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The need for a team of experts that can build a food truck, and give advice on how to operate it, was evident to a pair of Detroit area food truck veterans, Ray Friedrich and Karl Boston.
Friedrich, an executive for one of the country's largest corporate dining companies, and Boston, a food truck owner turned food truck builder, are partners providing everything from food truck design to advice on menu planning and marketing to aspiring food truck owners.
The pair have found the demand for their knowledge is huge as more individuals and organizations want to launch food trucks. In the past year, they have built 25 food trucks and several more are in the planning stage.
Friedrich, as a longtime corporate dining and refreshment service executive, partnered with food trucks for years. Prior to selling his own business, Canton, Michigan-based Sterling Services Inc. to Continental Services this year, Friedrich designed his own food truck, working with Boston.
Friedrich, who now has a full-time job working in business development for the company that bought his business, consults with food truck owners on design, workflow, point of sale, menu design, payment systems and inventory management systems.
Boston operates The Food Truck Shop, a food truck building business in Canton, which he opened eight years ago after operating his own food truck. The company has seen double-digit growth every year and is planning to expand from its 4,500-square-foot building to a larger one and is also exploring acquiring a fabrication shop in Detroit.
Consulting clients include big corporations, school systems, restaurants and foodservice providers that service corporate campuses.
Friedrich and Boston currently have four clients who want electric vehicles. In addition to electric vehicles, they envision self-driving food trucks serving corporate campuses.