I’ll grant that the author maybe doesn’t understand the logistics of the business, but when she opines about how food trucks don’t set up shop outside the 270 outerbelt where she lives, it makes her entire critique come off as poorly-veiled jealousy. I’d ask her how practical is it to expect a food truck to set up shop in the parking lot of Polaris Mall? Why not just build a permanent building instead?

I recently checked out the food truck/cart festival and my one complaint was that there are too many serving the same things (tacos, burritos, burgers etc.). There are those types of establishments everywhere. It would be great to have more than just a handfull of trucks serving for example Thai, Japenese, or American with a twist. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Late Night Slice, but it’s great to see trucks like Sweet Carrot doing something different. (chicken meatballs with ginger sauce). If only they could be out on the street more often!

Also, lets get more of these trucks at large events around town like Pride and Comfest. I enjoy funnel cakes just as much as the next person, but I can get them at carnival truck heaven at the state fair.

The bottom line (as mentioned) is they do provide a lower overhead venue for entrepreneurs. As they continue to proliferate we should expect to see continued improvement in quality, especially in the age of the internet(s) where reviews are easily accessible, and daily locations can be continually updated.

As for myself (and probably most others), I don’t see myself frequenting a “McDonald’s food truck”. If I stop at one, it is to grab something a little different/random, and hopefully ‘dern tasty.

I’d also like to comment that the majority of central Ohio’s population is actually fairly evenly split between the in/outside of dear old 270 (the star-bellied sneeches live within the inner belt, and those without live outside). Perhaps Ms. Kock is just expressing an outburst of food truck envy, since it seems apparent that the housing within the city is not good enough for her, but our food trucks are, and therefore it follows that she be generally disgusted that they would stay in areas of higher foot traffic/population density (what kind of logic lies behind a decision like that).

Supersaturation CAN happen which leads overall to less profitability if one vendor fails to create a loyal following to its specific niche. In general conversation with several truck owners, there is some loose concern of well-established brick and morters diluting the pool of uniqueness.

On another side to the coin, a general rule of marketing is that all things reach peak and then go into either a slump or static phase. The question is – when’s the financially sustainable peak, and when’s the moment when the “shiny, novel and new” factors lose some luster.

For those that expressed person specific speech (you attack a topic or approach, not a person) – why do you continue to read their stuff? Don’t like it? Don’t do it. Doing it, listening, reading supports the bottom number of viewers, readers and quantified dialogues.