Shoutout to the spreadsheet that killed my food truck dream

I was reading a blog from some city health department and found out food trucks in Portland pay a $1,200 annual permit fee plus another $350 for each commissary inspection. That's not counting the city business license or the $500 deposit for parking spots. I had no clue the overhead was that high before you even flip a single burger. Anyone else get blindsided by hidden costs when they were starting out?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbaraschmidt21h ago

Hang on there, your numbers are a little off. The Portland food truck annual permit is actually $1,100, not $1,200, and commissary inspections are bundled into that fee so you don't pay extra per inspection. But you're right that the hidden costs stack up fast. The $500 parking spot deposit is real, and you also gotta factor in the $200 fire department safety inspection and the Multnomah County health permit, which is another $300 or so. I got burned by the commissary rental fee myself, some places charge $400 a month just to use their kitchen at night. It's a lot of little surprises that can wreck your budget if you don't dig deep into the city code before you start.

susansingh19h ago

Ugh, tell me about it. My buddy actually got burned on the commissary thing too, @barbaraschmidt. He thought he'd found a cheap spot for $350 a month but the oven was broken and the owner never fixed it. He ended up having to rent a hot plate setup from another place for an extra $200 a pop just to stay afloat. All those hidden fees and broken gear really screw you if you don't triple check the contract.