Once a popular option for city diners, food trucks have been steadily declining in numbers over the years. These unique dining options, outfitted with fully-furnished kitchens, were once a go-to for students and corporate employees alike. But mobile restaurants have rapidly declined in numbers in the aftermath of pandemic with a steep drop in business, truck owners said.
“During covid, we were asked to move back to our hometowns or stay at home until the situation was under control. We have no alternative income source,” said M Basavaraju, a food truck owner. Many small-scale truck owners continued with the business.
Yet, mobile restaurants come with several inherent advantages such as low monthly rents and expenses. Besides, owners can be flexible about location. “I have been in the food business for many decades. Owning a restaurant was extremely expensive and tedious. The rent in Bengaluru is excessive, because of which we don’t get any profit,” says the owner of Gowdru Mane Biryani.
Owners such as Nagaraj also talk about problems they face such as bribing civic officials to do their business on top of losses incurred during the pandemic.
Sheikh Rihal, co-founder of the “Two to Tango” truck, has noted that the food truck scene in Bengaluru has drastically declined in recent years. During the peak years of 2014-2016, the city had around 48 food trucks operating, but this number has now dropped to only 10. Rihal attributes this decline to the frequent changes in truck locations.
“If a truck is parked in Koramangala for some days, and if the same customers return there some other day and don’t find it there, their interest will die. Eventually there will be only a handful of customers. Another reason may be space constraints. Some neighbourhoods complain about shrinking parking spaces and trash on the roads. The licensing process is also difficult,” Rihal says.
Rihal highlights a difficult issue that food truck operators face - parking management. Customers often park their vehicles without regard for traffic flow, and when asked to move, they can get offended. This creates a tricky situation that operators must carefully navigate.
For Kiran, co-founding the food truck company ‘Urban Chole Bhatoore’ was a dream come true. “We were Mumbai-based IT professionals. We were bored by the monotony of our jobs, that’s when we decided to come back to Bengaluru and start working in the food business,” he says. “We have an online presence now and have received positive feedback from happy customers. This is more fulfilling and pocket-friendly for us as well as the customers”