INDIANAPOLIS — As fuel prices continue to rise, food truck operators say they are facing a crossroads: raise prices, find ways to cut costs or risk shutting down.
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After two decades as a professional chef, Shawn Ferguson is back working in his community. He operates his food truck, Boogie Bonez BBQ, at the corner of 38th and Post Road.
"This is where I learned to do BBQ. I want to show the community what I've learned. We have sliced brisket, we do pulled pork, full chicken. We do rib tips," Ferguson said.
Ferguson uses two vehicles and a generator, as well as propane, to run his business.
"We average $600 a month in what we were doing in our fuel, and we're already up to $800 in March," Ferguson said.
Ferguson points out that barbecue is one of the most expensive items to buy.
"So as gas goes up, so does the price of meat because of gas prices as well," Ferguson said.
Ferguson worries that if the higher gas prices stick around, he may have to raise his food truck prices as well.
"It makes it harder to create a nice sale that people can afford, and that is a struggle here at 38th and Post. Those gas prices continue to keep going up. It could either put us out of business or we're just not making very much money at all," Ferguson said.
Ethan Brown with The Notorious P.I.T. in Madison, Indiana, takes his food truck on the road. He is fueling up often, and not just his truck, but also a generator.
He travels across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri.
"You start going from $30 to $40 a day to $120, sometimes more, $150 a day. You go out five days a week, that's anywhere from $550 to $750. That's, it's our expecting the bottom line really, really quick," Brown said.
All of the food truck operators WRTV talked to today said their work is truly a labor of love that takes a lot of time and effort.
They hope gas prices don't stay this high so they can keep their businesses open and profitable.
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