For many food truck owners, the summer heat isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s a daily challenge.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Summer heat has slowed food truck business and pushed one Albuquerque truck to 120 degrees inside despite three AC units.
KOB 4 looked at how hot weather affects food truck owners, from customer traffic to food safety and employee conditions.
Junior Amado, owner of Barrio Fries, said rising costs forced him to close his brick-and-mortar restaurant, and high temperatures forced him to stop using one of his food trucks.
“And the heat, standing out here, ordering, looking at the menu, having the sun glare at you,” said Junior Amado. “It’s not something a lot of people are fond of.”
Amado said summer has become one of the biggest challenges for his business because fewer people want to stand outside in triple-digit heat.
How hot is it?
“So after one o’clock this place gets about 120 in there and that’s with three AC units,” said Amado.
Amado said cooling the truck is only part of the problem. He said the heat also puts pressure on refrigeration, so crews use dry ice to help keep food safe and within code.
“So dry ice helps a lot. If your equipment is running hot, you can give it a little dry ice in there to bring up the temp to make sure the food stays up to code,” said Amado. “If not, it’s a danger zone.”
Amado said food costs also keep changing, making it harder to plan ahead while he tries not to pass those costs to customers.
“Right now with the inflation of food, there’s days that we buy a case of tomato for $20. Next week it’ll be $80. That’s how bad it is,” said Amado.
“I love what I do. Food is my passion. I’ve only done food my whole life,” said Amado. “I don’t think I’ll ever do anything else.”
Amado said summer is usually his slowest season, but he said his goal stays the same on the hottest days: keep employees safe, keep food up to code and keep serving the customers who show up.
