If you haven’t made your way to a food truck roundup in south Provo yet, you have no idea what you are missing. Every week from 5-9 p.m., people line up at the same location to eat their favorite foods.
The offerings range from delicious donuts to tasty tacos. You will find food that fits your mood, guaranteed. The considerable number of people at the roundup speaks volumes about the reputation of these individual, mobile restaurants.
Some people might wonder why someone would open a food truck instead of a full-fledged restaurant. Owner of Pyromaniacs Pizza, Clayton Johnson, gave his insight on that question. He said, “The cost of a prime location alone is about $500,000 at least. With my truck I’m not limited to one area or one demographic of customers.”
Johnson’s love of food came from his experience working at a restaurant when he was 22. He gained his love of food and the industry, and knew that was something he wanted to do someday. With the help of his wife, they worked close to a year on their business plan and working on their delicious pizza recipes. Their hard work has definitely paid off.
So where did the success and these crowds come from? There are two simple answers according to some of the owners: social media and word-of-mouth. “Our business thrives on word-of-mouth. It’s basically like throwing a party for 70-100 people every day,” said Johnson.
Almost all of the food trucks at the roundup have their own Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts, which is how they tell their customers where they are going to be each day of the week.
The taco truck Pico Norte has even expanded to a Snapchat account to post their location details and limited specials from time to time. You can add them as your Snap friend “Piconortetacos.”
Gillian Voight, who works at one of the most popular trucks, Art City Donuts, said that social media is their main platform to promote their business, and it’s working. The line-up to get their donuts was non-stop madness from start to finish.
For these businesses to thrive and stay afloat, they must have support from returning customers. Food truck connoisseurs gave a few of their reasons that they keep coming back for more.
Jolyn Metro said, “There are so many options in one place. Each person can choose what type of food they are in the mood for.” Megan Zitting made a good point when she said, “Its summer time so everyone wants to be outside, and this is a great social atmosphere with good food.” This is one gathering that is definitely worth going to.
Summer is a great time to get out, meet new people, and try new things. The food truck roundup provides it all. Follow @thestartupbuilding on Instagram to be in the loop about when the roundup is going to be each week. You won’t be sorry that you went. Happy eating.
