and creative cuisine in this stripped-down format. Most focus on a single specialty. There are trucks for grilled cheese, noodles, fusion cuisine, even cupcakes. You’ll see them brightly painted and decorated to draw you in. Most use social networks to share their daily locations. Atlanta has a section of their farmers market dedicated to food trucks. Now, food scooters may be the next new trend.  Thanks to Master Card Business @MasterCardBiz for sharing that link.

Small Town Examples

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, has Norma’s Pupuseria y Taqueria. She serves El Salvadorian and Mexican street food from a food truck, my friends at Wynnewood State Bank tell me. Then there’s the ‘wiches Cauldron just outside of Ottawa in Sittsville, Canada. Rural Hill Cultural Center in North Carolina is hosting a Food Truck Rally on July 26.

So the trend is definitely making in-roads.

Is your small town short on usable buildings that will meet code for a restaurant? Fitting out a food truck may be a less expensive option, and will let you reach out to other nearby towns for a bigger market.

But there are more ways to innovate. Here are a couple of ideas.

Jennifer Campbell aka @plowwife ‏tweeted from her tractor:
“Why can’t farms have beer carts that go from field to field-tractor to tractor like golf courses do for golfers? #icoulduseacoldone”

Amy Urbach @amyurbach tweeted while on a road trip:
“Do you think we could find a pizza delivery that would deliver on the highway???”

(No, I don’t advocate drinking and plowing.)

What could you do with more mobile food in a small town?

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020

July 15, 2013 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, ideas, rural

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Trackbacks

  1. National News: Small Town Food Truck Ideas | Mobile Food News says:
    July 18, 2013 at 11:40 am

    […] By Becky McCray   |   Small Biz Survival […]

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2021 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in