In a viral TikTok posted this week, a food truck owner sparked controversy after explaining why he hates event coordinators and thinks food truck events are exploitative scams.
The video, which now has over 35,000 views, was posted by Dashin Simmons (@dashinsimmons), a creator with over 81,300 followers on TikTok. Simmons is a food truck owner who gives advice online about how to run a successful food truck business.
In his video, Simmons says that he has a “deep hatred” for food truck event coordinators. He then shows an email where an event coordinator allegedly makes demands Simmons says are unreasonable: “You just have to see it.”
The email shows requests that Simmons says are completely unnecessary: In-person health inspections, unsubstantiated claims about how money people will be in attendance at the event, and no information on how many other food vendors will be at the event.
But most importantly, Simmons was shocked to see that the event coordinator said he would have to fork over a 60% commission: If he made $10,000 from the event, he would have to give up $6,000.
“Why Food Truck Events are SCAMS,” Simmons captioned the video, “It’s borderline extortion. Should be illegal.”
Users in the comments section of the viral TikTok were furious about the event coordinator’s alleged requests.
“60%? That’s insane,” one user said.
“SHEESH!!! That’s strong arm robbery smh,” another responded.
Some users told Simmons to skirt the event requirements and park nearby.
“Park outside it,” someone told him.
Food trucks often pay fees to park at events—usually by flat rate, percentage of revenue earned, or by a hybrid model combining the two. However, food truck owners like Simmons have complained about fees being too high.
Matt Geller, the founding president of the National Food Truck Association, made a blog post in 2018 about how event fees over the years have skyrocketed to 40% of a food truck vendor’s revenue, forcing menu prices to be higher than usual at events.
“When food truck owners are forced to pay 40% to be part of an event they have to raise their prices to a level that most food truck owners find unacceptable,” Geller said in his post, “Customers who are already paying the high costs for a ticket shouldn’t have to pay exorbitant prices to get a meal while enjoying an event.”
While it’s not certain what exactly constitutes a fair deal for food truck vendors at events, the National Food Truck Association provides recommendations for working with event organizers on its website. Recommendations include asking about expected turnout, looking into how many other food vendors will be at the event, and seeking out other food truck owners who have worked with the event organizer to hear their past experience.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dashin Simmons and the National Food Truck Association for comment via email.
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