Boston Food Trucks Open Restaurants

For the most part, FoodTrucksIn.com is all about food trucks, all of the time! 

However, in the past few days as this frigid weather across a decent part of the country has made inside eating a lot more appealing than outside dining, we have been thinking a bit more about restaurants, or brick and mortar locations as they are commonly known throughout the food truck community. Since last Thursday, over 100,000,000 people have been affected by a nasty winter storm that dumped up to 20 inches of snow along with some of the lowest temperatures of the past two decades (source). This type of weather forces even the most rugged and committed food truck operators to park their trucks and the most zealous, ardent and hungry customers to modify their desires. 

Fortunately the weather is warming up and things will be returning to more normal conditions; food trucks and customers are making it back onto the roads.

However during the storm, since it was evident that there were no food trucks out within 75 miles of me here in Providence, it got me thinking about some of the food truck operators and their goals.

Food truck operators generally fall into 1 of 4 categories. 1. Owners, who choose a food truck as a business decision so they can be self employed, love what they do, work hard and make an honest living. 2. Entrepreneurs who want to build a successful food truck then grow and add more food trucks and possibly offer franchise opportunities. 3.  Business minded people who want to start with a food truck or two and hopefully move to a brick and mortar (restaurant) location at some time.  4. Those who want to start with a food truck or two and grow into operating a food truck and a restaurant. 

There are now 1,000's of operators in each of these categories and over the past several months we have become familiar with a number of them who have added brick and mortar locations to their growing business. And, there is probably no better example of this than in Boston, where the area just happened to be hit hard by the storm making it virtually impossible and unsafe to get a food truck on the road during the height of the storm or during its aftermath on Friday and early Saturday. 

Besides, who would have been out to eat outside??? 

But...a number of local Boston food trucks have now opened the doors as restaurants!! The list has grown quickly in the past 12 months, and rumors exist of more to come in 2014!

So, when the mood strikes for food truck food but weather or location has you a bit stymied, here's a list of the food truck operators in the Boston area who are also operating brick and mortar locations, that just might take the edge off that craving:

Clockwise from top left. Bon Me, Clover, Mei Mei, Pennypacker's

Bon Me Truck - Vietnamese Cuisine – Bon Me Restaurant – One Kendall Sq. Cambridge, MA 02139

Clover Food Lab – Fast, Fresh, American Cuisine – Clover East Cambridge (HUB 1 of 5 restaurant locations) – 1075 Cambridge  St.. Cambridge, MA 02139

Mei Mei Street Kitchen – Creative and contemporary Chinese-American Food – Mei Mei Restaurant – 506 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215

Pennypacker’s – Daily specials and Porchetta – Pennypacker’s Restaurant – Magoun Square 514 Medford St. Somerville, MA 02145

Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese – Grilled Cheese – Roxy’s Grilled Cheese Restaurant (opening late January) - 485 Cambridge St. Allston, MA 02134

At www.foodtrucksin.com we are enjoying the process and committed to getting out and meeting food trucks and mobile food vendors out on the road wherever they may be, but for those looking to add restaurant locations, it is nice to follow and pay attention to their success and growth as well.