Are Food Bikes the Next Food Trucks?
Food trucks are making way for bicycles as a nimbler, greener vehicle for mobile meal service. Employing souped-up bikes—and even trikes—food entrepreneurs are delivering culinary pleasures to peckish pedestrians. Here’s a tasty selection.
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Illustration: Ping Zhu
Food trucks are making way for bicycles as a nimbler, greener vehicle for mobile meal service. Employing souped-up bikes—and even trikes—food entrepreneurs are delivering culinary pleasures to peckish pedestrians. Here’s a tasty selection.
Two Rivers
Cider Company
Sacramento, Calif.
Founder Vincent Sterne peddles organically milled cider in such flavors as Gravenstein apple, pomegranate, and blackberry from a specially outfitted “bicycle bar” with two taps. “It’s eco-friendly,” he says. “Convenience is another big factor. It’s much easier getting around than in a truck.”
Go! Ice Cream
Ypsilanti, Mich.
For owner Robert Hess, a bike is “seventy-five percent mission and twenty-five percent getting the product out. I also love the idea of combining physical activity and ice cream.” While Go!’s hand-crafted brown butter, three-bean vanilla, and vegan chocolate varieties draw crowds, the bike’s a huge attraction on its own. “It’s a great visual, and kids love it,” Hess says.
Taco Bike
Nashville, Tenn.
Owner Cayla Mackey also views a two-wheeler as a potent marketing tool. “Many people don’t think I’m actually selling food from the bicycle, but then they get curious,” she explains. Mackey’s meat-free, certified-organic offerings include huevos (beans and eggs), papas (beans and potatoes), and migas (eggs and tortilla crumbs with cheese).
Jian Bing Johnny’s
Berkeley, Calif.
This venture combines food love and eco-activism for John Romankiewicz, the blogger known as Sustainable John. For his jian bing—vegetarian crêpes that are a staple in northern China—Romankiewicz uses a hot griddle to sizzle up mung-bean-flour batter with egg, cilantro, green onion, and three different Chinese sauces inside. And, he admits, there’s another reason he’s slinging his jian bing from two wheels instead of four: it’s good for business. “I’m operating a one-man show,” he says. “My profit per unit sold is higher.”
Truth be told, we love four-wheeled eateries too. Here are a few of ourfavorite all-veg food trucks.