Why Mumbai isn't the best place for a meals-on-wheels just yet

While working at JP Morgan Chase in New York City one of Aditya Parikhrsquos favourite snack stops for a fourcheese pizza was Jianettorsquos a food truck parked right below the corporate centre On other days it was The Halal Guys popularly known as Chicken and Rice in NYC on 53rd and 6th When he was craving Chinese hersquod head to the truck parked at 47th and Madison On days he was missing home hersquod buy a dosa from Dosa Man parked at a corner of Washington Square Park ldquoYou name it and yoursquod get it at one of the food trucks on New Yorkrsquos streetsrdquo says the 34yearoldThe Caesar salad served at PaninaroWhen he returned home in 2006 he began researching the potential of the food truck business in Mumbai By 2009 he had Paninaro up and running serving specialised salads sandwiches and paninis at affordable pricesParikh imagined that with time his trucks would roam the commercial centre of Nariman Point by day and head to Malad at sundown Six years later he has just one truck that stations itself outside Solitaire Corporate Park in Chakala but he has managed to set up four brickandmortar outlets across the cityAlthough food trucks seem the perfect fit for a city strapped for space and time itrsquos a business that young entrepreneurs say is proving to be a challenge to run Although the concept allows hospitality professionals to circumvent Mumbairsquos astronomical realestate rates the run between BMC offices and RTOs makes Parikh claim that we are not ready for a trend that became a hit in global metros a long while ago The numbers prove he is right NYC has an estimated 10000 operational food trucks Mumbai has 10 In comparison Gurgaon and Bengaluru have provided fertile ground for gourmet food trucks like Spitfire BBQ juicy pork ribs EggJactly for breakfast and Frugurpop gourmet popsiclesMumbai canrsquot walkWith its extravagant rentals South Mumbai is not only out of reach for most restaurateurs itrsquos also a nightmare for food truck owners ldquoA car breaks down at Peddar Road and traffic piles up till Marine Drive Imagine parking a food truck on roads like theserdquo says ParikhIt cost Sagar Waghule left Suraj Kurkute right and Sudhir Kanse who run Mumbai Rolling Kitchen outside corporate center Mindspace in Airoli R12 lakh to convert a Tata Winger into a fully equipped fire proof food truck PicsSameer MarkandeIt is the fear of heavy traffic on narrow stretches that made the men behind Mumbai Rolling Kitchen opt for Airoli with roads that are wide ample sidewalks and sectors that are well demarcated Launched by Londonreturned trio Sagar Waghule Suraj Kurkute and Sudhir Kanse the redandgreen food truck has a wind turbine ventilator water tank and grills It draws its awning out every evening outside the corporate centre Mindspace to serve burgers sandwiches rolls and fries Most of its customers are aged 21 to 35 and head here during a smoke break or at lunch time or on their way back homeWaghule 28 who has experience of having worked as restaurant manager in Abu Dhabi says ldquoThe initial plan to launch a brickandmortar outlet was thwarted by the financial investment requiredrdquo But he admits that upping a regular Tata Winger into a fireproof food truck cost them a pretty penny mdash R12 lakh to be exact ldquoWordofmouth publicity loyal clientele and ownership of a market we hope will help us set up a restaurant soonrdquo says KurkuteWhile Paninaro has managed to launch a single food truck in six years stationed at Solitaire Corporate Park in Chakala it has opened four brickandmortar outlets in the same time PicShadab KhanMumbai Rolling Kitchen hopes to add one more truck by next year to feed the suits at Patni iGate a corporate park in the neighbourhood Sometimes even wide roads arenrsquot of help when parking restrictions make food trucks behave like popup restaurants unable to stick to one regular stopHitesh Bhatia food entrepreneur and head of the TiE Food Network saw more than 15 pitches for food trucks last year Most were forgotten He ascribes the cityrsquos resistance to food trucks to the lack of a walking culture ldquoIn Bengaluru there are roads to walk along Gurgaon has ample space too Who walks leisurely in Mumbai Where is the space to do it I cannot imagine people crowding around a food truck in the midst of trafficrdquo he says And if they do they are at the mercy of resident associations and RTO officialsThe way out says Parikh is for a public bidding of parking spots similar to the one conducted in New York The system supports small momnpop food trucks by offering concessions while premium parking spots are handed out to the highest bidders The city in turn provides the snacking culture with not just a registered spot but also drainage and electricity tap off points All wasnrsquot hunky dory though with the bidding model turning food trucks into a cash cow and some spots going for six figures just so that someone can sell hotdogs close to Central ParkStruggle of logisticsVikram Sood a business innovation consultant who has been independently researching the food truck industry in India calls Mumbai a ldquologistical nightmarerdquo Add to that the licensing ambiguities In an attempt to find a solution Sood is working on a lowcost entry model for emerging food truck entrepreneurs that will contest the bidding model which is likely to encourage riggingGoing as far as to imagine establishing a Food Trucks Association similar to those in NYC and New Orleans he says the bigger concern is the limbo entrepreneurs find themselves in when they approach authorities for required licencesSince the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation the cityrsquos civic body is yet to stay ahead of the trend and devise a foodtruck licence most operators work around the hurdle by acquiring a bouquet of licencesThese include a gumasta or shop establishment licence the FSSAI license for a delivery vehicle a Registration Certificate from the RTO and an NOC from the Fire DepartmentNachiket Shetye director Restaurant Week India is optimistic and hopes those invested in the business will push for a thorough and allencompassing license to be readied in the manner that microbreweries did to make room in a system that didnrsquot allow industry of any kind to be set up with city limitsDishing it rightIn the meanwhile those who man the kitchens hope that the quality of fare offered in Mumbai is taken a notch higher Food blogger Perzen Patel who is readying to offer a curated selection of Parsi dishes from a food truck says Mumbairsquos food truck scene is glorified ldquoA food truck cannot be about great dosas It is more challenging and should be about providing novel farerdquoShetye agrees raising an ethical debate over street food ldquoFood trucks used to roam Nariman Point decades ago serving simple Chinese desi snacks and fresh juicesrdquoWaghule in fact has had to give repeated assurances to a roadside canteen down from where they park who considers Rolling pin as competition He has had to explain to them that his food truck serves a cuisine at a price point far removed from the vada pav and bhajiya fareSood hopes that food truck startups and street vendors can coexist because ldquowe must remember that Mumbai has a rich tradition of local street food and we need to contemplate the social impact food trucks can haverdquo