SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — We all do it — mindlessly scrolling through social media when something grabs our attention.
For me, it was a couple of weeks ago, when I saw nearly a dozen new Facebook Marketplace ads for food trucks and trailers up for sale in Northeast Ohio.
I was curious to see if it reflected the current state of the industry — and here's what I found out.
Food truck season may be in full swing, but economic pressures are now forcing some to step away.
I spoke with Matt Geller with the National Food Truck Association.
"It's really, really concerning, and I think just very frustrating for the industry as a whole," said Geller.
Geller said profit margins are shrinking.
"All of a sudden, their gas is 30% more expensive, and their cost of goods are 40% more expensive. And they just can't make the margins to make their place successful," said Geller.
Khalid Ali met us at the South Euclid Food Truck Park.
"Being a South Euclid resident, this is one of the best spaces for a food truck," said Ali.
Ali owns Grippy's Sauce Co.
"Me and my brother growing up, we would always have like, cook-off competitions against each other," said Ali.
Those fun challenges between brothers led to the creation of a sweet/tangy BBQ sauce that attracts big crowds to his truck.
But despite the popularity, Ali is currently feeling the pinch of rising prices.
"We have a very simple menu, so that allows us to kind of cut waste," said Ali.
In addition to cutting food waste, Ali said they have shifted their mentality. Gone are the days of being at as many places and festivals as possible and paying a ton of vendor fees along the way.
"This year, we really just rolled all of that back, and our new business model is really just not to participate in those kind of events," said Ali.
There's one thing food truck operators must factor in even before gas and product costs, and that is paying for permits.
"It's just a very difficult situation, especially right now with rising costs," said Daniel Subwick.
Subwick is the director of parks and recreation for the city of South Euclid and oversees what is Ohio’s only publicly owned food truck park, which doesn't charge vendors a fee.
"That's the effort we're trying to make here in South Euclid because, yes, it's very challenging, especially for privately owned food truck parks and private events. They still have costs that they have to absorb, so they may have to pass more to the vendors themselves," said Subwick.
To help streamline the permit process and lower costs for operators, South Euclid hosts a one-stop shop event each year.
"We actually had over 140 food trucks at our inspection rodeo in March from all over the region," said Subwick.
For now, Grippy's Sauce prices haven't changed.
"I hope it doesn't get to that point. But if prices continue to rise, then I'm sure, you know, we'll have to do what we have to do, you know," said Ali.
But for many operators, they were forced to raise prices to survive.
"I think because of that, some of the food trucks are just getting out of the game altogether, just because it's almost impossible. Damned if you do, damned if you don't situation," said Geller.
Geller said he is an optimist. He believes that as gas prices come down and inflation slows, there will be more opportunities for the next round of food truck operators.
"Restaurants have customers, food trucks have followers," he said.
