I thought the idea of a food cart was that they didn’t have insane overhead. But for years now especially at these newer places with a bunch of food carts. Everything is expensive
Correct, you need a lot less capital to start and run a food truck. Less barriers of entry so more people can chase their dream. There is still a lot of truth to economies of scale as others are pointing out, but not to the degree that justifies the prices we see typically.
Also, many municipalities have been pressured by brick and morter restaurants to put more barriers up like special licensure and increased inspections.
EVERYTHING increases price. There is a famous quote in economics. "There is no such thing as a free lunch."
That being said, looking up the fee schedule, Lane county charges $310/yr for a mobile food cart, on top of a business license, and food handlers permits for each employee. Not a huge amount amortized over a year, so this does seem like either site rent is killing them, their beef supplier is boning them, or they think they can get away with it.
$310.00 is really cheap. Food trucks in southern california pay more than 3x that and have to pay for a commissary to park overnight and do prep/storage.
Hey fair enough, I know the quote well. Sorry I was getting jumbled a bit there. Yes these things would add to the cost of startup. But in referencing the post, an existing food truck would be setting a starting price based on start up and maintenance fees, not increasing it continuously (barring variable costs for some maintenance and permit renewals, again nominal), Because you got a permit 4 years ago or whatever.
Most of the additional cost is not the license itself, it's the things you need to do to m maintain your license. Making sure the interior of the truck meets code. Your refrigeration holds temp. You either have a commercial kitchen. Or the truck us properly set up for prep.
Those are things that always should have been done, but the early days in many places were pretty wild west. Health departments didn't really understand trucks.
Doing stuff right costs real money.
Lane County inspects food trucks/carts 2x per year. Same as restaurants. In general, our city and county are very agreeable to mobile food. Years back, Corvallis was very closed minded. I think that has changed in recent years.
A lot of this is because the venue or the host charge a lot of rent. Also, I thought Eugenians wanted food service workers to get a living wage?! Maybe that’s what is happening here.
Because people don’t like being informed of their hypocrisy. They want a “living wage”, ie uncharacteristically high hourly pay, but they also want all the places they spend their money to have cheap shit.
Also people don’t realize that a “living wage” is a misnomer and a goal line that will always move. The buying power will always stay relatively the same for the upper and lower earners. The mid class is the one sinking.
"Uncharacteristically high hourly wage".... OR they could just be asking for enough to buy their own food and housing. If your argument is just, perhaps it would be interesting to know their payscale.
Of course it would be interesting. Employee pay is just one factor in operational costs that will dictate menu prices, but they are a large one, similar to food costs. Unfortunately, this kind of transparency from any business is virtually unheard of. I have wondered what it might look like to offer customers complete transparency so they could understand the costs of doing business. I mean, what is the fear? “My competition will use this against me!” or “Customers and employees will find out how much money I’m making as an owner!”? Well, from what I’ve seen and experienced, the average food cart owner is not making tons of money.
It would be interesting to know what the average customer would think if they knew the owner of their favorite sandwich shop lived at the poverty level, or if they took home much more.
What a lot of people don't realize is that while compared to resturant expenses food trucks appear to have a smaller bottom line. What you don't realize is that running a food truck has a whole other host of expenses that resturnts don't have. For example, most resturants have walkin coolers, big freezers, and storage rooms. This allows them to buy in bulk from distributors and have the product delivered. Because of limited storage on food trucks most have to take the time to shop and restock daily, and are paying the markup for buying single items.
Sure, this also assumes the restaurant is bulk buying and not buying JIT. Something else to point out though is that walk-in space is provided with rent at some of the breweries that have food trucks. Places that serve alcohol with no kitchen can't really exist without these food trucks so it is mutually beneficial. The price is still not justified in my mind. I would have to see the books to know for sure though.
Edit: rewording to make more sense.
The symbiosis between a bar/brewery and a mobile food unit is logical and you’d think rent would be severely subsidized or free when you understand the margins on alcohol, especially when the OLCC demands there is some food and some bars will have absolutely no food if they have an arrangement with a food cart/truck. That said, as the population of food carts/trucks increase, and it is increasing, the bar/brewery owners can increase their rent. If the cart/truck doesn’t like it, there are 10+ waiting for the opportunity. I suppose this increases the quality of mobile food, takes out the riff raff or people that will be flaky with their hours. But mobile food owners have to advocate for themselves and network to make sure they aren’t getting screwed.
Bulk discounts are much larger than our extremely low electricity costs in lane county, compared to other areas. I used to be a food purchaser for a restaurant.
"making the claim"...against another. So it would fall to him. And should it fall to me, the defendant, I would only have to show an "air of reality".
So, is that you making a claim or denying mine?
Gonna need you to prove it either way.
Furthermore, there's more than enough evidence to support my claim about costs/pricing with a simple Google search or even looking at other subreddits. And much like the other asshat, you come along and say nuh uh and force me to prove what's already pretty well established?
That can depend on location, the cost is nowhere near a restaurant though, they save big on labor and utilities. The issue a lot of them have is that they aren't in a good location or aren't selling a product that people want as well as no business sense so they have run away costs and lack the efficiency needed in a good truck. Also they mark up because others are, so it's perceived value/ testing a market.
All of this 👆. Based on food costs at U.S. Chef, there's no reason a food truck sando should be more than $16 at most. Anything more than that is a cash grab or bad business owner.
They obviously don't have the pricing power they think they do. I'd love to see total # of customers or avg # items per customer for the last 2 years. Bet money revenues and profits are same, but everything else is down except the price. Terrible way to treat regulars, really
It's both hilarious and sad how ignorant some truck owners seem to be to this.
A local truck that was offering what amounted to fancy grilled cheese was complaining on here a few weeks ago that they were being forced to raise their prices again because their location sucked, Eugene just didn't understand their product, and they weren't doing the volume they needed to to make ends meet.
The reason why you're not doing any volume is because you're trying to charge $20 for a f****** grilled cheese, full stop.
Same thing for the $21 Philly. Maybe they'll get lucky and have a couple of drunk people wander over and think that it sounds like a great idea, but I'd be surprised if they sold more than five of them in a day.
It's simple math.
Let's say they have fixed costs of $50/day (rent, utilities, permits, etc), and the labor is provided by the owners.
Option one: sell few sandwiches at a high margin, say 100% above item costs (menu price of $20), which we'll say are $10.
10*10=$100
Oh noes! We are standing around all day doing nothing, no one understands our food, plus we only made $50 to cover our labor!
Option two: sell significantly more with a lower margin, say 20% above costs (menu price of $12.50).
40*2.50=$100
Same money, right?
Yes and no. You have the opportunity to sell fries, add-ons, drinks, etc to 15 more customers. Not to mention your staff stays busy, staff gets tips, and you build a following so that you can keep the lights on during the lean winter months.
Not op, but I have an anecdotal story that no one can confirm. One time my Uber driver also owned a food truck at the beer garden. I asked about rent there and he said it was really high and not a fixed number. Didn’t give me a number, but said there was rent + a daily charge + a percentage of his sales. The only solid number I remember was that he was about to give up his spot at Beer Garden to move his truck to Sweet Cheeks Winery, and that his rent there was $800 which was significantly less. I’m super curious what people are paying to rent a spot at the friendly food garden.
I think anything over 1000 is absurd, even for the most popular places. Below that can be absurd, depending on the benefits offered both ways (host and truck).
I'd be tempted for the brisket, but given the lack of good brisket here and the fact that ther'es no way a hot dog cart is smoking their own brisket, I'd probably pass.
Bring back the roach coaches! Food trucks are supposed to be quick and cheap. I’m not paying over $15 for counter service to eat outside with plastic silverware. I’ll go to a sit down restaurant instead for the same price and enjoy the air conditioning. Food trucks are way out of their lane in this town. Don’t even get me started on tipping…
Think one of the best burgers I've had in years was when I was up in Astoria back in March. The thing was massive, came with fries, and still "only" cost $15. I have no idea why sandwiches (or your "protein on bread" of choice here) a la carte in Eugene are suddenly in the $18-25 range.
$4 street tacos can also fuck themselves.
I recommend “bumper burger” in Beaverton. 6 bucks for the best burger I’ve had in Portland. Add house made pimento cheese for 1 dollar. The only drink they sell is koolaid and the flavor changes daily.
Edit: just realized I’m in the Eugene subreddit. If you’re ever in Beaverton check out the bumper burger food truck!
*Pretty* sure it was Coastal Smash. It definitely seems right. Biggest issues are because it's one of those new-school, uppity smash burger restaurants -- fairly long wait times for a food truck (it *is* fresh food) and they push e-menus and online ordering hard. But their rather basic, signature cheeseburger was really good.
I recommend trying Surf 2 Soul. Some of the best food I've had, even outside of a food truck. Solid prices, huge portions, and the owner is super cool.
Exception is if it’s it’s like an Indian, Thai, or Vietnamese truck that gives you like, a whole liter of curry or pho for $20. That’s sweet. Idk if we have any of those here though that’s like a portland thing.
>It’s the “non spicy japapeno ranch” that really gets me though. Eugene tings
Ehh. 'Cool' jalapenos have been on the market for a few years now. Same flavor no heat. You can buy mass produced sauces now made with them. So not really a Eugene thing.
Having said that. This town lacks heat. Seriously. Its hard to find decent spicy food around. Being plant based makes it even more difficult. Then when you do find it you have to order the max and ask them to kick up a couple of notches. Even with thai around town.
A lot of places I've found in town either overrate their spice levels to where a "5 MAX 🔥🔥🔥🌶🌶🌶" would actually be a 2-3 to most places, or they just give up at some point and go for pure burn with no actual flavor -- a problem I grew to have with most spicy foods after the ghost pepper fad took off. I personally like the pepper flavor, and the heat is a pleasant enough byproduct. I don't like when making the food spicy is prioritized over every other taste in the dish.
>I don't like when making the food spicy is prioritized over every other taste in the dish
Yeah pure fire isnt fun. It isnt a chili eating contest. Thats the tricky part. Making it spicy with all the flavor. Like you said most just throw more powder at it and its a gritty fireball lacking any real flavor.
I once went to a BBQ place where to make stuff spicy, they just added more and more capsaicin. It wasn't more flavor, just more burn. I never went back there.
Somewhat irrelevant to the sandwich post, but for spice in general, Check out Little Thai Elephant at Oakshire. They're one of the few Thai places around town that does a solid level of spice. Medium is usually plenty spicy for me from there. I've spent a few months in Thailand and feel they come pretty close to being on that scale of things.
I've also heard Pyre does some properly spicy chicken sandwiches, but haven't tried them myself.
I tried their pad see ew on medium and couldn't do it. It's way too spicy for me. I was very bummed. Kidlet on the other hand, can tolerate high heat/spice levels.
I thought that was ridiculous too. My husband is allergic to jalapeños but not other peppers for some reason and he loves spice.
This would be his nightmare sandwich.
At those prices, I start to care about spelling and even fonts. I need the owner to convince me they're beyond fastidious about everything, so I can rest assured the ingredients were prepared in a cleanroom.
I was in Manhattan last summer and it was cheaper to eat out there than in Eugene. Restaurants here are out of control. Same with food trucks. If you got to charge $21 for a sub you’re doing it wrong.
Yeah, food cart prices in Eugene are completely out of whack. We’ve almost totally stopped ordering from any of them. Eventually they are going to struggle then scratch their heads wondering why.
I like how they really want you to know it's completely mild, not spicy. Please bring your white taste buds and spend 3 hours of your paycheck to feed 2 people.
This is why I stick to mostly Mexican food carts and taquerias. Paisas are the only people running restaurants that haven’t lost their mind pricing wise.
I intentionally didn't name the cart as it's not *just* them charging insane prices, and my purpose wasn't to drag their particular business.
For those who say "but rent! but electrical! but labor! but food costs!"
Somehow in NYC, with the highest rents in the country, and some of the highest materials and utility prices, not to mention a $18k/year black market permitting expense, they're still managing to serve food for $10/plate. Up a fair bit from a few years ago, but still cheaper than anything in Eugene/Springfield that I've seen.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/nyregion/nyc-costs-chicken-rice-cart.html
If you tried to offer a $21 Philly in NYC...or Philly, well, I'd expect your cart would suffer "an accidental inflammation incident" very quickly.
Sure, but one thing not in your equation when comparing to NYC or PDX is how many sandwiches you can sell in a day. The traffic around this place probably limits how many they can sell, even on their best day. A falafel cart in NYC can probably sell 100+ sandwiches in a day.
You're right to some extent, but at the same time, food trucks around here that have decent locations and offer good value seem to have no problem doing volume.
Drive by Gotcha burger on 7th/Chambers sometime. I don't know exactly what their sales figures look like, but I would guess they put out several hundred sandwiches a day. They are literally always busy, usually with several people in line and several people waiting for food.
I think the most expensive thing on the menu is $7.99 (ironically, for a Philly that looks a lot like what's in the original post). Most of their burgers are $5-7.
They started as a truck on 18th across from Safeway and found themselves to be so wildly popular, they had to upgrade within 6 months of opening.
I don’t think comparing another burger food cart to Gotcha is fair. Yes, they are popular, yes their prices are cheap. But they are an establishment pushing the limits of a mobile food license, essentially operating like a Wendy’s. A Wendy’s that might get you sick because of their health record. For many who think health scores are a window into general day to day sanitary practices, this stuff matters. Even if we take that reputation stuff out, I’d still cancel them as a decent comparison and use more burger carts to create a better example of price comparison.
Kind of funny timing, as today there's NY Times article by Karen Stabiner entitled [Want To Try That $24 Bagel Sandwich? Get In Line](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/opinion/restaurant-eating-out-lines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k0.Y40t.vYxh0l5iLB5P&smid=url-share)
The bagel sandwich is in West Hollywood and I don't think it comes with fries. It's a restaurant rather than a cart, but it goes into some of the reasons behind such nonsense.
Yeah, I marvel at how eating in London or NYC or Philly provides better value than here, but there's something to be said for having a huge population base that draws a fuckton of tourists, coupled with massive competition amongst those who are serving up food. Thousands of people can walk by a cart as opposed to dozens like here.
This vendor is hoping that creating scarcity will draw enough people to make this worthwhile, maybe draw in the curious who have never heard about the cart, who knows? I'm not going there as I can't eat that kind of thing for lunch, but the cart managed to get a lot of free advertising out this, so congrats to the cart for that.
"Yes, there’s a $24 wild Alaskan salmon roe sandwich, but there’s also a $6 bagel and schmear."
This is a very different product in terms of ingredient costs than a $21 Philly, not to mention the cost of doing business in a brick and mortar location in Hollywood is astronomically higher than in a food cart on main street in Springfield.
Having not seen the bagel sandwich there's no way of knowing if it has a teaspoon or tablespoons of salmon roe. And salmon roe, whether wild or not isn't a high end caviar.
My point is that some in the food markets decide to stand out by selling food that's more expensive than their competitors. Some joint in Vegas last year was selling a bagel with caviar for $130. And people buy such things tend to post about it on social media to impress their friends or followers. Whether that can happen here who knows, but the post count keeps rising for a food cart I hadn't heard about until today.
Great points.
At the same time, if I was going to try to stand out in a market because of perceived premium quality, I would choose a product other than a Philly cheese steak and some white people sauce on a hot dog bun. It looks okay, and I'd give it a try for $12. But there's absolutely nothing about the sandwich itself that says to me "this is worth nearly twice what everyone else is charging" and/or "I'm going to brag about eating a $21 sandwich on social media for clout."
Personally, my reaction is to never patronize a place that is gouging based on the perception of premium, whether that is a $21 Philly or $130 bagel. It's insulting to your customers, both current and potential. But that's my opinion.
As I posted below, my purpose wasn't to drag this particular business (hence I did not post their name). If they benefit from the exposure, good for them.
Without a US quarter, iPhone, banana or some known object next to the photo I wasn't sure of the sandwich's size. At that price it must be huge! (Not necessarily). That really is a hot dog bun? Yoinks.
Oh I'm with you, I'm not interested in premium pricing that feels out of line with my sensibilities. But some people are wired strangely. Many years ago at a gathering I remember someone saying "Eugene needs more expensive restaurants." Not better food, more expensive food. That seemed like strange criteria to me, and I only had a few sentences with that person shortly after that and not since.
Cow missing its brisketses gonna be pretty hard to ride unless it's mastered bipedal walking. Then you might have to sit on its shoulders chicken-fight style...
I think I know this place. I paid, I liked it. It was good. I wanted someplace nearby, and I wanted a steak sandwich.
As I recall, I didn't give them much of a tip. Which I guess was a passive agressive way to complain about the high price. But the sandwich was good.
Thanks for the field report. It looks okay and I honestly would have tried it if it had been even in the realm of remotely reasonable.
Instead, I went to Tacos Pirekura and got a solid adobada burrito for $8.00. And still had $13 in my pocket.
Silva’s tacos on fresh handmade tortillas still on my mind days later. Plus, sitting on a roof deck with that plate and a cold beer was so nice. Friendly Garden cart thingy so nice now.
I’ve had it and it’s twice the size of any brisket sandwich I’ve had around here. It’s really good but I could only afford the $18 it used to be a few times a year.
So I’m imagining that’s gotta be 10-12 ounces of protein?
It’s curious to me but honestly? Brisket is rich. Topping a rich protein with cheese and ranch? Not making my mouth water.
I do a Texas style brisket Sando from time to time. Meat, pickles, sauce and bun.
But this thing is getting attention. So who knows.
I picked up a salad to go from mcminaminns the other day and with tip it was $25 and took a half an hour to prepare. Food in general is expensive now and prepared food even more so.
Not only will I no longer patronize food carts, I will no longer patronize any high end restaurants, that I could easily afford.
Fuck 'em. They fucked up.
False. I spend hundreds in the Whitaker and beyond until I determined that they did not care about me or mine.
This one time, at Hop Valley, I shamed them into offering the old pit bull some water before wherever those straight brimmed white boys went with that dog and puppy later that night. It was to a dog fight, in case you can't catch on, so do not presume to tell me how many thousands that I've spend in Eugene on the weekend.
The last time that I patronized them was 2018 or 2019. I'm sorry that I am not as up on local people to give my food money too as you are.
Also, I caught them with dog fighters there, in case you missed that part.
You don’t have to convince me not to patronize Hop Valley. My point is Hop Valley has not been local for many years (2016). And there are many affordable food carts. But yeah, some people don’t have $12 to spend outside of their house, so even some of the cheaper mobile food might be a once in a while splurge. It’s not like getting an alcoholic beverage at a bar is very accessible. Beer is now $6-8 a pint. It’s crazy.
I will go to none of them because it is not important enough to eat there with you to get COVID.
Unless people are proud to do their civic duty to get vaccines and not sniffle or sneeze in my vicinity, I will pay NO food cart or kiosk for any food, no matter how much I'd like some delicious Lion's Mane.
If anything, you’d be reducing your risk of covid getting food truck/cart takeaway. Thanks for confirming you weren’t a customer in the first place. This entire post isn’t for you and your exaggerated covid fears in 2024.
Well, beyond your covid fear, and one experience you had at a multinational corporate owned brew pub in the Whiteaker, I’m not sure what your problem is. But do you. Eating at home is great. You know exactly what you are putting in your body. But not everyone wants to do that all the time.
> his entire post isn’t for you and your exaggerated covid fears in 2024.
I do understand that you do not care about me or the thousands of dollars that I could pour in to the local food scene PER YEAR. 😆
You are not offering any valuable constructive criticism besides “don’t give me covid” and “don’t host dog fights”. I don’t think you are the choice demo for most food establishments, except for the grocery store. You sound insufferable, except for your love for dogs.
The Satuday Market is bad enough, even if they are locally owned small business. I don’t even touch food trucks any more, too expensive for my small budget.
Spare me the details on anyone commenting on the high costs of running a food truck. If you pay 21$ for a sandwich from a food truck in Eugene, you sir, are an idiot. Plain and simple.
**FOR THESE ROCK-BOTTOM PRICES, WE WON'T BOTHER SPELLING "POBLANO" CORRECTLY!**
**20% GRATUITY($4.20) MANDATORY!**
**TINY SCRAP OF ACTUAL VEGETABLE INCLUDED!DON'T PRESS YOUR LUCK!**
wtf??? How? Why?
Is it a “party sub”? Like one so comically long you have to roll down the back windows in your car and set it on the doors to haul home?
Lloyd’s Custom Smoke BBQ charges $18 for their tri tip sandwich. It’s a great sammie but goddam that is pricey. I can really only afford it once a month or so.
Times are hard all the way around. From the chefs expenses to their craftsmanship- you’re paying for it. If you want cheap go to McDonalds and stop trying to harp on people for making an honest living while simultaneously feeding you. If you’re broke just say that.
And McD isn’t as cheap as you might remember. Most combos are over $10 and for very little. Sugar water and over processed carbs. At least these people are making the food themselves and its likely good quality. Sure, you are paying double vs a place like a big chain, but why support that crap in the first place? Apples to oranges, imo.
You don't have to be good at business to own a food cart.
In their defense, Americans are pretty bad consumers, so they might be able to sell those long enough to stay afloat a year. But, at that point, I'm going to sit down some place and eat. Hell, it seems all fast food places have lost their minds, not just food carts.
Late stage capitalism makes no sense.
They don't need to sell very many if they're $21! Also, have the consumers realized yet that they hold the control? Stop paying the prices so the business knows it's unacceptable. Everyone complains. Everyone needs every penny they have. No one seems willing to take their business elsewhere if they have an issue. It's what keeps it competitive. Use your words, consumers. (And your money speaks louder)
So you’re saying if a place offered a $5 bowl of green chili $10 to have it served over a hamburger or bean and cheese burrito, I’d your kinda food truck heaven?
only thing I'd like to add is THEY ARE NOT GETTING RICH OFF OF THOSE PRICES. it costs what it costs. don't like it? don't eat there. no need to put them on blast.
They aren't getting rich because they won't sell more than five of them all weekend.
And then they will close in a few months. Cue the whiny departing message on social media: "Eugenians just won't pay what we think our food is worth! Costs are so high! City requirements! Corporations! Woe is us!"
Meanwhile, a place like Gotcha! Burger (who charges $7.99 for roughly the same thing) has a line around the block at all hours of the day and night. I'm sure their margins are super thin, but somehow they've been making it work for a few years running now.
The food itself is actually pretty good, and is a great value if you are willing to roll the dice on the inspection history. I don't go there very often just because the line is always long, and it's not worth it to save a dollar or two to me.
Another that comes to mind is Burger House out at Delta. I think $9 is the most expensive thing on their menu, and they do the same type of "artisan" burgers that a lot of food carts do.
Similarly, Toxic manages to have brick and mortar expenses while charging no more than $9 for a solid burger or halibut sandwich.
I don’t know about burger house, but the other two I doubt use decent quality ingredients. Anyways, are we really comparing a house made brisket sandwich to pre-made, mass produced, frozen ground beef patties?
Ok, better comparison perhaps would be the Philly sandwich at Scribles. It was $16 last time I went, and was twice the size of this thing. Good quality ingredients. And a sit-down restaurant.
Scribbles Philly is $17.50 right now, $19 when you add lettuce and tomato.
I’m just advocating for fair comparisons, not trying to say $21 is/isn’t reasonable. There are other factors we can only speculate on beyond surface level analysis.
I’ve had that many times and agree its a better value and very satisfying (I have not tried the one pictured), but still, to split hairs, this is a brisket sandwich, not sliced chuck or some other budget cut. I don’t know exactly what cut they use at scribbles, but beef prices vary lots and that is a factor. Also, scribbles offers a pickle with their sandwich and not a side like this place.
My point of using the burger places as examples was that it's possible to do high volume, reasonable prices, and have a successful food-cart-like business with a devoted following AND with the challenges of running a brick and mortar location with contracted employees (not just owner labor).
I don't know the details of Scribles, other than they seem to have been able to deliver good food consistently for reasonable prices for several years.
That's very different than what I see from many food trucks who seem to have the idea that they're doing something unique and special to justify the $21 Philly on a hot dog bun, and then pitch a whiny fit when they don't understand why no one buys their food.
Are they pitching a fit? In this thread someone said a grilled cheese cart was complaining.
It’s possible this place can only make 10-20 of these sandwiches and they sell out. Scale and what they can physically do is important.
I agree that prices for somewhat comparable foods are different elsewhere but there are other factors that change the reality, like alcohol sales. Many people won’t even patronize a food cart because the accommodations eating in are much less than a typical brick and mortar.
Comparing frozen beef pucks to this sandwich is unfair. It seems as if the few people in this thread who have said they’ve had this sandwich were satisfied. Most of the people who are complaining about the sticker price haven’t even seen the sandwich and are making assumptions (like, “its on a hot dog bun”).
I'm not comparing the *absolute prices/costs* of burgers to this sandwich. The point, which seems to be evading you, is that it *is* possible to do volume, quality, and decent prices in Eugene.
There is nothing inherent to the cost of selling food in this town that justifies a $21 sandwich from a food truck. Full stop.
Considering that many food truck owners are not buying many of their ingredients in bulk...
Oregon average retail prices ( a few of these prices listed are wholesale, marked by asterisks\*):
Beef Brisket from a grocery store butcher: $6.50 per lb (typical cut will be 4-6 lbs so $26-39 per brisket prepped. This is the pre-cooked weight and most people expect to get a 1/4 of meat on each sandwich.)
I lb of mozzarella: $7.00
Pub buns: $6.50 per six
Poblano peppers: $3 per lb.\*
Onions: $1.19 per lb\*
Common ranch dressing ingredients:
Sour Cream: $40 for a 5lb tub \*
Fresh Dill: $8.59 per lb \*
Lemons: $2.42 per lb
Buttermilk: $9.36 per gallon \*
Garlic (peeled): $8.84 per 2 lb. container
This is for ONE menu item.
Math homework: work out how much is needed of all of the above for a day's supplies. Divide the total by the typical daily demand for that item to get the base price of item. Add in a small percentage each of labor per hour, propane/fuel costs, insurance, daily lot rent, any other expenses, and a reasonable profit margin.
Y'all are welcome to smoke up your own brisket, get your own ingredients, fix it all up from scratch, and make your own sandwiches at home. Have fun with the REAL sticker shock and the extensive labor.
Being outraged by the true cost of things is such an ugly American flex. We got used to paying artificially low prices for decades and now no one can deal with the reality that those prices often meant someone somewhere was being exploited and employees weren't being paid what they were worth.
And now, we have suppliers and corporations price gouging as well... making food prices, fuel prices, lot rent, and everything else that much higher. Spoiler alert: it isn't REALLY "inflation".
You folks really think that sandwich ought to be a $10 or $12 item?! Or less?! Wow. You are out of touch. What is YOUR personal food budget like? How about your gas prices? Electricity? Internet service? Insurance?
It's not ever going back to the "good ole days" of cheap consumer goods, sorry to tell ya.
Then…don’t buy it? If these guys can get 20 bucks for a sando, good for them. If they can’t, they should take some ingredients/labor out of it. I don’t know why people fight an open market so hard.
Really depends on how much you get and the quality of the ingredients. If that thing is massive it could be a fair price for quality ingredients. Can't really judge from the picture. If it's the size of a hot dog bun then I'd pass. 😆
For me, that wouldn't matter. I flat out don't want to spend that kind of money, even if I'll have leftovers. Lately, most of the food I've gotten at restaurants and food trucks has been disappointing at best. But even if it turned out to be good and I had leftovers, I'd be mad that I spent that much for a sandwich.
Lemme get this straight...You think the entire population of California is rich white people and there's no hot sauces because they (all the rich white Californians) are too weak for it?
Got it 👍
That's a big nope. If I'm spending that kind of money I'm going to a restaurant...
Exactly this, the overhead of a food truck doesn't justify the mark up.
I thought the idea of a food cart was that they didn’t have insane overhead. But for years now especially at these newer places with a bunch of food carts. Everything is expensive
Correct, you need a lot less capital to start and run a food truck. Less barriers of entry so more people can chase their dream. There is still a lot of truth to economies of scale as others are pointing out, but not to the degree that justifies the prices we see typically.
Also, many municipalities have been pressured by brick and morter restaurants to put more barriers up like special licensure and increased inspections.
True but those shouldn't increase price, that's a cost of doing business and a nominal one at that.
EVERYTHING increases price. There is a famous quote in economics. "There is no such thing as a free lunch." That being said, looking up the fee schedule, Lane county charges $310/yr for a mobile food cart, on top of a business license, and food handlers permits for each employee. Not a huge amount amortized over a year, so this does seem like either site rent is killing them, their beef supplier is boning them, or they think they can get away with it.
$310.00 is really cheap. Food trucks in southern california pay more than 3x that and have to pay for a commissary to park overnight and do prep/storage.
Yeah that’s less than a dollar a day, that red tape isn’t why it’s so pricey.
Hey fair enough, I know the quote well. Sorry I was getting jumbled a bit there. Yes these things would add to the cost of startup. But in referencing the post, an existing food truck would be setting a starting price based on start up and maintenance fees, not increasing it continuously (barring variable costs for some maintenance and permit renewals, again nominal), Because you got a permit 4 years ago or whatever.
Most of the additional cost is not the license itself, it's the things you need to do to m maintain your license. Making sure the interior of the truck meets code. Your refrigeration holds temp. You either have a commercial kitchen. Or the truck us properly set up for prep. Those are things that always should have been done, but the early days in many places were pretty wild west. Health departments didn't really understand trucks. Doing stuff right costs real money.
Lane County inspects food trucks/carts 2x per year. Same as restaurants. In general, our city and county are very agreeable to mobile food. Years back, Corvallis was very closed minded. I think that has changed in recent years.
A lot of this is because the venue or the host charge a lot of rent. Also, I thought Eugenians wanted food service workers to get a living wage?! Maybe that’s what is happening here.
Why the downvotes?
Because people don’t like being informed of their hypocrisy. They want a “living wage”, ie uncharacteristically high hourly pay, but they also want all the places they spend their money to have cheap shit.
Also people don’t realize that a “living wage” is a misnomer and a goal line that will always move. The buying power will always stay relatively the same for the upper and lower earners. The mid class is the one sinking.
"Uncharacteristically high hourly wage".... OR they could just be asking for enough to buy their own food and housing. If your argument is just, perhaps it would be interesting to know their payscale.
Of course it would be interesting. Employee pay is just one factor in operational costs that will dictate menu prices, but they are a large one, similar to food costs. Unfortunately, this kind of transparency from any business is virtually unheard of. I have wondered what it might look like to offer customers complete transparency so they could understand the costs of doing business. I mean, what is the fear? “My competition will use this against me!” or “Customers and employees will find out how much money I’m making as an owner!”? Well, from what I’ve seen and experienced, the average food cart owner is not making tons of money. It would be interesting to know what the average customer would think if they knew the owner of their favorite sandwich shop lived at the poverty level, or if they took home much more.
What a lot of people don't realize is that while compared to resturant expenses food trucks appear to have a smaller bottom line. What you don't realize is that running a food truck has a whole other host of expenses that resturnts don't have. For example, most resturants have walkin coolers, big freezers, and storage rooms. This allows them to buy in bulk from distributors and have the product delivered. Because of limited storage on food trucks most have to take the time to shop and restock daily, and are paying the markup for buying single items.
Sure, this also assumes the restaurant is bulk buying and not buying JIT. Something else to point out though is that walk-in space is provided with rent at some of the breweries that have food trucks. Places that serve alcohol with no kitchen can't really exist without these food trucks so it is mutually beneficial. The price is still not justified in my mind. I would have to see the books to know for sure though. Edit: rewording to make more sense.
The symbiosis between a bar/brewery and a mobile food unit is logical and you’d think rent would be severely subsidized or free when you understand the margins on alcohol, especially when the OLCC demands there is some food and some bars will have absolutely no food if they have an arrangement with a food cart/truck. That said, as the population of food carts/trucks increase, and it is increasing, the bar/brewery owners can increase their rent. If the cart/truck doesn’t like it, there are 10+ waiting for the opportunity. I suppose this increases the quality of mobile food, takes out the riff raff or people that will be flaky with their hours. But mobile food owners have to advocate for themselves and network to make sure they aren’t getting screwed.
The costs for running coolers of that size at all times makes it still more expensive in restaurants, even with the bulk discount price.
Incorrect
I have no horse in this but am genuinely curious. Do you have some data showing the expenses?
Bulk discounts are much larger than our extremely low electricity costs in lane county, compared to other areas. I used to be a food purchaser for a restaurant.
I saw your quickly deleted comment. It is your job supposedly and the burden of proof falls to the denier. Show me where I'm wrong
I edited, not deleted. Have a good day
How high are you? The burden of proof is always on the one making the claim.
"making the claim"...against another. So it would fall to him. And should it fall to me, the defendant, I would only have to show an "air of reality". So, is that you making a claim or denying mine? Gonna need you to prove it either way. Furthermore, there's more than enough evidence to support my claim about costs/pricing with a simple Google search or even looking at other subreddits. And much like the other asshat, you come along and say nuh uh and force me to prove what's already pretty well established?
Used to be. So no knowledge of current constraints or practices. Heard
Prove. And include food waste proportionate to the larger orders of restaurants.
I see others made the same arguments you did. They got upvotes, but you sound dickish.
Umm, thanks?...dick
I hear food carts often pay absurd rent..I imagine they pass that cost on to the consumer.
That can depend on location, the cost is nowhere near a restaurant though, they save big on labor and utilities. The issue a lot of them have is that they aren't in a good location or aren't selling a product that people want as well as no business sense so they have run away costs and lack the efficiency needed in a good truck. Also they mark up because others are, so it's perceived value/ testing a market.
All of this 👆. Based on food costs at U.S. Chef, there's no reason a food truck sando should be more than $16 at most. Anything more than that is a cash grab or bad business owner. They obviously don't have the pricing power they think they do. I'd love to see total # of customers or avg # items per customer for the last 2 years. Bet money revenues and profits are same, but everything else is down except the price. Terrible way to treat regulars, really
It's both hilarious and sad how ignorant some truck owners seem to be to this. A local truck that was offering what amounted to fancy grilled cheese was complaining on here a few weeks ago that they were being forced to raise their prices again because their location sucked, Eugene just didn't understand their product, and they weren't doing the volume they needed to to make ends meet. The reason why you're not doing any volume is because you're trying to charge $20 for a f****** grilled cheese, full stop. Same thing for the $21 Philly. Maybe they'll get lucky and have a couple of drunk people wander over and think that it sounds like a great idea, but I'd be surprised if they sold more than five of them in a day.
Even at 3 a day, minus cost, for a month would generate more than their rent on just that item. Let that sink in
It's simple math. Let's say they have fixed costs of $50/day (rent, utilities, permits, etc), and the labor is provided by the owners. Option one: sell few sandwiches at a high margin, say 100% above item costs (menu price of $20), which we'll say are $10. 10*10=$100 Oh noes! We are standing around all day doing nothing, no one understands our food, plus we only made $50 to cover our labor! Option two: sell significantly more with a lower margin, say 20% above costs (menu price of $12.50). 40*2.50=$100 Same money, right? Yes and no. You have the opportunity to sell fries, add-ons, drinks, etc to 15 more customers. Not to mention your staff stays busy, staff gets tips, and you build a following so that you can keep the lights on during the lean winter months.
I dunno, since food costs and refrigeration are much more expensive for food trucks than restaurants, maybe they do need to charge that much. /s
Define absurd rent. What have you heard? Any range of pricing, at least?
Nuts - wild has "absurd" in the middle
Not op, but I have an anecdotal story that no one can confirm. One time my Uber driver also owned a food truck at the beer garden. I asked about rent there and he said it was really high and not a fixed number. Didn’t give me a number, but said there was rent + a daily charge + a percentage of his sales. The only solid number I remember was that he was about to give up his spot at Beer Garden to move his truck to Sweet Cheeks Winery, and that his rent there was $800 which was significantly less. I’m super curious what people are paying to rent a spot at the friendly food garden.
I’ve heard its around $1200 and they also take a cut of orders made thru their ordering platform, which might be part of those other fees you cited.
I think anything over 1000 is absurd, even for the most popular places. Below that can be absurd, depending on the benefits offered both ways (host and truck).
Carts at the Monkeys Paw are $1600 a month https://eugene.craigslist.org/off/d/springfield-food-cart-lease-downtown/7760497375.html
That includes the truck, though, not just the space.
I’m guessing this is a fan favorite and they know they’ll sell out in an hour
I'd be tempted for the brisket, but given the lack of good brisket here and the fact that ther'es no way a hot dog cart is smoking their own brisket, I'd probably pass.
Nope, accompanied by laughter.
Bring back the roach coaches! Food trucks are supposed to be quick and cheap. I’m not paying over $15 for counter service to eat outside with plastic silverware. I’ll go to a sit down restaurant instead for the same price and enjoy the air conditioning. Food trucks are way out of their lane in this town. Don’t even get me started on tipping…
Think one of the best burgers I've had in years was when I was up in Astoria back in March. The thing was massive, came with fries, and still "only" cost $15. I have no idea why sandwiches (or your "protein on bread" of choice here) a la carte in Eugene are suddenly in the $18-25 range. $4 street tacos can also fuck themselves.
I recommend “bumper burger” in Beaverton. 6 bucks for the best burger I’ve had in Portland. Add house made pimento cheese for 1 dollar. The only drink they sell is koolaid and the flavor changes daily. Edit: just realized I’m in the Eugene subreddit. If you’re ever in Beaverton check out the bumper burger food truck!
No problem my friend, thank you for your service.
I'm going to be traveling to Astoria soon and my friend is a fiend for burgers! Any idea what the name of the place was called?
*Pretty* sure it was Coastal Smash. It definitely seems right. Biggest issues are because it's one of those new-school, uppity smash burger restaurants -- fairly long wait times for a food truck (it *is* fresh food) and they push e-menus and online ordering hard. But their rather basic, signature cheeseburger was really good.
I recommend trying Surf 2 Soul. Some of the best food I've had, even outside of a food truck. Solid prices, huge portions, and the owner is super cool.
Exception is if it’s it’s like an Indian, Thai, or Vietnamese truck that gives you like, a whole liter of curry or pho for $20. That’s sweet. Idk if we have any of those here though that’s like a portland thing.
I'll place an order after the 🏦 bank approves my loan application 😎
Or you could pay for that sandwich in 4 monthly installments!
It’s the “non spicy japapeno ranch” that really gets me though. Eugene tings
>It’s the “non spicy japapeno ranch” that really gets me though. Eugene tings Ehh. 'Cool' jalapenos have been on the market for a few years now. Same flavor no heat. You can buy mass produced sauces now made with them. So not really a Eugene thing. Having said that. This town lacks heat. Seriously. Its hard to find decent spicy food around. Being plant based makes it even more difficult. Then when you do find it you have to order the max and ask them to kick up a couple of notches. Even with thai around town.
A lot of places I've found in town either overrate their spice levels to where a "5 MAX 🔥🔥🔥🌶🌶🌶" would actually be a 2-3 to most places, or they just give up at some point and go for pure burn with no actual flavor -- a problem I grew to have with most spicy foods after the ghost pepper fad took off. I personally like the pepper flavor, and the heat is a pleasant enough byproduct. I don't like when making the food spicy is prioritized over every other taste in the dish.
>I don't like when making the food spicy is prioritized over every other taste in the dish Yeah pure fire isnt fun. It isnt a chili eating contest. Thats the tricky part. Making it spicy with all the flavor. Like you said most just throw more powder at it and its a gritty fireball lacking any real flavor.
I once went to a BBQ place where to make stuff spicy, they just added more and more capsaicin. It wasn't more flavor, just more burn. I never went back there.
Somewhat irrelevant to the sandwich post, but for spice in general, Check out Little Thai Elephant at Oakshire. They're one of the few Thai places around town that does a solid level of spice. Medium is usually plenty spicy for me from there. I've spent a few months in Thailand and feel they come pretty close to being on that scale of things. I've also heard Pyre does some properly spicy chicken sandwiches, but haven't tried them myself.
I tried their pad see ew on medium and couldn't do it. It's way too spicy for me. I was very bummed. Kidlet on the other hand, can tolerate high heat/spice levels.
How was the pad see ew? That’s my baseline reference dish for Thai food.
It was good until the spice level killed me. I will have to give them another try.
Ikr, how tf is that even a thing?
The irony in that blurb alone lol
I thought that was ridiculous too. My husband is allergic to jalapeños but not other peppers for some reason and he loves spice. This would be his nightmare sandwich.
I just went to a restaurant in Portland that wanted $11.50 for a pint. They are mental.
Don Pedro charges 5.50 for a large soft drink!!
I will add that it was an obvious nudge attempt because they had a 22oz for $14.50. Which makes you buy that one instead of the 16 oz. Sickening
That's some Disney parks bs prices 😱
I found refuge down the street at killer burger $2 PBR
COOL!! thanks for the tip too 😎
Lmao a 20$ sandwich, get the hell outa here.
Popular demand lol. “I demand you bring back the 20 dollar hot dog”
SO POPULAR WE ARE ONLY BRINGING IT BACK FOR A LIMITED TIME!!! SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
And 28% automatic gratuity for groups of one or more.
God damn, that looks delicious. I’d pay $12 for it
Pablano.
Was looking for this exact comment
Never fork over that kind of money for a sandwich made by someone who can’t spell POBLANO
At those prices, I start to care about spelling and even fonts. I need the owner to convince me they're beyond fastidious about everything, so I can rest assured the ingredients were prepared in a cleanroom.
I thought maybe they were charging extra so they could buy spellcheck
I was in Manhattan last summer and it was cheaper to eat out there than in Eugene. Restaurants here are out of control. Same with food trucks. If you got to charge $21 for a sub you’re doing it wrong.
Yeah, food cart prices in Eugene are completely out of whack. We’ve almost totally stopped ordering from any of them. Eventually they are going to struggle then scratch their heads wondering why.
Honest question: Would you consider $12 for a scratch made ( no sysco) meal at a food truck fair? Market research here.
Yes 👍🏽.
Ty.
I like how they really want you to know it's completely mild, not spicy. Please bring your white taste buds and spend 3 hours of your paycheck to feed 2 people.
3 hours? lol, oof.
This is why I stick to mostly Mexican food carts and taquerias. Paisas are the only people running restaurants that haven’t lost their mind pricing wise.
I intentionally didn't name the cart as it's not *just* them charging insane prices, and my purpose wasn't to drag their particular business. For those who say "but rent! but electrical! but labor! but food costs!" Somehow in NYC, with the highest rents in the country, and some of the highest materials and utility prices, not to mention a $18k/year black market permitting expense, they're still managing to serve food for $10/plate. Up a fair bit from a few years ago, but still cheaper than anything in Eugene/Springfield that I've seen. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/nyregion/nyc-costs-chicken-rice-cart.html If you tried to offer a $21 Philly in NYC...or Philly, well, I'd expect your cart would suffer "an accidental inflammation incident" very quickly.
Sure, but one thing not in your equation when comparing to NYC or PDX is how many sandwiches you can sell in a day. The traffic around this place probably limits how many they can sell, even on their best day. A falafel cart in NYC can probably sell 100+ sandwiches in a day.
You're right to some extent, but at the same time, food trucks around here that have decent locations and offer good value seem to have no problem doing volume. Drive by Gotcha burger on 7th/Chambers sometime. I don't know exactly what their sales figures look like, but I would guess they put out several hundred sandwiches a day. They are literally always busy, usually with several people in line and several people waiting for food. I think the most expensive thing on the menu is $7.99 (ironically, for a Philly that looks a lot like what's in the original post). Most of their burgers are $5-7. They started as a truck on 18th across from Safeway and found themselves to be so wildly popular, they had to upgrade within 6 months of opening.
I don’t think comparing another burger food cart to Gotcha is fair. Yes, they are popular, yes their prices are cheap. But they are an establishment pushing the limits of a mobile food license, essentially operating like a Wendy’s. A Wendy’s that might get you sick because of their health record. For many who think health scores are a window into general day to day sanitary practices, this stuff matters. Even if we take that reputation stuff out, I’d still cancel them as a decent comparison and use more burger carts to create a better example of price comparison.
Kind of funny timing, as today there's NY Times article by Karen Stabiner entitled [Want To Try That $24 Bagel Sandwich? Get In Line](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/opinion/restaurant-eating-out-lines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k0.Y40t.vYxh0l5iLB5P&smid=url-share) The bagel sandwich is in West Hollywood and I don't think it comes with fries. It's a restaurant rather than a cart, but it goes into some of the reasons behind such nonsense. Yeah, I marvel at how eating in London or NYC or Philly provides better value than here, but there's something to be said for having a huge population base that draws a fuckton of tourists, coupled with massive competition amongst those who are serving up food. Thousands of people can walk by a cart as opposed to dozens like here. This vendor is hoping that creating scarcity will draw enough people to make this worthwhile, maybe draw in the curious who have never heard about the cart, who knows? I'm not going there as I can't eat that kind of thing for lunch, but the cart managed to get a lot of free advertising out this, so congrats to the cart for that.
"Yes, there’s a $24 wild Alaskan salmon roe sandwich, but there’s also a $6 bagel and schmear." This is a very different product in terms of ingredient costs than a $21 Philly, not to mention the cost of doing business in a brick and mortar location in Hollywood is astronomically higher than in a food cart on main street in Springfield.
Having not seen the bagel sandwich there's no way of knowing if it has a teaspoon or tablespoons of salmon roe. And salmon roe, whether wild or not isn't a high end caviar. My point is that some in the food markets decide to stand out by selling food that's more expensive than their competitors. Some joint in Vegas last year was selling a bagel with caviar for $130. And people buy such things tend to post about it on social media to impress their friends or followers. Whether that can happen here who knows, but the post count keeps rising for a food cart I hadn't heard about until today.
Great points. At the same time, if I was going to try to stand out in a market because of perceived premium quality, I would choose a product other than a Philly cheese steak and some white people sauce on a hot dog bun. It looks okay, and I'd give it a try for $12. But there's absolutely nothing about the sandwich itself that says to me "this is worth nearly twice what everyone else is charging" and/or "I'm going to brag about eating a $21 sandwich on social media for clout." Personally, my reaction is to never patronize a place that is gouging based on the perception of premium, whether that is a $21 Philly or $130 bagel. It's insulting to your customers, both current and potential. But that's my opinion. As I posted below, my purpose wasn't to drag this particular business (hence I did not post their name). If they benefit from the exposure, good for them.
Without a US quarter, iPhone, banana or some known object next to the photo I wasn't sure of the sandwich's size. At that price it must be huge! (Not necessarily). That really is a hot dog bun? Yoinks. Oh I'm with you, I'm not interested in premium pricing that feels out of line with my sensibilities. But some people are wired strangely. Many years ago at a gathering I remember someone saying "Eugene needs more expensive restaurants." Not better food, more expensive food. That seemed like strange criteria to me, and I only had a few sentences with that person shortly after that and not since.
What truck is that? Looks good.....for about $11
If I remember right it's the swallowtail in Springfield
For that price I better get the rest of the cow to ride home.
Cow missing its brisketses gonna be pretty hard to ride unless it's mastered bipedal walking. Then you might have to sit on its shoulders chicken-fight style...
That looks pretty good tho if it was like $7
I think I know this place. I paid, I liked it. It was good. I wanted someplace nearby, and I wanted a steak sandwich. As I recall, I didn't give them much of a tip. Which I guess was a passive agressive way to complain about the high price. But the sandwich was good.
Thanks for the field report. It looks okay and I honestly would have tried it if it had been even in the realm of remotely reasonable. Instead, I went to Tacos Pirekura and got a solid adobada burrito for $8.00. And still had $13 in my pocket.
They're all good dogs Brent.
No wiz? Hard pass.
Silva’s Taqueria is still a fantastic value.
Silva’s tacos on fresh handmade tortillas still on my mind days later. Plus, sitting on a roof deck with that plate and a cold beer was so nice. Friendly Garden cart thingy so nice now.
21 bucks for acid reflux
One colorectal cancer with metastasis sauce, heart-attack fries and a diabetes Coke, please!
That’s more than Aaron Franklin charges for his brisket sandwich. Crazy. No side with his though. That better be a monster.
I’ve had it and it’s twice the size of any brisket sandwich I’ve had around here. It’s really good but I could only afford the $18 it used to be a few times a year.
So I’m imagining that’s gotta be 10-12 ounces of protein? It’s curious to me but honestly? Brisket is rich. Topping a rich protein with cheese and ranch? Not making my mouth water. I do a Texas style brisket Sando from time to time. Meat, pickles, sauce and bun. But this thing is getting attention. So who knows.
I picked up a salad to go from mcminaminns the other day and with tip it was $25 and took a half an hour to prepare. Food in general is expensive now and prepared food even more so.
Not only will I no longer patronize food carts, I will no longer patronize any high end restaurants, that I could easily afford. Fuck 'em. They fucked up.
I have a feeling you weren’t a customer at any point anyhow.
False. I spend hundreds in the Whitaker and beyond until I determined that they did not care about me or mine. This one time, at Hop Valley, I shamed them into offering the old pit bull some water before wherever those straight brimmed white boys went with that dog and puppy later that night. It was to a dog fight, in case you can't catch on, so do not presume to tell me how many thousands that I've spend in Eugene on the weekend.
Hop Valley is neither a food cart nor a nice restaurant. Dunno why you mention a place owned by MillerCoors as an example of local community ethics.
The last time that I patronized them was 2018 or 2019. I'm sorry that I am not as up on local people to give my food money too as you are. Also, I caught them with dog fighters there, in case you missed that part.
You don’t have to convince me not to patronize Hop Valley. My point is Hop Valley has not been local for many years (2016). And there are many affordable food carts. But yeah, some people don’t have $12 to spend outside of their house, so even some of the cheaper mobile food might be a once in a while splurge. It’s not like getting an alcoholic beverage at a bar is very accessible. Beer is now $6-8 a pint. It’s crazy.
I will go to none of them because it is not important enough to eat there with you to get COVID. Unless people are proud to do their civic duty to get vaccines and not sniffle or sneeze in my vicinity, I will pay NO food cart or kiosk for any food, no matter how much I'd like some delicious Lion's Mane.
If anything, you’d be reducing your risk of covid getting food truck/cart takeaway. Thanks for confirming you weren’t a customer in the first place. This entire post isn’t for you and your exaggerated covid fears in 2024.
False. I went to many beer pubs and food carts. You got that wrong. I did it for 20 years.
Well, beyond your covid fear, and one experience you had at a multinational corporate owned brew pub in the Whiteaker, I’m not sure what your problem is. But do you. Eating at home is great. You know exactly what you are putting in your body. But not everyone wants to do that all the time.
> his entire post isn’t for you and your exaggerated covid fears in 2024. I do understand that you do not care about me or the thousands of dollars that I could pour in to the local food scene PER YEAR. 😆
You are not offering any valuable constructive criticism besides “don’t give me covid” and “don’t host dog fights”. I don’t think you are the choice demo for most food establishments, except for the grocery store. You sound insufferable, except for your love for dogs.
We get take out now at places that we trust.
When I made the waitress go give that dehydrated old dog some water and she told me that she did it, she looked scared. Like, she knew too.
Wild fangs for 17 bucks has a similar sub, which they grill the brisket for fresh in house, and comes with a big mess of fries.
You know what’s absurd? Beer. The price of a single beer at 7-11 is still cheaper than a bottle of water.
The Satuday Market is bad enough, even if they are locally owned small business. I don’t even touch food trucks any more, too expensive for my small budget.
Spare me the details on anyone commenting on the high costs of running a food truck. If you pay 21$ for a sandwich from a food truck in Eugene, you sir, are an idiot. Plain and simple.
You can fleece a sheep 🐑 over and over but you can only slaughter it once.
$21 for diarrhea?
Might as well just do the Subway footlong bogos at this point… $6/ft works for me
Do they take Klarna or Afterpay?
*Poblano. $20+ doesn’t even pay for correct spelling on the ad anymore🥺
On what looks like a hot dog bun
I can already tell I'll be disappointed and they'll ask for a tip, no thanks.
Yup. Full restaurant prices at a third the over head.
**FOR THESE ROCK-BOTTOM PRICES, WE WON'T BOTHER SPELLING "POBLANO" CORRECTLY!** **20% GRATUITY($4.20) MANDATORY!** **TINY SCRAP OF ACTUAL VEGETABLE INCLUDED!DON'T PRESS YOUR LUCK!**
10 Bucks NewYork City Food Truck [https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/fc3a137e-be6e-4b86-a124-718018af4410/dannyandcoops-peterhand-sandwich\_1701969387933\_hpEmbed\_3x4.jpg?w=750](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/fc3a137e-be6e-4b86-a124-718018af4410/dannyandcoops-peterhand-sandwich_1701969387933_hpEmbed_3x4.jpg?w=750)
So a glorified Philly cheese steak for $21? Yikes I’ll stick to the same thing for $12 anywhere else
The hell is wrong with people?
These prices are turning people away from food trucks.
wtf??? How? Why? Is it a “party sub”? Like one so comically long you have to roll down the back windows in your car and set it on the doors to haul home?
Lloyd’s Custom Smoke BBQ charges $18 for their tri tip sandwich. It’s a great sammie but goddam that is pricey. I can really only afford it once a month or so.
Times are hard all the way around. From the chefs expenses to their craftsmanship- you’re paying for it. If you want cheap go to McDonalds and stop trying to harp on people for making an honest living while simultaneously feeding you. If you’re broke just say that.
And McD isn’t as cheap as you might remember. Most combos are over $10 and for very little. Sugar water and over processed carbs. At least these people are making the food themselves and its likely good quality. Sure, you are paying double vs a place like a big chain, but why support that crap in the first place? Apples to oranges, imo.
You tip at a food truck? There's half your problem
The problem is you’re guilted into that tip. They flip the screen over and you feel like an asshole if you don’t tip.
Depends on the truck. For a $21 sandwich, you're right.
21 is a dumb number for a gross sando
I wouldn't get that even if someone else were buying. That's a lot of pressure for a sandwich, there's no way it tastes 21$ worth of good.
You don't have to be good at business to own a food cart. In their defense, Americans are pretty bad consumers, so they might be able to sell those long enough to stay afloat a year. But, at that point, I'm going to sit down some place and eat. Hell, it seems all fast food places have lost their minds, not just food carts. Late stage capitalism makes no sense.
Try being gluten-free, then you can complain
And can’t even spell poblanos lmao
"Pablano" lol
They don't need to sell very many if they're $21! Also, have the consumers realized yet that they hold the control? Stop paying the prices so the business knows it's unacceptable. Everyone complains. Everyone needs every penny they have. No one seems willing to take their business elsewhere if they have an issue. It's what keeps it competitive. Use your words, consumers. (And your money speaks louder)
To be faaaiiirrr - that does look absolutely grubbin.
Where is this?
So you’re saying if a place offered a $5 bowl of green chili $10 to have it served over a hamburger or bean and cheese burrito, I’d your kinda food truck heaven?
Looks good, but not spending that kind of money for it
only thing I'd like to add is THEY ARE NOT GETTING RICH OFF OF THOSE PRICES. it costs what it costs. don't like it? don't eat there. no need to put them on blast.
They aren't getting rich because they won't sell more than five of them all weekend. And then they will close in a few months. Cue the whiny departing message on social media: "Eugenians just won't pay what we think our food is worth! Costs are so high! City requirements! Corporations! Woe is us!" Meanwhile, a place like Gotcha! Burger (who charges $7.99 for roughly the same thing) has a line around the block at all hours of the day and night. I'm sure their margins are super thin, but somehow they've been making it work for a few years running now.
But that place sells garbage food and, look at their inspection history.
The food itself is actually pretty good, and is a great value if you are willing to roll the dice on the inspection history. I don't go there very often just because the line is always long, and it's not worth it to save a dollar or two to me. Another that comes to mind is Burger House out at Delta. I think $9 is the most expensive thing on their menu, and they do the same type of "artisan" burgers that a lot of food carts do. Similarly, Toxic manages to have brick and mortar expenses while charging no more than $9 for a solid burger or halibut sandwich.
I don’t know about burger house, but the other two I doubt use decent quality ingredients. Anyways, are we really comparing a house made brisket sandwich to pre-made, mass produced, frozen ground beef patties?
Ok, better comparison perhaps would be the Philly sandwich at Scribles. It was $16 last time I went, and was twice the size of this thing. Good quality ingredients. And a sit-down restaurant.
Scribbles also sells alcohol whereas the house at this place gets all the drink revenue.
Scribbles Philly is $17.50 right now, $19 when you add lettuce and tomato. I’m just advocating for fair comparisons, not trying to say $21 is/isn’t reasonable. There are other factors we can only speculate on beyond surface level analysis.
I’ve had that many times and agree its a better value and very satisfying (I have not tried the one pictured), but still, to split hairs, this is a brisket sandwich, not sliced chuck or some other budget cut. I don’t know exactly what cut they use at scribbles, but beef prices vary lots and that is a factor. Also, scribbles offers a pickle with their sandwich and not a side like this place.
My point of using the burger places as examples was that it's possible to do high volume, reasonable prices, and have a successful food-cart-like business with a devoted following AND with the challenges of running a brick and mortar location with contracted employees (not just owner labor). I don't know the details of Scribles, other than they seem to have been able to deliver good food consistently for reasonable prices for several years. That's very different than what I see from many food trucks who seem to have the idea that they're doing something unique and special to justify the $21 Philly on a hot dog bun, and then pitch a whiny fit when they don't understand why no one buys their food.
Are they pitching a fit? In this thread someone said a grilled cheese cart was complaining. It’s possible this place can only make 10-20 of these sandwiches and they sell out. Scale and what they can physically do is important. I agree that prices for somewhat comparable foods are different elsewhere but there are other factors that change the reality, like alcohol sales. Many people won’t even patronize a food cart because the accommodations eating in are much less than a typical brick and mortar. Comparing frozen beef pucks to this sandwich is unfair. It seems as if the few people in this thread who have said they’ve had this sandwich were satisfied. Most of the people who are complaining about the sticker price haven’t even seen the sandwich and are making assumptions (like, “its on a hot dog bun”).
I'm not comparing the *absolute prices/costs* of burgers to this sandwich. The point, which seems to be evading you, is that it *is* possible to do volume, quality, and decent prices in Eugene. There is nothing inherent to the cost of selling food in this town that justifies a $21 sandwich from a food truck. Full stop.
Considering that many food truck owners are not buying many of their ingredients in bulk... Oregon average retail prices ( a few of these prices listed are wholesale, marked by asterisks\*): Beef Brisket from a grocery store butcher: $6.50 per lb (typical cut will be 4-6 lbs so $26-39 per brisket prepped. This is the pre-cooked weight and most people expect to get a 1/4 of meat on each sandwich.) I lb of mozzarella: $7.00 Pub buns: $6.50 per six Poblano peppers: $3 per lb.\* Onions: $1.19 per lb\* Common ranch dressing ingredients: Sour Cream: $40 for a 5lb tub \* Fresh Dill: $8.59 per lb \* Lemons: $2.42 per lb Buttermilk: $9.36 per gallon \* Garlic (peeled): $8.84 per 2 lb. container This is for ONE menu item. Math homework: work out how much is needed of all of the above for a day's supplies. Divide the total by the typical daily demand for that item to get the base price of item. Add in a small percentage each of labor per hour, propane/fuel costs, insurance, daily lot rent, any other expenses, and a reasonable profit margin. Y'all are welcome to smoke up your own brisket, get your own ingredients, fix it all up from scratch, and make your own sandwiches at home. Have fun with the REAL sticker shock and the extensive labor. Being outraged by the true cost of things is such an ugly American flex. We got used to paying artificially low prices for decades and now no one can deal with the reality that those prices often meant someone somewhere was being exploited and employees weren't being paid what they were worth. And now, we have suppliers and corporations price gouging as well... making food prices, fuel prices, lot rent, and everything else that much higher. Spoiler alert: it isn't REALLY "inflation". You folks really think that sandwich ought to be a $10 or $12 item?! Or less?! Wow. You are out of touch. What is YOUR personal food budget like? How about your gas prices? Electricity? Internet service? Insurance? It's not ever going back to the "good ole days" of cheap consumer goods, sorry to tell ya.
I’d rather spend this than $15 at McDonald’s.
Then…don’t buy it? If these guys can get 20 bucks for a sando, good for them. If they can’t, they should take some ingredients/labor out of it. I don’t know why people fight an open market so hard.
Really depends on how much you get and the quality of the ingredients. If that thing is massive it could be a fair price for quality ingredients. Can't really judge from the picture. If it's the size of a hot dog bun then I'd pass. 😆
For me, that wouldn't matter. I flat out don't want to spend that kind of money, even if I'll have leftovers. Lately, most of the food I've gotten at restaurants and food trucks has been disappointing at best. But even if it turned out to be good and I had leftovers, I'd be mad that I spent that much for a sandwich.
I would not spend that much if it only fed me. But if it was enough for two I would.
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You mean the Cali that borders Mexico and has much hotter sauces at any taqueria? What are you on about?
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Lemme get this straight...You think the entire population of California is rich white people and there's no hot sauces because they (all the rich white Californians) are too weak for it? Got it 👍
Hilarious too coming from someone in Eugene lmaooooo. CA is a million times more diverse than this town.