DAVIS COUNTY—From farmers markets to weddings and everything in between, food trucks have become a common warm-weather sight in Utah and Davis County. What’s the appeal, though? Why is it, that in recent years, foodies and casual eaters alike have taken to wholly to these outdoor portable restaurants?

Eliot Steimle, General Manager of the Food Truck League here in Utah, had a few ideas. The Food Truck League was started as an organization back in 2015, with co-founder Taylor Harris and two other partners organizing a food truck rally in Sugarhouse. The response “blew their socks off” with thousands of people coming through to patronize the handful of trucks gathered there.

For Steimle, part of the appeal is convenience. For many people, there are a dozen or so restaurants in their immediate area that they patronize over and over again, but to give the opportunity for people to visit that many eateries and more in one park or parking lot is irreplaceable. On top of that, however, is something even more important that Steimle feels draws people to food trucks: connection.

“How likely are you to connect with a restaurant the way you are with a food truck?” said Steimle, citing that for the most part, many of the owners of the food trucks themselves are on site, working in the truck themselves either alone or alongside their employees or family members. Food trucks offer the chance for the public to interact with these passionate individuals whereas in a restaurant, they may never have even seen one another.

That’s why the pandemic was especially difficult for this community, “2020 was a rough year for the entire industry,” said Steimle, going on to say that as many as one-third of their registered trucks went out of business. Like most people during that time, there was a lot of downtime and a lot of cabin fever at the Food Truck League, but, they survived.

More than survived, they’ve actually thrived. This year the Food Truck League has seen almost an over-saturation of new food trucks, with a bounce back post-pandemic that marks healthy growth, and while there are still challenges, as with any business, Steimle says, “There’s still plenty of good business for good trucks.”

The incentives are certainly there for good trucks, too. As opposed to a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant, food trucks can be “way more adaptable, with lower startup costs” said, Steimle. The ability to not be tied down to a single location means that an owner can simply say, “I can go where the people are,” which is one of the many things that the Food Truck League can help with.

After filling out an online form, the Food Truck League only charges a 10% sales fee for trucks at their roundups, or caterings, with Steimle affirming “We don’t charge anyone until we’ve made them some money first.” When it can be difficult to find people in the first place, this can really go a long way for a food truck owner.

Of course, it’s not always smooth sailing. Having a kitchen on wheels presents a whole other level of challenges with maintaining cleanliness, ensuring things don’t tip, product availability, and so forth. But for those undaunted by the challenge of a culinary life on the road, Steimle had a bit of advice, “Talk with existing food trucks, and work in one if possible,” and before making the significant investments necessary, “test out your concept at farmers markets for a summer.”

The future of food trucks in Utah is bright, with more innovations coming down the pike. The Food Truck League plans to incorporate more themes, entertainment and community engagement. Along with these innovations, Steimle mentioned ideas for incentives for office and business complexes that bring food trucks by, as well as increased convenience, saying that the Food Truck League is dedicated to finding those headaches and pinch points and solving them. 

More information on the Food Truck League, the trucks listed, and where they will be appearing like the North Salt Lake League Night, as well as the Bountiful Food Truck Tuesday and Friday, can be found at their website, at www.thefoodtruckleague.com/.