Steps to Starting a Food Truck in Denver, CO
Food
trucks have grown very popular in major cities such as Denver, Seattle, and
Portland. Since starting a small
storefront is very expensive, owning a food truck is the perfect, inexpensive alternative. Finding the necessary information for
the process of starting your own Food Truck is difficult. GOOD NEWS! All the information can be found here. This blog explains the
entire process I undertook to start my crepe cart business.
There are a few options of how to
buy a cart, however, fully built trailers or stands cost a pretty penny. To save money I purchased a homemade
camper on Craigslist for $450 and spent a month renovating it up to health
code. This process required; gutting the inside of the trailer, placing
linoleum on the floors, cutting a concession window, building an awning for the
window, installing countertops, plumbing (sinks, water pump, water heater),
electrical work, and finally placing FRP kitchen standard tile on the
walls. All said and done,
reconstructing the trailer cost roughly $2,000. Most of the trailer parts were new, however, I stopped by an
RV salvage and picked up a few used parts for cheap.
Each
state and county health department holds different standards as to what the
food truck or trailer requires, so the requirements listed only hold true to
Denver. You should be able to find
the health code requirements online at your government’ website.
In Denver specifically, there are
many ridiculous requirements even if you just sell bottled water. All carts or trucks must have at least
a hand-washing sink with both hot and cold water.
Step-by-Step
Checklist for Starting a Food Truck
·
Find your food cart and build it to health code
standard
·
Decide on your business name and make sure it
hasn’t been taken. To avoid problems later down the road, make sure your name
is very unique. The last thing you
want to deal with is being sued for using a name that has already been
registered.
·
Figure out which type of business you will be
running (eg. LLC, Sole proprietorship, S-Corp)
· 1. Determine which category of license
fits your operation. The license types offered for Mobile Retail Food
Establishments by Denver Department of Excise and Licenses are:
a. Mobile retail food establishment is a self-propelled
motorized vehicle that is designed and equipped to serve food. The motor of a
mobile retail food establishment is integral to the unit, and these units
operate under a “Mobile Retail Food License.”
b. Food carts, as
well as trailers, are not motorized and are towed by another vehicle. Push
carts and trailers operate under a “Stand-up Retail Food License.”
·
Go to a bank, open a checking/savings account
and have the business banker file for an application to the city for the type
of business as well as intended business name. (They will let you know if your
business name is already taken).
Also ask the banker to assign you an EIN number. This will come in handy
later down the road.
·
Schedule a health inspection with your
Department of Environmental Health (DEH). In Denver they do inspections every
Wednesday from 9am to 11am. They nusually
book 3 weeks out so make sure to get one setup so you are ready to go.
·
Once this is approved, go to the city licenses
and permits office to receive a health and fire department inspection
card. Also make sure you get a
general business questionnaire form.
For the first visit make sure you have your EIN number.
·
Once your cart or truck gets approved and signed
off by a health inspector and fire department, bring your papers back to the
city to receive your business license.
Make sure that you have valid State Identification and your general
business questionnaire completed. The following fees apply to the state of
Denver to obtain license.
·
-
Application fee: $200.00
·
- License fee (per year): $125.00
Once you have built your trailer
and it is up to code, it is time to schedule and appointment with the Health
Department. Usually this health
department performs these inspections one day each week. In Denver, Health Department performs
their inspections on Wednesdays mornings. If you are using propane, stove, or
anything else that may start a fire, passing a firecode test is required.
Requirement varies on county, but usually a fire extinguisher must be present
at all times. You can show up to
your local fire department every day during their inspection hours and they
simply take a look at your fire extinguisher to make sure it is not expired and
is properly stowed.
The next step that you must take is
to sign up with a licensed commissary (public kitchen). In this kitchen you will store all of
your food, beverages, and whatever else you may need to sell, as well as
perform all of your cooking, prepping, and cutting. If you own your own
licensed kitchen you can get by without a commissary, however, everyone must
get an affidavit signed by a licensed kitchen in order to obtain a vending
license. There is no way out of
this even if you are only storing syrup for snow cones. The commissary that I chose offered dry
storage, freezer and fridge space.
Health Inspection Checklist (Are you prepared for the final
test?)
Plumbing
Water tanks: Can be any size, but dirty water tank
must be 15% bigger than clean water tank.
Fresh water tank must be above dirty water tank. Water tanks must be secured in the
trailer. I purchased my water tanks at the RV salvage for about $30 a piece,
however new water tanks can be purchased online anywhere from $50 to $150
depending on the size.
Water Pump:
You will need a good water pump with at least 50 psi. I bought a Flojet from Home Depot for
about $100. There are 2 different options: ACDC powered pumps and battery-powered
pumps. I personally would avoid
the battery powered ones as they will end up costing you more and are more of a
pain in the ass to deal with.
Water Heater: This can be tricky, as the water needs
to reach 117 degrees Farenhight within 10 seconds. Few water pumps can heat the
water that fast, so before the inspection make sure to power the water heater
right when you get there to ensure the water is hot enough by the time of the
inspection. I bought my water
heater from a wholesaler for $170 and it plugs into a basic outlet in my truck.
Sinks: These can be any shape really and no certain size is
required in Denver. (May be different in your county). Anyone selling food needs a
3-compartment sink (Cleaning, rinsing, and sanitizing). Since I am only selling juice, they
only require a small hand-washing sink. (This holds true for any other type of
similar product eg. Snowcones, beverages).
Finally, make
sure everything is pressure proof and there aren’t any leaks throughout the
whole system.
Along with
plumbing you need to always have a sanitation bucket with sanitation drops. 1
part for every 2 million.
Electricity
Electrical wires
must be covered and cannot be exposed in the cart. Lights must have covers. A licensed electrician is supposed
to do the job, however, I am not licensed and I wired the electrical myself,
and told them it was professionally done. Just make sure that whoever is doing
your electrical knows what they are doing. For my cart I wired 12 outlets throughout the trailer, 2
indoor lights, and 2 outdoor lights.
I recommend
Walls
To cover up the
electrical and make that trailer look sexy, I highly recommend purchasing FRP
(Fiber-reinforced Plastic) for the walls. FRP is kitchen standard material,
easy to clean, and fairly reasonable in price. This isn’t a requirement, and there are other options out
there such as stainless steel.
After the FRP
was screwed into place in the studs, we used compound joint to connect all of
the open joints. Compound joint is
not the best option, but it worked for us. Buy some joint tape and begin to
cover all cracks with the paste. After it dries be sure to sand it.
Once the walls
are completed, it is time to paint!
Finding the right color of white to match the FRP was difficult. I took a sample of the FRP to Guirey’s
(A local paint supply and he performed 6 different attempts to match the
color). It was worth the wait, however, because you can barely tell the joints
are there! Finally to complete the walls, we caulked all of the corners between
the walls and counters.
Here are specific steps and rules I found
online about your food cart/truck.
Preparing for the inspection
Construction. Inspect the cart,
trailer, or truck to ensure it is clean, in good condition, and fully
functional. All food areas must be easily cleanable and safe for food storage
and display. Fill gaps and cracks with approved food-grade silicone caulk. Some
panels and parts are designed for removal for cleaning; do not caulk the gaps
around removable panels.
Trucks equipped with grills or
other grease cooking devices must be equipped with ventilation equipment that
is intact, in working order, and installed with approved grease extractors.
Additional construction
requirements can be discussed with a department representative or will be
addressed during inspection of the unit.
Water and Wastewater supply. Make
sure that the cart or truck to be used is furnished with the required water
fixtures, potable water supply tank, and adequate wastewater reservoir tank.
This does not apply to food peddlers that carry or push an approved cooler or
cart and sell prepackaged food.
The wastewater retention tank
must be at least 15 percent larger than the potable water tank and sufficient
to contain all wastewater produced while operating the cart or truck. The
wastewater must be contained on the unit until properly disposed to a sanitary
sewer at the commissary. Wastewater may not be discharged onto the ground or
road.
The cart or truck must be
furnished with a hand washing sink A 3-compartment utensil washing sink is not
always required, but it will allow you to wash some dishes on your unit instead
of in the commissary. Water supplied to the plumbing fixtures must be under
pressure. There should be a means to heat water for the hot water supplied to
the fixtures at a temperature of at least 90oF. The water fill inlet must be
located where it will not be contaminated by waste discharge, road dust, oil,
or grease. A cap to cover and protect the water fill inlet must be in place at
all times, unless you are filling the potable water tank. The potable water
tank must be filled from an approved water supply or fixture at the commissary.
Only use approved food-grade hose to fill the potable water tank. This can be
obtained from most hardware/home improvement stores and camping supply centers.
Additional details of the potable water and wastewater requirements can be
found in sections 9-104 and 9-105 of the Retail Food Establishment Regulations.
Storage. Safe food, equipment,
and utensil storage must be available on the cart or truck. All equipment and
other items must be stored clean, sanitary, and protected. Any items that can
not be stored on the unit must be stored in an approved area at your
commissary. This includes the fresh potable water hose and wastewater hoses for
maintaining your mobile unit.
Refrigerators and freezers must
operate at all times that food is prepared or served. You may need a generator
if your refrigerators or freezers only operate when the truck is running.
Potable ice may be used as a
coolant for food storage. Ice used to store cold food may not be used to serve
in food or beverage for the customer. If ice is used to store cold food, the
wastewater must drain away from the bin and discharge in an approved manner.
Equipment. Equipment used by a
mobile operator must meet the same requirements as all other retail food
establishments and must be smooth, easily cleanable, and approved commercial
grade.
Equipment must be maintained
clean and sanitized. Units without a 3-compartment warewashing sink must be
maintained with an ample supply of clean utensils available. Equipment and
utensils must be cleaned and sanitized upon return to the commissary.
A calibrated thermometer must be
available to monitor the temperature of the food during storage, preparation,
and service.
Only disposable, single-service
articles (i.e. wrappers, utensils, plates, containers) may be provided for
customers.
Ready to Sell
Once you receive
your business license, you are ready to hit the streets and begin selling!
From my
experience, the food cart industry is a tight-knit community and everyone is
happy to answer questions or help out in anyway. If you have any more questions that weren’t answered, feel
free to email me info@batterfoodcart.com
Good luck!
