From Los Angeles to New York, street food is springing up everywhere. Projections suggest that by 2020 food trucks will be a billion dollar industry. Since 2009 the food truck business has grown 80%. Food trucks are here to stay and here’s 20 reasons why this trend is so hot.

20. Changing Perceptions

Gone are the days when mobile kitchens were called “Roach Coaches”. People understand that street food businesses are held to the same (sometimes higher) safety and sanitation standards of any restaurant.

19. Value

Lunch wagons give an inexpensive meal for the budget conscious foodie. Traditionally, street food is less expensive than conventional dining options.

18. Social Media

Chuck wagon operators are masters of digital communication and they use it to drive sales. Their tweets, blogs, Pinterest entries and Facebook pages are constantly evolving marketing platforms that the public has embraced.

17. Lower Overhead

Mobile kitchens have a cheaper operating cost than brick and mortar restaurants. With no rent to pay or buildings to support, food trucks can run a lean and lucrative operation cheaper than their traditional dining competitors.

16. Lower Startup Cost russian grocery store

To open a fixed location restaurant requires two to three times the amount of capital than it does to start a food truck. Realistically an entrepreneur with 75 thousand dollars could have an operating food truck business.

15. Location, Location, Location

The mobility of a chow wagon gives the owner the freedom to change his site daily, even every few hours if he so chooses. That pizza shop that you go to can’t drive their building to fairs, festivals and events.

14. Cooperation

Lunch wagon operators are a tight-knit community that work together so that everyone benefits from each others business. One food truck parked on the street may go unnoticed by a hungry lunch crowd. Four food trucks on a corner creates a scene.