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5 <br /> <br />In a free-market system, there really are no “unfair” advantages between business models because <br />all are free to be used by anyone. Even if a food truck’s mobility could create an “unfair” advantage <br />over restaurants, the many disadvantages described above swamp that one small advantage. <br /> <br /> <br />MYTH #3: Trucks have an “unfair” advantage over restaurants because they are not <br />subject to the same set of costs. <br />REALITY: Restaurants generally do have higher costs than food trucks (e.g., buying or <br />leasing restaurant space), but their return for paying all of those costs is getting the <br />benefit of a fixed location and thus avoiding the many disadvantages that food trucks <br />have. <br /> <br />Furthermore, food trucks are in fact subject to many of the same costs that restaurants face. For <br />example, food-truck owners must purchase liability insurance and pay license and permit fees.35 <br />Like other small business owners, truck owners must pay sales taxes, income taxes and payroll <br />taxes.36 They must spend money to pay and train new employees, to purchase inventory and to <br />market their business.37 Restaurants must either pay property taxes or rent, and the same is true <br />for food trucks: Most cities require that food trucks associate with a commissary in which they can <br />park and clean their truck, store their inventory and partially prepare their food.38 This means that <br />food-truck owners must (in addition to paying taxes on their vehicle) either pay property taxes or <br />rent on the commissary space. <br /> <br />There are other costs that food trucks have to pay that restaurants do not. For example, food-truck <br />owners must spend money to purchase their trucks. A brand-new truck can cost anywhere from <br />$75,000 to $300,000; a used truck can cost between $15,000 and $99,000.39 Owners must spend <br />additional funds to outfit their trucks and maintain them. Truck owners must also pay for the costs <br />of fuel (between $250 and $500 a month),40 propane, parking, rental fees or building costs for a <br />commissary or commercial kitchen,41 as well as fees required to park in food-truck lots and to <br />participate in festivals and other community events.42 Finally, trucks that operate within more than <br />one jurisdiction must pay for permits and fees within each of those jurisdictions.43 <br /> <br />In short, food trucks forgo the higher costs of operating a restaurant by forgoing all of the <br />advantages that owning a restaurant provides. Food trucks are nonetheless subject to a whole host <br />of costs, some of which restaurants do not have to pay. <br /> <br /> <br />MYTH #4: Food trucks have an “unfair” advantage over restaurants because operating a <br />food truck is easy. <br /> <br />REALITY: Just like running a restaurant, running a food truck is extremely hard work. <br /> <br />Ignoring all of the disadvantages and costs of the food-truck business model, many people still <br />believe that, in the real world, running a food truck—unlike running a restaurant—is an easy way to <br />make a lot of money. Try telling that to Miley Holmes, who runs the Easy Slider food truck in Dallas.