Food trucks... Growing Saudi trend in Riyadh

By Mubarak Al-Enizi RIYADH, Aug 25 (KUNA) -- Food trucks have become a trend in the Saudi capital Riyadh and could be seen on the side of main roads and neighborhoods.
Food trucks used to exist in limited locations and operated on certain times; However, the phenomenon has developed to spread all over Riyadh, serving all kinds of food, including burgers, noodles, sushi, ice cream, coffee, and many more items.
Saudi youth of both genders, who prepare and cook the food themselves, find these trucks to be a profitable business and a good way to spend their free time.
Food trucks are easy projects to execute since they do not require a big capital, Business Administration Professor at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Dr. Hussein Al-Murad told KUNA.
Al-Murad noted that many of his students own food trucks, while others conduct research on the benefits of such projects each semester.
On his part, owner of the first food truck and electronic engineer Mamdooh Al-Moussa said he got the idea for his project from observing food trucks in foreign countries.
He noted that upon his start in selling tea and coffee on a truck, he did not attract many visitors. He added that as he went through his project, more people started coming and many youth were asking him on how to start their own food truck business.
Meanwhile, owner of 'Sushi Mia' food truck Mai Al-Ayyar said she was worried about society's negative reaction to a female selling food on the road at the beginning. She noted that, "on the contrary, I saw encouragement from everyone and learned how to deal with customers on streets." Moreover, assistant of truck owner specialized in cooking shrimp Mohammad Suleiman said Saudis prefer launching food trucks than opening a restaurant because it does not require much official documents and procedures, or even paying rent. (end) mdm.ag