Keep On Truckin'
06/11/2009It’s no secret that restaurants are hurting. How much is attributed to the Suze Orman effect (going back to her suggestion to avoid eating in restaurants for a full month earlier this year), we may never know, but the economy has certainly made the industry take a hit. There is no doubt that people are cutting back, and even those who still patronize restaurants may be adjusting their selections to something on the lower-cost end of the menu. Restaurateurs, hopefuls, and others have taken to the street in an attempt to conjure up some business without the expense of a traditional restaurant by revamping none other than the good old lunch truck.
A few months ago, Fresh Direct began offering vending machines with meals prepared by top restaurants for somewhere around $7 each, offering taste tests and vouchers for the first meal free to potential customers in the buildings where the machines are located. So far, it seems that the idea has gone over fairly well, and the food receives rave reviews. Now, others are going the route of the lunch truck, offering more reasonably-priced, freshly-prepared fare that sneezes in the face of the cold pizza and dry sandwiches most expect. I will admit, the few times that I have ventured out to a lunch truck, I was disappointed both by the selection and the food I ultimately ended up purchasing. But the convenience won me over on days when there just wasn’t time to go elsewhere or pack something in the morning.
Fresh vegetables, gourmet meals, freshly baked bread? Sign me up – though it seems you are out of luck unless you are in a major metropolitan area, at least for now. But there is a lesson to be learned…drastic times call for drastic measures, and this is one area where a little ingenuity is going a long way.
christine.papesch@veii.com
