Brutal heat wave driving away business for food truck owners
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - As the temperature heats up yet again, food truck operators are grappling with a massive cool-down in business.
Many have said the brutal temperatures were brutal on business - and they're banking on relief sometime soon. Feeding foot traffic at Klyde Warren Park feeds the bottom line for culinary entrepreneurs - like Allen Pursley-Ramirez, a manager at Puerto Rican concept, El Chifrijo.
"You know, it's been like, dead. We had a really good spring, and then since the temperatures went up over like, 95, 100 degrees, the park's been pretty dead. It's been really a struggle this summer," he said.
Or Yummy Pizza's Mohammed Bataineh.
"It's slow this summer. It's very slow," he said.
They said the scorching temperatures have kept families indoors - and when they venture out, it's not for something like pizza.
"It's too hot for the kids. All the customers need is to drink water and ice cream. That's it," said Bataineh.
And not just during the week but also for weekend catering opportunities. Pursley-Ramirez said business is down about 85% this summer.
"It's terrible. It's very, very difficult," he said.
And sometimes, sheer safety forces them to close temporarily. Food trucks have little to no AC and an oven, grill or fryers. So, for example, when the temperature is 95 outside, inside the food truck, it's 104.4 degrees.
"Honestly, the cut off for us is about 109, 110. And if it's that hot, we stop," said Pursley-Ramirez.
El Chifrijo has added multiple fans and reflective coating inside the truck. They aren't operating during the hottest times of the day, and employees have a maximum four-hour shirt. But next summer, they said, their best business plan may just be taking July and August off entirely.