How to set up a food truck in Colorado
I. Find Locations
- The most vital step in a successful food truck business is location. Being new to Colorado, we found this step the most difficult. It took us 2-3 months to complete this step, but we did the rest of the steps in the meanwhile.
- Private property: Need written agreement from property owner to operate
- Street parking: Must apply for a Solicitor’s License with the city’s Finance Department
- Each city has its own zoning requirements for mobile food establishments. You may want to call the city to make sure your location selections are okay.
II. Register your company name
- Sign up for name and company type
- I would recommend starting out as a LLC
III. Sign up for your Federal, State, and City tax ID numbers
o Everything for your EIN can be done online
o You can download the form from the CO Department of Revenue’s website, but will most likely have to physically go to the Department of Revenue in Denver to submit your application
- City
o Go to the city’s website and find the tax license application form
o Example: For Broomfield, CO you can go here to download the tax form:
http://www.broomfield.org/salestax/, but you will need to submit the form in person to the Finance Department
o Must have a sales tax license for each city you will be operating in
IV. Purchasing or building your own food truck
- Purchasing an existing truck
o If you purchase a used truck, make sure to get a Bill of Sale for the title transfer. You will need to pay taxes on this transaction when you get the title transferred at the DMV. Also request that the previous owner get an Emissions Test done on the truck. Some cities require this for the title transfer.
o Get a mechanic to inspect the truck before the purchase
- Creating your own truck
o Purchase a delivery truck, moving truck, large cargo van etc, and bring it to Team 20 LLC
§ Team 20 is owned by Chuck Courter. Almost every single food truck I have heard of in the CO area has gone through Chuck’s garage at some point. Chuck’s crew specializes in building food trucks. They can do everything from minor customizations to building your truck from scratch. The only thing they do not do would be the exterior wrapping of the truck.
- Make sure to have the name, model number, and if possible the original manual of all your equipment (ex: ovens, fryer, hot water heater). I will mention why in the Retail Food Establishment License section
V. Insurance
- Drivers insurance for the truck
- Liability insurance for the business ($1 million coverage minimum)
- Insurance company may require that you take a food safety course for the liability insurance. Enrolling in a food safety course will also greatly help with filling out the application for a Retail Food Establishment License.
VI. Retail Food Establishment License at the Environmental Health Department
- It is best to register at the beginning of the year because your Retail Food Establishment License expires at the end of each calendar year (Dec 31).
- Pick up a copy of the application and review it before filling the fields out. There might be a few things that seem confusing in the application. Take this time to ask the Health Department about any questions you may have.
- You need to secure a commissary at which you will do your meal preparations, drain waist water, clean utensils, etc. A commissary can be any commercial kitchen that has been approved by the Health Department. I would recommend seeking out a commissary as the first step of the application process, because the application requires a signed agreement with your commissary.
- Fill out detailed form about the truck.
o Usually around 20 pages long
o Food safety questions
o Know your cooking and holding temperatures
o The Broomfield Health Department required a copy of all of our equipments’ user manuals in order to verify that the equipment is designed for commercial use. If you do not have the manuals, you will have to find the make and model number on the equipment. Then, do a Google search. For example, my sandwich prep refrigerator is a BlueAir BAPT1. I searched for the make and model number and found a pdf version of the manual online. If all else fails, you can email the company that manufactured your equipment and ask them to email you a copy of the manual.
o You will have to provide a to-scale diagram of all the equipment and ventilation in your truck. Here is an example of the diagram I made for the Sesame Seed truck.
- Denver has a separate health inspection process from the rest of CO. If you get your health inspection done outside of Denver, your Retail Food Establishment License will be good for all of CO except for Denver. In order to operate in Denver, you will need to apply directly with the Denver Environmental Health Department.
- There will be a fee for the license as well as a partially refundable fee for your health inspector’s time. Each hour he/she spends reviewing your application/truck will cost X dollars. So remember: Help your health inspector as much as you can. The more time you save your health inspector, the more money you save as well!
Important Notes
- Special events are big earners, but HUGE events (e.g. CU football games, famer’s markets) can be costly to apply for.
- Prepare your truck for cold weather (e.g. possible freezing of water lines, difficulty starting up engine).
- Set up a separate bank account for your business so that you can separate your personal spending from business. This will make filing your taxes easier.
- Keep a copy of all of your forms and documents! You may need them when applying for other things. Keep all of your business receipts as well.
- Almost every time you have to submit an application, you will need to pay a processing fee. So be sure to have your check book/credit card on you.
- Most applications have a waiting/processing period of several weeks
