There comes a time when every successful restauranteur needs to decide – should you open another restaurant?  Whether you want to open a second location or a brand-new venture entirely, it’s a big choice.  But rather than starting from scratch in a new building, there is another option that might be even more beneficial for you: buying a food trailer.

Why Should Restaurant Owners Buy a Food Trailer

You might be thinking a food trailer is only good for fairs or sporting events where you can sell funnel cake, hot dogs, or other basic dishes. But that’s not the only plus of owning and operating a concession trailer.

Check out these three reasons restaurant owners might benefit from buying a food trailer.

1. Food Trailers Help You Test Out New Markets

If your restaurant is on the east side of town and you’ve got your eye on a location on the west side, chances are there’s a good portion of the population in that neighborhood that’s not familiar with your food.

A food trailer allows you to effectively scout out locations in the neighborhoods you’re targeting to see which areas seem to be most profitable. If you don’t do well, simply pack up and move to a different spot. You can’t do that with a restaurant.

Or even if you have a loyal following in your local neighborhood, you can take advantage of a food trailer to bring your food to local events like street fairs and concerts. If someone’s already a fan of your food, they’ll probably buy from you rather than a generic vendor pushing hot dogs and burgers.

2. Food Trailers Allow You to Try Out New Dishes

Say you want to add a bold new menu item at your restaurant, but you’re unsure of how it will be received, a food trailer is the perfect opportunity to conduct market research.

Offer your new or altered dishes to patrons of your food trailer and ask for their opinions. Test and retest your food until you’re comfortable showcasing it in your restaurant.

3. Cheaper Than Opening a Second Location

It’s just plain cheaper to buy and operate a food trailer than it is to open a second restaurant – or buy a food truck for that matter.

Concession trailers will run you in the tens of thousands of dollars range, depending on how sophisticated you want to get. Double that cost if you need to invest in a reliable towing vehicle. But the median cost of opening a new restaurant is around $275,000.

You do the math.

Create More Demand with a Food Trailer

So, if you’re thinking of expanding your business, a food trailer is one of the simplest and cheapest options out there.

Whether you’re bringing your food directly to your fans or testing out new markets to find new customers, a concession trailer is your answer.