CLEVELAND — Food truck season is here, but those meals on wheels is facing a list of challenges, yet they’re finding ways to make it work.
Downtown Cleveland around lunchtime on a sunny day, Stephanie Cardarelli and Bo Weaver hope for good business.
“So our food truck is Thai it up food truck which is mainly Thai food,” said Cardarelli.
They've run their food truck for two years now, and they say inflation is affecting their profit.
“Food costs are very expensive, once inflation hit, our prices stayed the same but, everything else rose so profit definitely struggled,” said Cardarelli.
That means, every month they can lose about an additional 15% of their earnings to higher costs, but that's not the only battle food trucks are facing.
Ken Hatfield, the President of Northeast Ohio Food Truck Association, says truckers are being hit from all angles.
“Let's see well the higher prices of raw product, staffing issues and then there's a lot more food trucks out there and less people out,” said Hatfield.
Hatfield also runs Hatfields Goode Grub. He says selling downtown used to be a great business, but with more trucks and fewer customers due to hybrid work, it's not the same.
“The window of opportunity got a little smaller because there was more trucks. Not that we don't like competition, but, there's a lot of trucks out there,” said Hatfield.
To run a truck, owners have to get a list of five permits, including one from the city's Department of Health.
“So they have to meet the food safety requirements as well as any statutory requirements for vendors,” said Patrick Cusick with the Cleveland Department of Public Health.
Cusick tells News 5 that within Cleveland, there are about 140 issued mobile licenses, which is more than the past.
“So from my perspective, we see about the same number of locations. We have seen an increase over the past few years in the number of folks who start a food truck business, but some of those come and go,” said Cusick.
To overcome the challenges Hatfield says food truckers have gotten creative.
“So one thing I have to say about food truckers and the restaurant industry is so all of us have learned to really adapt,” said Hatfield.
They're optimistic and plan to keep doing what they're doing with the hopes the customers come out.
“Most of the events that I’ve started doing this year, there's been a lot more people out. So that's a good thing,” said Hatfield.
“We really appreciate their business. We appreciate seeing them again and really, we just want to keep serving good food,” said Cardarelli.
To find a list of Cleveland Food trucks click here.
