Everything to Know About Adding a Food Truck Awning

The design of your food truck will play an integral role in its function - and the success of your business. With that in mind, consider adding a retractable awning to your new rolling restaurant. Read below to see some advice to choose the right awning.

Food Truck Design

The food truck takes the restaurant down to it bare essentials - a kitchen and a point of contact with customers. Because the restaurant business, and by extension the food truck business, is so competitive, you need to make your truck stand out.

Naturally, a lot of engineering goes into the interior of the food truck. The exterior of the truck is integral to attracting customers. You should spend a lot of time designing a logo and overall facade for your truck. You also want to consider your customers' comfort while ordering and waiting for food.

That last consideration is where a retractable awning comes into play. Rain or shine, your customers will be more comfortable if they can stand under an awning.

Food Truck Awning Basics

When you look at basic food truck design, a retractable awning is considered optional. In fact, some food trucks are designed so that the panel that opens to form the cashier window acts as a pseudo-awning. However, that little canopy only protects the customers who are directly interacting with the cashier. Everyone else is left out in the rain or sun.

Retractable awnings are attached to the side of the truck, usually spanning most of the length of the food truck. When you open the awning, the arms stretch the canopy farther out then the truck panel reaches. Also, when you retract the awning, it doesn't protrude much from the trucks' side. So, you don't have to worry about an unsightly bulge or clearance when you navigate the truck in narrow spaces.

Food Truck Awning Benefits

Vendors in any locale can benefit from the extended protection a retractable awning offers. For instance, Florida residents will appreciate the shade while they're waiting for their lunches in the noonday sun. Oregonians can huddle under the awning when a light drizzle hits.

Protection is only one benefit, though. Another benefit is ambience. When your customers step under the awning, they will feel like they've entered your business' space. As such, they almost get that feeling like they've actually entered a restaurant even though they're still standing outside. Such ambience conveys a sense of coziness and professionalism.

Finally, an awning gives you another area for potential design. Stationary restaurants and other businesses have long seen the benefit of creating an extension of their brand out into the world via an outdoor eating space and awning. Well, you can custom-design a retractable awning that also promotes your food truck brand.

Food Truck Awning Design

With that last idea in mind, consider customizing your awning to complement your food truck's exterior. Food trucks traditionally feature color-coordinated awnings, meaning the awning echoes a color in the logo or graphics on the side. However, you can also choose a complementary color if you want your awning to stand out.

You can also get detailed with what kind of mood you want to create, since an awning is tasked with creating ambience in front of your truck. For example, if you want to make your truck seem homey, consider a farm-inspired design. For a classier touch, consider a more elaborate valance.
Finally, consider words or graphics that convey information about your food-based business. You can certainly order an awning with your truck's name or logo. However, you could specify the name of a food, like noodles, or an image of a food, like a pizza, that tells potential customers what to expect.

Complement your new food truck business with a customized retractable awning. Sunstate Awning can help you with an eye-catching awning.