Build type
Custom Food Truck Builds — Chicago, Nationwide
A food truck is a commercial kitchen that has to pass inspection, survive a highway and be workable for two people during a lunch rush. We build them in that order.
- Custom food trucks & trailers
- Restaurant & kitchen build-outs
- Permit & design guidance
- Financing help
- Built in Chicago · clients nationwide
What a food truck build looks like
The truck either comes to us or gets sourced. From there it is fabrication and outfitting: framing and insulation, the cooking line and its ventilation, fresh and gray water, the electrical system, interior finishes, the service window, and the exterior wrap that turns it into your brand.
None of that is picked off a menu of packages. Your food decides the equipment, the equipment decides the hood and the power, and the layout gets drawn around both — which is why the first thing we ask about is what you are selling, not what size box you want.
Build type
What we go through with you
Every build is quoted custom, so the final scope is whatever we agree in writing. These are the areas we work through together before that quote gets written:
Cooking line & ventilation
Equipment selection and placement, hood sizing, make-up air and fire suppression, sized to the menu rather than to the space left over.
Plumbing & water
Fresh and gray water capacity, hand sink and wash sink layout, water heating and drainage.
Electrical & power
Generator, shore power or both, panel and circuit layout sized to the load you will actually run.
Interior & finishes
Washable surfaces where code requires them, prep and storage space, and a service window laid out around how you work.
Vehicle & chassis
Whether you bring the truck, we help you source one, or you want the whole thing turnkey — tell us where you are starting and we will price it that way.
Wrap & exterior
Exterior graphics and signage so the unit shows up as your brand, not as a white box with a hatch.
Why build with us
Drawn for the inspection
Health and fire inspection standards are the design constraint, not a step at the end that everyone hopes goes well.
Permits explained, not assumed
We advise on permits and design so a first-time owner knows what their city will ask for before the build starts.
Financing help on the table
Tell us you need it and we will work through the options with you rather than leaving you to figure it out alone.
Nationwide clients
Built in Chicago for owners across the U.S. Tell us where you are and we will go through delivery with you.
How it works
Five stages, start to keys
A build is a big purchase from a shop you may not have met. Here is the shape of it, so you know what happens next at every point.
- 1
Consult
You tell us what you want to sell, where you want to sell it and what you are starting from — a truck you own, nothing yet, or somewhere in between. We ask a lot of questions at this stage on purpose. This is also when to raise financing, because it changes the shape of everything downstream.
- 2
Design & quote
We work out the equipment schedule and the layout around your menu, and check it against what your jurisdiction expects. Then you get a written quote for that build. No published price list, no ballpark that quietly moves — a quote for the unit we just designed with you.
- 3
Build
Fabrication and outfitting in the Chicago shop: framing and subfloor, the cooking line and its ventilation, water and waste, electrical, interior finishes, service window and exterior wrap. If you are local, come and see it on the floor — we would rather you did.
- 4
Permits & inspection
The unit is built to the health and fire standard from stage two onward, so this stage is about readiness rather than rescue: making sure what was drawn is what is installed, and that you know what your inspector will be looking at.
- 5
Delivery
You take the unit. Local clients collect from the shop; out-of-state clients get a delivery arrangement worked out during the quote, so it is settled long before the build is finished.
Food truck build questions
Do you source the truck, or do I need to bring one?
Either works. Some clients arrive with a step van or box truck already bought, some want us to help find the right chassis, and some want the whole thing handled. Say which on your quote request and we will price the build to match.
How much does a food truck build cost?
We don't publish prices, because a custom build has no list price — a coffee truck and a full fryer-and-griddle line are different machines. Send us your concept and we will put a written quote together for the unit you actually need.
Will it pass health and fire inspection?
That is the standard the build is designed to. Requirements vary between cities and counties, so we work from the code that applies where you will operate — which is why we ask for your city and state on the quote form.
I'm not in Illinois. Can you still build for me?
Yes. We are based in Chicago and work with owners across the U.S. We will go through the delivery arrangement with you as part of the quote so it is settled before the build starts, not after.
I've never owned a truck before. Is that a problem?
It is most of who we talk to. Permit and design guidance exists specifically for first-time owners, and the process page walks through what happens at each stage.
Start here
Tell us what you want to build
Send over your concept, your timeline and where you're located. We'll come back to you with questions, a layout direction and a written quote — no price guessing, no pressure.