Roadside Food Cart

[hollykinga]

Hi everyone. I am seeking your opinion on a consideration I am making. My husband and I live along a moderately popular bike route in a rural part of the U.S.. Because the route goes on for miles in an area with no restaurants or stores, I thought cyclists might enjoy it if we were to set up an outdoor spot for a stop off and offer light meals or a place grab a snack or some water. If you found yourself on such a route do you feel this would be a welcome option, or do you feel most cyclists come fully prepared and would have little interest or need in such a place?
If we put it in, it would be just like a small 'coffee cabin' type structure or a food trailer with a few picnic areas outside. If we were to set something like this up, what type of snacks or small meals would you recommend we offer? I assumed trail mix, granola, water, maybe some electrolyte mix ins or sports drinks etc are a given but I'm looking for other recommendations as well. I also welcome opinions on if you feel not so great snacks should be offered as well....chips, ice cream bars etc. If we offered meals, what should we offer.....are burgers, etc okay or should we go for healthier options? What other type of items do you feel cyclist might be especially interested in us having in stock?
Thanks in advance for the help and please be kind. We just started cycling a month or so ago ourselves but this is all very new territory to us, so what may seem like what should be common knowledge to most cyclists doesn't yet apply to us because we are learning!

 

[I like Skol]

I'm not sure what US cycling culture is like, but here in the UK and Western Europe the cycling 'thing' is very much to have a cafe stop on a good weekend ride. I don't think burgers and chips would be popular as that is quite a heavy meal and would sit on the stomach causing problems/discomfort for the rest of the ride for many people.

Coffee, cakes, light savoury food like toasted sandwiches etc are always popular, maybe bacon rolls?

When you say you are miles from anywhere how do you define that, 5, 20, 50 miles to the next civilization? Your biggest issue is likely to be that apart from the holiday season (if you are in a tourist destination area) you are likely to find that your customers only turn up in any worthwhile numbers at weekend and trade during the rest of the week is just not viable.

Having said that, get your offer right and cyclists will flock to your cafe and will purposely route their rides to fit around a stop at your establishment, but this is still going to be concentrated around weekends and holiday periods.

 

[Salad Dodger]

For me, in the UK, coffee and cake is the combination that usually hits the spot.
Unless I left home early, in which case coffee and a nice big bacon roll is my choice.

Over here, there are all sorts of regulations about training and certification for any staff who handle food or drink. Will you need to do some qualifications before you can set up a business? Maybe, in the land of the free, rules are not as strict.......

 

[ianrauk]

A track pump and a small selection of inner tubes would be very helpful.

 

[Always Cross]

What do you mean by chips? Chips to us means the same as fries to you. Your use of chips would be crisps to us?

 

[hollykinga]

Hi again. To I like Skol, we live about 3 miles from the nearest store if heading back toward civilization but in the opposite direction the cycle route continues on for about 15 miles, with a combination of pavement/mountain dirt. On this portion, there is no public cafe/store. If cyclists are not destined for the closest store in our area and continue along the line we are on, it will be about five miles before they reach a store. There are no restaurants.
We don't plan to get rich or make a career from this. It's just something we'd set up at the front of our property....perhaps install a visitor bell where we could be alerted when someone arrives then go down to assist. We're fortunate enough to work from home (spouse works for an outside business and we collectively own our own business, which I primarily manage) but are not really on a set schedule, so it would allow us to do that as well as maintain our other responsibilities. We would not want to lose money doing it, but the opportunity to meet folks, maybe help them out a bit, and let them rest awhile and enjoy some mountain views and creekside time has more appeal that making a significant amount of money off of it.
Always Cross, by chips it would be your equivalent of crisps. We have baked varieties and that is what I'd probably stock.
Salad Dodger we would have to get a food permit and would have regular inspections by the health department IF we offer anything hot. We could also failrly easily obtain what's called a 'cottage license' for things such as candy, cake etc that can be made from home and sold later. I'm fairly certain we can also purchase ready made items to resell from third party vendors like chicken salad, cakes, etc and would only be responsible for making sure they are in date and stored at proper temperatures without any kind of special permit/licensure. I'd have to get serious about all this and do some research to make sure my answers are 100% correct.
Ianrauk thank you for the track pump idea. That is something I have not even though about.

 

[DRM]

I think coffee & cake is pretty universal, maybe also cold soft drinks & bottled water so customers can top up their Bidons with water, and possibly a bench/picnic table to sit at, personally I would try to keep it simple at first, but ask customers what they would like to see available, for example I've seen one on the cycling path beside the River Loire in France that was doing a roaring trade in cold drinks, including beers, and hot food, good luck with it though.

 

[PeteXXX]

I guess that things are similar there, as well as here, that you would have to comply with food regs, vendor regs have and permission to park a trailer, too.

 

[rivers]

Coffee, cakes, sandwich toasties, light breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast, bacon or sausage roll). Nothing too heavy that sits in the pit of the stomach, plus maybe things like homemade flapjack that cyclists can stuff in their pockets for later on down the road

 

[HobbesOnTour]

My husband and I live along a moderately popular bike route in a rural part of the U.S.

There are all kinds of cycling. People out for a recreational, once a week/month ride along dedicated bike paths are going to have different requirements to people who are training several times a week.

This is a UK forum, albeit with some US based members but the differences in terms of culture and diet are so great that I really can't see you benefiting much from a "what food should I serve?" point of view.

Your biggest challenge, whatever the circumstances, will be to get those that already frequent the route to become customers. If there hasn't been anything before, people are used to that. You'll need to change their minds.

Therefore, your best bet is to talk to those people.

It's always a good idea to look for similar businesses to see what you can learn from them. If they are far enough away and you aren't a threat to their business they might be quite helpful. Charging points for E-bikes, tools etc. and security are good ideas.

If you can, visit something similar as a customer. Experience it as a customer then try to imagine it from the other side of the counter.

Depending on your location have a good think about the seasonality of the business as well as the daily/weekly pattern of business. What other markets can you serve?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If I came across such an offer, in an otherwise sparse section of a long ride, I’d likely stop for something. I’ve followed signs, I’ve come across before, when on tour. Topping up water is always good, especially if hot 🥵 where you are. I’m British therefore can’t say what kind of food your light snacks should be. But I certainly like real food when I stop on the bike. The protein snack bars and anything you put in a water bottle I’m likely a bit tired of, when I stop. Eggs or beans on toast would be my kind of snack.

If it’s a popular bike route, there might be an official website for it, or a forum dedicated to it, if it’s a long distance trail etc. If you go ahead; It’d be worth seeing if you can get your offer marked on any mapping provided.