History of Food Trucks

  • Push Carts

    Push Carts
    Vendors in New York City start using wheeled carts in order to move their products more easily and sell to more customers
  • Chuck Wagon

    Chuck Wagon
    Charles Goodnight invented a mobile kitchen and food vending station on his wagon in order to sell food to cattle ranchers on long cattle drives. As a former cowboy, Goodnight realized that there was an opportunity to sell to hungry ranchers out in the wild west.
  • Mobile Canteen

    Mobile Canteen
    U.S. Army begins using mobile canteens (aka field kitchens) to bring food and water to troops out in the field.
  • Hot Dog Vendors

    Hot Dog Vendors
    Hot dog vendors were some of the first to hop on the food truck trend. The Wiener-mobile from Oscar Meyer is one of the first hot dog trucks. They were popular in parts of New York City and on college campuses on the East Coast.
  • Ice Cream Trucks

    Ice Cream Trucks
    The first ice cream trucks begin serving to neighborhoods.
  • Roach Coach

    Roach Coach
    The modern food truck originated from trucks known in the 1960s as Roach Coaches. They often sold food at construction sites and were named for their often unsanitary kitchen. Today's food trucks are much cleaner than the Roach Coaches, but work and operate mostly the same
  • Modern Food Truck

    Modern Food Truck
    Many believe the popularity around food trucks today began in Los Angeles in 2008.