If you’re in the mood for some delicious food, you don’t have to go far to get it. Thanks to the rise of the food truck movement, you can find local and exotic cuisine almost anytime. While traditional fast food has seen its sales continue to fall, food trucks provide people with more diverse menus and higher quality meals than they can get at fast food chains.

The Teriyaki Madness Food Truck

Teriyaki Madness has made its foray into the food truck business by opening a new venture in the form of the eatery’s first rolling restaurant. Franchisee Katie Catlin first conceived of the idea of a food truck, which launched in Lapeer, Michigan, in May. Catlin wanted to bring the concept to life without making an enormous real estate investment. The first Teriyaki Madness food truck has been used at various public events, like concerts, sporting events, and festivals. It meets the gap in the community where other food trucks may not be providing a product or have recently closed down and when there is space for Asian-based food trucks.

The Challenges

After three years as a Teriyaki Madness franchise, Catlin wanted to create more store awareness, so she decided to break into catering and later came up with the food truck concept as a fun and visual way to expand into it. But, it’s not that simple. For one, running a food truck differs in many ways from traditional restaurants, especially its menu. As Catlin pointed out, to make things easier, they had to scale down to only three dishes — chicken orange, spicy chicken, and chicken teriyaki — instead of running an expansive menu. Additionally, the owner has to be able to cook quickly and efficiently, handle customer service with a smile, and deal with the day-to-day challenges of running a mobile business. But, despite all of these challenges, Teriyaki Madness thrives in the food truck scene.