Like many self-proclaimed foodies, I have developed a bit of a food truck addiction in the last few years. To be fair, it was hard not to as torrents of artistically graffiti-ed, hipster-driven trucks spread throughout the city hawking everything from tasty little waffles to perfectly fried cutlets of meat.
My inner fat kid loves the (generally) cheap, always fast and mostly creative morsels of food this new generation of on-the-go chefs are selling. But the business-minded part of me may be even more excited by the rush.
When you think about it, food trucks are really the perfect small business incubator. Restaurants are notoriously expensive to run and rarely break even in the end, and test-driving a concept could mean never seeing a customer again if the food doesn’t work that night. Food trucks, on the other hand, have lower barriers to entry, require less financial commitment up front and diners seem to carry an inherent willingness to act as guinea pigs when it comes to new tastes.
I don’t just love food trucks because of the food – I love what they stand for from a business innovation perspective, too.
So last year when I up and moved 500 miles south, I had some concerns that my food truck love affair may have to come to an end.
Every city seems to have a claim to fame food item. For Philadelphia it’s the cheese steak, Boston has its chowder and New York is home to the best pizza slice. Well, not so fast. There is a new food item in town, the hamburger. Walking around the city there seems to be almost as many burger joints as there are places to get a famous New York slice. Among them all, one reigns king.
But what makes the Shake Shack so buzz worthy? Some might say their special sauce or maybe it’s the real cheese on the fries. You can also order wine and local beer, the Shackmesiter Ale hits the spot on a hot afternoon. And don’t forget the dessert; it isn’t called the Shake Shack for nothing. The atmosphere racks up some points for the Shake Shack too. There’s something magical about a little burger stand in the middle of the park lit up by lights on a warm summer night.
