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Or, to put that another way: the true cost is real estate. Don’t try to run a cafe. Find a pretty outdoor area where some property developer kindly built commons seating on their own dime, and drive a coffee food truck up to it.

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> Find a pretty outdoor area where some property developer kindly built commons seating on their own dime, and drive a coffee food truck up to it.

Most places with high demand like this also have prohibitions (or limited parking/operating permits) on things like coffee trucks, in my experience. Another issue with our prohibitive land use practices in north america.

I don't know about other cities, but in Washington, DC, the pandemic lockdown essentially destroyed the food truck business. A few operate along the edges of the National Mall, where the customers must be tourists. But McPherson Square, Farragut Square, and L St. NW used to have a lot of food trucks and have none now.

So maybe find a pretty outdoor area where there are lots of tourists.

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