Food carts have been a major part of American history since the founding fathers first landed on these green shores. And New York City was the original center of the food cart industry since 1691, when it was still known as New Amsterdam. Small wonder this vast metropolis is still one of the most popular food cart locations in the country.

From the old-time chuck wagons to the more modern taco stands, food carts are a popular sight on street corners across America today, and are a viable business opportunity for anyone looking to start up their own business. So if you are thinking of opening up your own food cart, from Bacon Burgers to Vegan Vittles, here are some spectacular names that are available for you to use.

Food Cart Name Ideas

grilled cheese trailer

A grilled cheese trailer built by M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks.

Born out of the aspiring dreams of chefs and entrepreneurs, the food cart is the perfect mobile catering business for small start-ups. And naming your cart is one of the most important aspects of the startup process. So if you are looking for the ideal name for your enterprise, we have just what you are looking for.

  • Bacon Buggy
  • Bullseye Burritos
  • Burger Boulevard
  • Burrito Bros
  • Cheddar Chariot
  • Express Eats
  • Golden Grillz
  • Hash Browns
  • Highway Heartburn
  • Hot Potatoes
  • Jumping Jack’s Burgers
  • Makin’ Bacon
  • Noshers
  • Parked Pizza
  • Pete’s Pizza Mobile
  • Rex Fries
  • Rolly Guacamole
  • Salsa Street Grill
  • Speedy Eats
  • Street Car Crepes
  • Street Harvest
  • Street Snax
  • Street Vittles
  • Taco Amigos
  • Taco Trailer
  • Taco Travelers
  • The Biscuit Box
  • The Breakfast Bus
  • The Crunchy Taco
  • The Flying Benedict
  • The Food Corner
  • The Food Dude
  • The Ice Cream Bar
  • The Lunch Truck
  • The Mad Griddle
  • The Mouthful
  • The Tasty Taquito
  • The Twisted Toaster
  • The Walkup Wagon
  • Wild Street Tastes

Healthy Food Cart Name Ideas

Healthy options are popular these days, and having a food cart that provides healthier food for your customers brings you into that realm of specialty foods for the more discerning consumer. These available names for a healthier food cart business can help you be more easily recognized as a healthy option cart and make you more popular with the health-conscious population.

  • Food Quest
  • Cafe A La Cart
  • Caza Crepes
  • Crepes Bonaparte
  • Frenchi’s French Toast
  • Fresh Fare To Go
  • Green Foods Fast
  • Halal Cart
  • Homemade Hawker
  • Kareem Cart
  • King of Falafel
  • Little Morocco
  • Lobsta Truck
  • Off The Grid
  • Running Salads
  • Seafood and More
  • Smiles 4 Miles
  • Taste of Chicago
  • TasteOption
  • The Flying Tomato
  • The Food Dude
  • The Gourmet Machine
  • The Halal Guys
  • The Market Eatery
  • The Tasty Taquito
  • The Waffle Wagon
  • Thoughtful Foods Grill
  • Urban Oyster
  • Waffles & Dinges

Vegan Food Stall Name Ideas

Vegan food carts are still fairly rare in the country, but they are becoming more popular as more people turn to vegan diets or are looking for a light lunch that is healthier and meat free. Check out our list of vegan food cart name ideas and pick one that suits your own vegan cart business.

  • Beets Box
  • Beets N Juice
  • Big Top Vegan
  • Green Machine
  • Green Table
  • Just Vegan
  • Killer Tofu
  • LA Vegan
  • Lean Green Machine
  • Little Vegan Kitchen
  • Planted
  • Rabbit Hutch
  • Rabbit’s Food Cart
  • Raw Food Truck
  • Rooted
  • Seeds of the Earth
  • The Green Radish
  • The Herbivore
  • The Meatless Wonder
  • The Nomadic Vegan
  • The Urban Vegan
  • The Vegan Van
  • The V-Van
  • V-8 Engine
  • Veg Inc.
  • Vegan Bistro
  • Vegan Phillys
  • Vegan Pizza Co.
  • Vegan Sandwich Co.
  • Vegan To Go
  • Veganwagon
  • Velicious

How to Name a Food Cart

chicken burger

A fried chicken burger.

Understanding how to name a food cart is another essential part of the startup process, and making sure you get the right name for your business is paramount. Here, we list the main ideas of how to best choose the name of your food cart business to make it more profitable and more easily recognizable.

The best way to create a name is to make it as descriptive as possible, so that your customers know exactly what you sell without having to read a menu. Bob’s Food Cart doesn’t really cut it anymore in this era of consumer information. Research shows that names that identify the products of a business are more successful than those that are non-descriptive. And the description should be as general as possible for those that intend to expand in the future.

Making it memorable is a must. The best way to check out if your name is catchy and memorable is to tell ten people the name, and then reconnect after a couple of weeks and see how many people remember it. If you can get at least 7 people to remember it, then you have a good chance of being well-remembered when you start out. If less, then try and reconsider something that will really grab their attention.

Phonetic names are better than those names with quirky spellings and crazy styles, which have become a recent trend in naming food trucks. But it is hard to spell out the name when recommending if it is done with weird spellings, and most people can’t be bothered. Make the name easy to spell from hearing it, so it is easier to Google. And try to choose a name that is easy to understand, pronounce, and remember, as well as something that can be visually impacting when seen on signs and the side of the cart.

The name should also be unique, as well as hard to imitate for competitors. And it should be considered on how it can be shortened if required. Try to make sure that the initials do not spell something inappropriate or embarrassing.

Creative Ideas to Park a Food Cart?

Try parking on the beach.

Where you park your food cart really depends on the city in which you are operating. Some have more restrictions than others, and some, such as Los Angeles, don’t permit food carts at all, despite more than 50,000 street vendors operating inside the city.

Find a location that is close to business areas, colleges, or universities in order to optimize the consumer. Many food carts select locations where people gather in larger numbers, as it gives you a better chance of customers than somewhere people rarely go. Outside stadiums and malls are good options, as are parks and business centers.

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Street-side and sidewalk vending in business areas or busy city streets can be a great location option in cities that permit this. However, these are sometimes hard to find, and you may have to hunt around for the best spot for a while before settling.

Farmers Markets are also another good venue for your food cart, as they are filled with people buying and selling goods, most of which are not ready to eat. And they can be a good and useful source of local ingredients for you food too.

Outside bars and nightclubs in the later evenings are sometimes good for certain types of foods, as people exiting the bars after a few drinks are normally looking for something to eat. And after a night on the town, the smells of delicious foods can be as enticing as your name and dishes.