So you want to open a food cart.

In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a food cart bonanza happening.  High unemployment rates, difficulty finding work & a passionate, entrepreneurial spirit is bringing sidewalks in cities across the country an incredible array of culinary delights. Owning & operating a cart in downtown Portland, not a day goes by without someone asking what it takes to get their own cart opened. We’re here to help & to give you, at the very least, a snapshot of what it takes to live the cart life.

Make no mistake, owning and operating your own business, especially in the service industry, is hard, exhausting work. It is truly a labor of love & to do it right you have to give it everything you can. If getting your hands dirty bothers you, stop right now & pick something else, this is not a glamorous profession.

You’re gonna need $20k – $40K to get opened. If you’re a handyman/builder type you can save yourself a lot of money by finding yourself a trailer, building and outfitting it on your own. We’re pretty smart and sport a decent level of creativity, but decided to leave that one to the experts. You can find carts for sale on Craigslist, it’s just a matter of finding one that’s set up for what you need. You can also go the route of having your cart designed by people who know the cart business, specifically. Rich & Jason are a chef & an architect who run Northwest Mobile Kitchens & Rick of Rick’s Wild Seafood, built his own cart & builds for others. Like any business start up, best to have a business plan in place, make sure you have a viable idea, something that’s not already saturated or overdone and something that you are confident you can execute.

When you have a trailer & location, you will also need:

• Propane permit ($25)
• Insurance
• Signage
• Health inspection (a few hundred bucks at least)
• Fresh water, if not on-site, a means to fill up (You’ll never appreciate running water more after running a cart)
• Grey water removal (the Willamette doesn’t need any more mung)
• Dumpster for garbage & cardboard disposal
• Means to fill propane tanks (whether driving them somewhere or getting someone to come to you)
• Marketing. Sure, it’s a food cart, but you still want to succeed, right? Like it or not, you need social networking and an official website. And it’s not enough just to have them…you have to use them. We’d highly recommend a smart phone so you can work mobile, otherwise you just pile onto a to-do list at home.

A Day in the life….Running your own cart

“How fun! You get to hang out in a cart and serve food”…“You’re open 11-4? That’s an awesome schedule!”

Not so fast.

Fun? Absolutely.

Satisfying to create your own business and run it every day? Totally.

Creating food people love and come back for? No better feeling.

What people don’t see or realize a lot of the time is the work that goes into making a food cart operable on a day-to-day basis. Be ready for 80-100 hour weeks, sleep when you can get it & problem solving at a moment’s notice (a stocked cart losing electricity, pipes freezing in winter, equipment fixes…hope you own a toolbox.)

This is a typical day for us:

• 7:30am: Alarm
• 8:45am: Arrive at the cart
• 9am -11am: Divide & conquer. One of us stays at the cart to receive deliveries, prep meats for roasting, prepare all made from scratch items (for us, most of the menu), do the chopchop & stock the cart for the day. The other heads out on a supply/errand run. Supplies usually average about 300lbs of stuff. From the shelf to the store cart, from the store cart to the car, from the car to the cart. Really works the ol’ the muscles. Head to the bank, make sure we have enough change.
• 11am-4pm: Slingin’ the goods. Weather plays a big role in cart life. Some days are light, some days you will feel like you’ve been picked up, shaken, twisted, slammed against a wall & sucked dry of every ounce of energy you have.
• 4pm: Closing…ahhh, cleaning the cart. Storing what’s left, cleaning surfaces, shaking the greasy-ass dirty mats, sweeping (and sometimes degreasing) the floor, washing all of the dishes, digging food chunks out of and cleaning the sinks, scrubbing the grill, closing the biz side (order tickets/til), making grocery & to-do lists for the next day.
• 7pm-ish: Oh no, still not done, there’s the business side. Logging receipts, tracking your daily numbers however you see fit. If you want any hope of keeping yourself organized & being ready for taxes, I highly suggest you use quickbooks. You will also have to do a lot of towel laundry. They don’t clean themselves.
• On Friday & Saturday night, we do late night service. In the beginning, it was go home, sleep for a couple hours, go back & repeat most all of the above. The being & body can only take that for so long…that’s when bringing in people you can trust will come in handy.

Somewhere in the midst of all of that, you try to have a life, keep up with your personal finances & take care of your pets. Be sure to thank your friends & family profusely for understanding why they hardly ever get to see you ‘cause they’re the people who love and support you the most…it makes all the difference.

Location:

The Story:

If you were walking down the street and saw a guy in a hot dog suit dancing in the sidewalk, what would you do? What would you do? Well, we stopped for a tasty dog. Newcomers to the Ash St Pod are David and Jason who opened Big Fat Weiners just down from Big A** Sandwiches. I see a mashup in the future.

Big Fat Weiners is a hot dog cart with attitude and a dash of hilarity. Along with the hot dog suit David had on, Jason was sporting a hot dog hat. Who can’t resist chatting these guys up and walking away with a dog. They differentiate themselves from other dog carts by offering up different options with their franks. You can get a dog with chipotle cream cheese and bacon; roasted garlic, mushrooms and Swiss; smashed avocado and Fritos and a few more interesting combinations. Fritos with avocado and a hot dog? That just sounds odd, but interesting and tasty!

I enjoyed a dog with smoked jalapeno cream cheese while my lunch mate had the roasted garlic with mushrooms and Swiss dog – topped with bacon. We hadn’t seen bacon as an option, so asked and were told, “we sometimes put bacon on everything.” Both dogs were enjoyable along with the colorful conversation with the guys.

David and Jason have the right approach and attitude to succeed in the cart business. They engage their customers, keep it light and offer a good product. They also have the chops to handle the late night bar crowd from the old town taverns. Big Fat Weiners is a mobile cart with a temporary tent. They are working on a more permanent structure that will allow them to be open even when it is windy and rainy. If you are down that way, drop on by Big Fat Wieners and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Kielbasa – $4
• Pork Polish – $4
• Beef Polish – $4
• Hebrew National – $4

Specials:

• Chipotle cream cheese dog – $5.50
• Smashed avocado Frito dog – $5.50
• Roasted garlic mushroom Swiss dog – $5.50
• Philly dog – $5.50
• Smoked jalapeno cream cheese dog – $5.50

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11am-late afternoon; Friday/Saturday – 11am to 3am late night
Phone: 503 806 3805
Other: Debit/Credit cart accepted

I’m doing an interview with Multnomah County later this week and would love to know what questions you all might have for them. I’ll then post the answers to your questions later next week. Just leave your questions in the comments below…

Multnomah County is one of the lead agencies in charge of approving, permitting and inspecting food carts in Portland and other jurisdictions inside Multnomah County. They are the “go to” place for permits, and the last stop on the approval process when a new cart is ready to open. They coordinate with the City of Portland and the Fire Bureau to assure carts are safe and meet all applicable laws and guidelines and work on policy and planning issues around the carts. Finally, Multnomah County are the ones that do ongoing health inspections for cleanliness and food safety. To say Multnomah County is huge part of the food cart scene in Portland is an understatement.  Portland’s food carts wouldn’t exist without them.

• So what does Multnomah County think of all the new food carts popping up all over the city?
• What kind of issues are emerging with all these new carts?
• Are there more regulations and permitting on the way?
• How does someone apply for a food cart permit?
• What are some of the biggest issues our city and county faces with food carts?
• Why does Multnomah County do what they do with food carts?
• And what about all those to-go containers, trash and other waste issues, isn’t there something they County can do?

These are just a few of the questions we’ll be asking Multnomah County later this week. Got questions of your own? Please leave them in the comments below.

Thanks for participating!

Food Carts Portland would like to wish BrunchBox a Happy 1st Birthday. Yes indeed. One year ago today, BrunchBox landed giving Portland a new option for lunchtime burger madness. Head on down to BrunchBox today or this week and congratulate them on their success. BrunchBox is at SW 5th and Stark and is open weekdays from 8am to late afternoon.
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Wicked Waffles and The Sugar Cube are opening this week. Wicked Waffles opened on Monday, providing North Portland another option for tasty waffle concoctions. Wicked Waffles is located at the new Refuel North Station at the corner of N Killingsworth and Greeley.

The Sugar Cube is reopening after a winter break and has been teasing us on Twitter with her tasty concoctions. If you have a sweet tooth, you have to visit The Sugar Cube. They are located at Mississippi Marketplace and plan on being open Thurs-Sat, 12-7pm and Sunday, 12-5pm. I know I am going to get me something with chocolate and salt and caramel.
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The Big Egg at Mississippi Marketplace has new hours for spring – open at 6:30am, Wednesday through Friday. Now you too can enjoy one of their great breakfast sandwiches on the way to work.
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Whiffies and Potato Champion, both of SE 12th and Hawthorne, are expanding their hours this week to include lunchtime. If you’re on the east side, you can now get your late night fix of pies and fries at noon.
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Garden State has indeed opened and has been crazy busy at their newest location at Mississippi Marketplace. During the past couple of months, the Sellwood location has been closed. But not for long. Kevin, the owner, Tweeted this weekend that the Sellwood location would reopen by Friday.
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News arrived in our inbox this past week that the owner of Thai Basil, located at SW 2nd and Oak, suffered a stroke and is in the hospital. His son says he is recovering, but all cart lovers should keep him in their thoughts and if you can visit the cart and wish the family well.
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There is a new cart pod on the west side off TV Highway. The owner of the lot is looking for carts who want to participate. If you are a westsider and want to check it out, here’s the info.
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Are you traveling to Bend anytime soon? Maybe skiing or an early spring break? I recently learned that Bend has a food cart named SPORK. If you visit, check out their website for daily specials and let them know you heard about them from Food Carts Portland.
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When one cart closes, another opens. That seems to be the story of Portland. Down on SW 5th and Stark, the venerable Gyros King/Taste of Kazakstan/Creperie cart has finally closed and is for sale – call 971 227 4286 for more info. If you’re looking for a cart at a great location, let us know and we’ll go write down the contact info. Don’t fret though. The former side cart location at 5th and Stark now has signage for District Sandwiches and Spuds. Watch for them to open soon.

Happy Carting.

According to the Conference Materials,

In recent years, street vendors in the U.S. have become more prominent than ever before. In New York, L.A., Chicago, Washington, D.C. – and many other communities around the nation – vendors are getting organized to stand up for their rights – and make their voices heard.

The conference will provide a historic opportunity for street based entrepreneurs…to meet, share experiences, coordinate strategy, and build solidarity.

There is some grant funding available to vendors who many not have the financial resources to attend on their own.

We’ve talked about cart vendor issues here before – everything from landlord issues, to city permitting, to neighborhood and restaurant complaints about the carts. While some other cities have strong cart vendor associations and groups, others – such as Portland – have no such support system. This might partly be due to the City of Portland and Multnomah County. Both entities have generally been very supportive of food carts.  However, carts in other cities are often in constant battle with changing laws, police “crack downs”, excessive permitting and other cart issues. It’s the strength in numbers theory – much like restaurant associations – vendor groups can lobby in powerful numbers, develop a strong support system for one another, and are much more powerful as a group than as individuals. Does Portland need a Cart Vendor Association?

Regardless, I think cart vendors from other places could learn a lot from Portland’s cart vendors, local government and thriving “cart culture”. On the flip side, Portland cart vendors and the City of Portland could greatly benefit from learning about cart vendors and associations in other cities.

This is an exciting opportunity for knowledge exchange, community organizing, and business and organizational development. If you are interested in learning more about the conference please check out this excellent post from the NYC based Non-profit Urban Justice Center at StreetVendor.org .

We were curious to explore this new arena and here’s what we found. Northwest Mobile Kitchens is the work of Rich Zeidman and Jason Britsas. Rich is a trained architect with 25 years of experience in design and building projects. Jason is a trained chef with 15 years of experience in the industry having worked in restaurants and catering. They can design a cart from the ground up and assist the future owner with how the kitchen could be laid out.

NMK has built 2 carts for Portland food cart owners. NMK’s first cart was Big-A** Sandwiches, a 8.5′ x 16′ cart located down on SW 3rd and Ash. Kevin Sandri’s new Garden State Cart at Mississippi Marketplace is their latest delivery. A 7′ x 10′ cart, I was able to get a look inside a week or so ago and they are more spacious than one would think. Granted, there weren’t any appliances yet.

Northwest Mobile Kitchens is a local company working directly with the cart owners. Portland likes local businesses – they are good for the economy. If you are in the market for a cart or want to expand your food cart empire, you may want to look into Northwest Mobile Kitchens as an option. We see other options for custom carts online with a couple as close as Seattle and Eugene (Oregon Food Trailers,) but this is the first one we know of in Portland. If there are other local builders, let us know.

Northwest Mobile Kitchen
503 704 2450
NorthwestMobileKitchens.com

Many of you have asked why Food Carts Portland doesn’t encourage people to bring their own reusable containers to food carts, and why we never mention the idea of cart discounts for customers who bring their own containers. In fact, we’ve gotten a bit of flack over it recently on our Facebook page and through reader emails. Well, the answer is simple: we don’t want to get anyone in trouble. That is, did you know getting food from a food cart with your own reusable container is against health regulations? Sadly, in most cases, it is. It goes against both Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules and subsequently, rules and laws Multnomah County must adhere to and enforce. It’s a lot of legalese and “governmentese” language to wade through but you can read the law here under Section 3-304.17.

Also, just to make sure we understood this clear and correctly, we called Multnomah County to get their take on it. They verified our findings in writing. Here’s the code the County provided to us in an email:

3-304.17 Refilling Returnables.

(A) A take-home food container returned to a food establishment may not be refilled at a food establishment with a potentially hazardous food.

(B) Except as specified in ¶ (C), a take-home food container refilled with food that is not potentially hazardous shall be cleaned as specified under ¶ 4-603.17(B).

(C) Personal take-out beverage containers, such as thermally insulated bottles, non-spill coffee cups, and promotional beverage glasses, may be refilled by employees or the consumer if refilling is a contamination-free process as specified under ¶¶ 4-204.13(A), (B), and (D).

The definition of Potentially Hazardous Foods can be found here. Refillable and Reusable Containers (according to Multnomah County) can be considered any container that is used more than one time. This could be anything from Tupperware, a  bowl or plate, a reused plastic take-out container, a baggie, foil that has been brought from home, or even a cardboard box, and the list goes on.

In summary, potentially hazardous foods include a wide variety of prepared and raw foods, especially those that must be maintained within certain temperature ranges. These are things like  soups or stews, certain salads (think potato, pasta salads and the like), dressings, sandwich fillings, cooked beans and some other vegetables, meats, seafood, dairy, etc, etc. Basically, pretty much most things delicious and served by food carts are considered to be potentially hazardous foods.

Bummer.

The reasoning for this rule is first and foremost a public health and safety issue. That’s a good thing. It means the government is doing the best they can to keep food establishments disease free and prevent a public health outbreak such as E-coli, hepatitis or botulism. The issue is that there is no control over what has been in those containers, and how or if they were washed. Here’s a scenario: A serving spoon from a cart comes in contact with a container that has a deadly strain of e-coli in it. That spoon then is used to serve a potato salad to 10 other customers, who then become seriously ill.

Is this law excessive? We can’t answer that, but it is still the law, none-the-less.

The only exception is for foods that are considered “non-hazardous” and hot beverages (the reason cafes allow you to bring in your own cup or mug). However, as explained above, non-hazardous foods are pretty limited.

So, here’s the deal. We understand there is a large amount of waste generated by plastic, paper and other types of to-go food containers. We are fully supportive of decreasing trash and promoting more environmental and sustainable methods for food carts. That said, Food Carts Portland strives to provide accurate and factual information to the public. We don’t feel right promoting something that is illegal and could get carts in trouble through health code violations possibly leading to fines or being shut down.

Anyone who wants to take this up with the FDA can contact them here . If you would like additional information you can also contact the Multnomah County Department of Environmental Health here.

Hope this helps explain where we are coming from and why we’ve been so silent on the issue.

Happy (and Healthy) Cart Eating,

Dieselboi and Cuisine Bonne Femme, Food Carts Portland.

Big A** Sandwiches

***Recommended***

Location: SW 3rd and Ash St.

The Story:

I think the name tells the story. Big-Ass Sandwiches is now open and they sell giant sandwiches and a bit more. A cart that has been a few months in the making, Big-Ass Sandwiches is the brainchild of Lisa and Brian Wood who have brought us a great cart with a wonderful offering of food that will sate you and then some.

The collective “we” on Twitter first learned about Big-Ass Sandwiches back in September with a cryptic coming soon post. After they posted a photo of one of their sandwiches, the cart goers among us drooled. I have enjoyed following the journey of Big-Ass Sandwiches from idea to fruition. Through the power of social media like Twitter and Facebook, I was able to join Lisa and Brian on their adventure of opening a cart. We could experience the joys, the sorrows, the excitement and even the frustration.  I felt I was there when they first saw the custom cart they were having built. I was able to feel the happiness when they landed the cart at 3rd and Ash even though the previous weekend was filled with some challenges with fees and a broken oven. The Internet and social media allowed us cart food fans to be a part of this opening culminating in the excitement and sheer joy when they opened on December 21st. That opening day, the energy emanating from the cart through Lisa via Twitter and the customers was palpable. Ahh, the power of the people.

Big-A** Sandwich with roast beef

The Big-Ass Sandwich is pretty much what you would imagine. A wonderfully large ciabatta roll with well prepared thinly sliced roast beef and topped with house made french fries and creamy cheese, I had to use every napkin to get clean. I even got a little dangerous and had them add Secret Aardvark hot sauce to give it a little zing. I was a happy eater as I devoured the sandwich. The Béchamel cheese sauce they offer is a perfect choice as it penetrated the entire sandwich, but wasn’t drippy when I finally began eating it. All in all, a great sandwich. I chose roast beef, but you can also get the sandwich with ham or turkey and they even offer a Big-Ass Vegetarian sandwich.

Big-Ass Sandwiches is a another great addition to the food cart bonanza of 2009. These are large sandwiches, so if that dissuades you, don’t let it. Grab a friend and split the sandwich. You won’t be disappointed. I feel honored to have joined in on the journey with Lisa and Brian and thank them for that. The cart is open daily and as an added bonus will be open for New Years Eve to feed the masses. I predict a crazy night. If you have never tried a sandwich with fries on it, you should check out Big-A** Sandwiches and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• The Big-Ass Breakfast Sandwich – scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and choice of bacon or sausage piled onto a ciabatta roll – $6
• The Big-Ass Sandwich – choice of roasted turkey, roast beef or ham with homemade french fries; grilled and piled onto a ciabatta roll – $5
• The Big-Ass Vegetarian – field roast deli slices with homemade french fries; grilled and piled onto a ciabatta roll – $6
• The Gutbomb – all the deliciousness of The Big-Ass Sandwich with double meat and double cheese – $7
• Add Béchamel cheese sauce for $1
• Cheese Fries – $3
• Bacon Cheese Fries – $4
• Colseslaw – $1
• Mexican Coke or Jarritos – $1.50

Hours: Monday through Friday – 8am – 3pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights 9pm to late
Contact: 503 803 0619 – call or text orders To Go
Website: BigAssSandwiches.com
Social: @BigAssSandwich on Twitter and BigAssSandwiches on Facebook

It’s simple: You connect with me and I connect with you and I share my friends and you share your friends and we go back and forth connecting forever and ever.

Yes, I’ve finally taken the Food Carts Portland Twitter plunge. You can follow me:

@pdxfoodcarts

I’ll be adding a sidebar Twitter widget soon on this here blog, as soon as I find one that doesn’t cause me graphic and functional headaches. Any suggestions?

Spotted on NE Alberta Street between 15th and 14th next to an auto repair shop. Although I have no other info, it would be great to have some more carts on Alberta St. Except, no more Mexican or Thai eateries please, the street is already swarming with those choices. My ideas?

• Vietnamese Pho and Noodle Bowls
• Indian Food
• Ethiopian or African
• Kebabs /Falafel/ Gyros/ Middle Eastern