Mobile Food Services NAICS 722330

Jun 14, 2025 - Boston Adding Late-Night Food Trucks

• Boston is launching a Late Night Food Truck Program that will host food trucks at public sites near hospitals, universities, music venues and nightlife districts, the mayor’s office announced in June. Participating food trucks will be selected by lottery. "This initiative is a direct response to conversations with residents, workers, and business, as they consistently indicated to me the need for more food options after hours,” said Corean Reynolds, director of Nightlife Economy for the City of Boston. Local Boston businesses said they feel the addition of food trucks will add to Boston's nightlife scene. Boston’s nighttime program comes as McDonald’s and other restaurant chains are expanding into late night, with the “vast majority” of McDonald’s restaurants staying open until midnight or later this summer, according to the company.
• In May, Fitch Ratings lowered its 2025 outlook for the US restaurant sector to Deteriorating from Neutral, citing weakening consumer sentiment on discretionary spending and renewed inflationary pressures on the sector’s profitability. The credit rating agency predicts a low-single-digit decline in restaurant spending this year, versus previous expectations of flat to slightly positive. Fitch’s downgrade followed data company Technomic’s lowering of its 2025 projection, from about 5.1% sales growth to 3.4% to 4.6%, citing “uncertainty” for its adjustment. Consumer sentiment plunged to near record-lows in May as consumers braced for more inflationary impact amid President Trump’s trade war. According to Fitch, weakening consumer sentiment is expected to further reduce discretionary spending throughout 2025, as persistent inflation pressures disposable income, and tariffs exacerbate food inflation. Flexible menu design and pricing strategies are key levers food truck operators can pull to combat inflation and retain price-sensitive customers.

• While food trucks typically use propane tanks to fuel their cooking equipment, they may also rely on portable generators to provide temporary power for lighting, refrigeration, point-of-sale systems, Wi-Fi, and more, according to Catersource. To reduce noise, food trucks may use generator sheds alongside their trucks – an unsafe and dangerous practice, according to the Portable Generator Manufacturers’ Association (PGMA), which does not recommend their use. The Consumer Product Safety Commission advises never to use generator sheds because they can concentrate deadly carbon monoxide (CO) gas. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and disorientation. The PGMA also encourages the purchase and use of portable generators that meet ANSI/PGMA G300-2018 or later safety standard requirements, which include built-in CO shut-off systems to protect against dangerous carbon monoxide levels. Food trucks should also have a secondary CO detector inside for added protection.
• Mobile Cuisine polled over 500 food truck and concession vendors to ask what they consider an acceptable wait time for their customers. How long is too long to wait for a food truck meal? While acceptable wait times varied, the survey showed patrons are more patient than might be expected. While about a quarter of those surveyed (26%) said nothing less than 5 minutes was acceptable, the sweet spot was 5-8 minutes with 41% of respondents in agreement. Of those polled 13% said 8-10 minutes was acceptable, while 9% agreed on 10-15 minutes. Surprisingly, 11% said more than 15 minutes was an OK time to wait for orders. To make longer waits pass more quickly, Mobile Cuisine suggests using beepers or text messages to notify customers when their orders are ready, allowing them to step away from the line.