What Cruising Kitchens does

Cruising Kitchens is a privately held, San Antonio-based custom mobile business fabricator that designs, engineers, and builds food trucks, food trailers, shipping container kitchens, mobile offices, mobile emergency response vehicles, mobile food pantries, and experiential marketing vehicles from a 240,000 sq. ft. in-house facility. The company combines commercial-grade kitchen equipment with custom vehicle platforms, integrating A/V systems, wireless POS, WiFi, and third-party delivery service integrations (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub), and applies branding through its in-house Print-It Wraps & Graphics division using certified 3M wrap installers. Every build is custom and quote-based, supported by an in-house design function, a Build Tracking & Transparency Portal, permitting and inspection consulting, and financing partnerships.

The company has completed more than 10,000 mobile vending and ghost kitchen units since founding, serving a hybrid customer base that includes national QSR and fast-casual brands (Whataburger, Burger King, Wendy's, Popeyes, Raising Cane's, Torchy's Tacos, MrBeast Burger, Hard Rock Cafe), major retailers (Walmart, H-E-B, FedEx), sports franchises (LA Dodgers, Kansas City Chiefs, San Antonio Spurs), corporates (Tesla, Rockstar Energy, Waterloo), nonprofits (Houston Food Bank, North Texas Food Bank, Eat Learn Play), and the U.S. Army. Distribution is entirely direct-sales via an in-house team led by a Chief Sales Officer, with nationwide delivery, on-site activation, and crew training.

Revenue is generated through one-time hardware sales of high-ticket custom builds (food trucks typically $100K–$300K+, trailers $80K–$250K+), with 12–20 week production timelines. The business model is augmented by an Enterprise Food Trailers program targeting 10–1,000 unit fleet rollouts, a Ghost Kitchen Division, in-house media production (Camero Media), a Discovery+ reality series ('Built for Business'), and a financing partner program that lowers purchase friction for SMB buyers. The company received $100M in expansion capital from Ghost Financial in July 2022 and earned TDLR Certification as one of only three organizations nationally certified for industrialized building.

Name

Cruising Kitchens

Legal name

Cruising Kitchens, LLC

Website

https://cruisingkitchens.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cruising Kitchens is a San Antonio-based custom fabricator of mobile food trucks, trailers, shipping container kitchens, and specialty mobile vehicles for national restaurant brands, franchises, retailers, sports teams, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs, operating from a 240,000 sq. ft. facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Mobile Kitchen Manufacturing

NAICS

Motor Home Manufacturing (336213)

SIC

Truck & Bus Bodies (3713)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Trailers & Towable Kitchens (THAFAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mobile / On-Site Catering (Food Trucks for Events, Pop-Ups) (THAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Custom food truck builders
• Mobile kitchen fabrication
• Food trailer manufacturing
• Shipping container kitchens
• Mobile commercial kitchens

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Food Truck Manufacturing: One-time sale of custom-built mobile food trucks priced between $100,000 to $300,000+ depending on size, equipment, and technology specifications. High-ticket custom builds with 12-20 week production timelines.
2. Custom Food Trailer Manufacturing: One-time sale of custom food trailers priced between $80,000 to $250,000+, with highly specialized builds potentially exceeding that range. Trailers offer lower upfront cost than trucks with more interior space.
3. Shipping Container Kitchen Manufacturing: Custom modular container kitchen builds functioning as scalable commercial kitchens for restaurants, corporate campuses, event activations, commissaries, and disaster relief applications.
4. Financing Partnerships: Company works with financing partners to offer payment options for customers, expanding accessible financing for mobile food business purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cruising Kitchens designs, engineers, and fabricates custom mobile kitchens built around each client's menu, workflow, equipment, and branding requirements. Its core offerings are custom food trucks, custom food trailers, and shipping container kitchens, complemented by large-format mobile kitchens on 18-wheelers and specialty vehicles. All builds are produced in a 240,000 sq. ft. in-house facility with metal, electrical, plumbing, CNC, welding, fabrication, paint, and graphics departments, then delivered nationwide with permitting and crew training support.

Product overview

Cruising Kitchens operates as a single-source custom mobile kitchen fabrication company offering a broad portfolio of platforms and specialty builds. The core product line centers on three principal categories — Custom Food Trucks, Custom Food Trailers, and Shipping Container Kitchens — each built to the client's specific menu, workflow, equipment, and branding requirements. These are complemented by large-format Custom Mobile Kitchens (18-wheelers, specialty vehicles) and an Enterprise Food Trailers program capable of scaling from 10 to 1,000 units for franchises and national brands. Specialty cuisine sub-brands (BBQ Smoker, Burger, Coffee, Ice Cream, Pizza trucks and trailers) target specific operator segments, while add-on modules including Mobile Office Trucks, Mobile Emergency Response Vehicles, Mobile Food Pantry units, and Experiential Vehicles extend the addressable market. Supporting services — Print-It Wraps & Graphics (in-house branding), Build Tracking & Transparency Portal, Permitting & Inspection Consulting, and Financing Services — are embedded as standard offerings. The company also operates a Ghost Kitchen Division handling end-to-end ghost kitchen deployment, and produces a television series ('Built for Business') and in-house media studio (Camero Media) as brand-amplification vehicles. The portfolio is unified by an in-house 240,000 sq. ft. fabrication facility and a policy of handling every stage — concept, design, fabrication, branding, permitting, delivery, and training — under one roof.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Print-It Wraps & Graphics: In-house graphics and wrap production department providing high-quality 3M wraps for vehicle branding
• Camero Media
• Built for Business

Products and services

• Custom Food Trucks Fully custom, road-ready mobile food truck builds designed around the client's menu, workflow, equipment needs, branding, and long-term business goals. Built with premium materials and commercial-grade kitchen equipment; priced $100K–$300K+ with 12–20 week production timelines.
• Custom Food Trailers Custom food trailers built from scratch with premium materials including fully stainless steel kitchen interiors; available in 24', 28', and 32' configurations. Priced $80K–$250K+ depending on size, equipment, refrigeration, ventilation, electrical/plumbing complexity, and branding.
• Shipping Container Kitchens Modular commercial kitchens built inside freight shipping containers, combining container durability with prefabricated kitchen fabrication. Used for permanent restaurants, food halls, corporate dining, event activations, commissary hubs, and disaster relief applications.
• Custom Mobile Kitchens Large-format mobile kitchens built on heavy-duty platforms such as 18-wheelers and specialty vehicles, handcrafted using 100% stainless steel and commercial-grade equipment.
• Enterprise Food Trailers Scalable, multi-unit food trailer program for franchises and national brands, with on-site test kitchens, comprehensive permitting support, and production capacity ranging from 10 to 1,000 units.
• Mobile Office Trucks Custom mobile workspace, field office, command center, and executive suite trucks built for construction, healthcare, events, telecom, and utilities industries. Equipped with full utilities, internet, HVAC, and workstations.
• Mobile Emergency Response Vehicles High-production mobile emergency response vehicles capable of producing hundreds of meals per hour in disaster and emergency situations, built on various platform sizes with stainless steel interiors.
• Mobile Food Pantry Mobile food pantry trucks and trailers designed to serve communities by distributing healthy food and meals, built with stainless steel interiors, refrigeration equipment, and custom branding.
• Experiential Vehicles Custom-designed experiential marketing vehicles including buses, cars, and media-equipped trucks used at events, stadiums, universities, and malls for brand engagement.
• BBQ Smoker Trucks and Trailers Specialty custom BBQ smoker trailers and trucks designed for offset smokers, stick burners, and high-capacity catering, available in 14–16 ft and 20+ ft sizes.
• Burger Trucks and Trailers Custom burger food trucks and trailers configured for smash burgers, gourmet sliders, and specialty burger concepts, available in 12–14 ft to 20+ ft sizes.
• Coffee Trucks and Trailers Custom espresso bar and specialty coffee mobile trucks and trailers designed for speed, efficiency, and daily repeat customers, available in 10–12 ft to 16+ ft sizes.
• Ice Cream Trucks and Trailers Custom ice cream trucks and trailers for classic scoop, soft-serve, and novelty frozen dessert concepts, available in 10–12 ft to 16 ft sizes.
• Pizza Trucks and Trailers Custom pizza food trucks and trailers designed around wood-fired, Neapolitan, New York, and Detroit-style ovens, available in 12–14 ft to 20+ ft sizes.
• Print-It Wraps & Graphics In-house branding and graphics department providing high-quality 3M vinyl wraps applied inside and outside mobile kitchens by certified installers, along with custom design services.
• Camero Media Production Services In-house media and video production team providing cinematic storytelling, branded content, and documentary production services for clients; founded by Cameron Davies and Roberto Jimenez.
• Ghost Kitchen Division Dedicated division offering end-to-end ghost kitchen services including procurement, build-out, inspection, certification, activation, and staff training as a single-company alternative to the typical multi-vendor process.
• Financing Services Financing partnership program connecting customers with lenders that specialize in mobile food businesses and equipment loans, embedded into the quote request process.
• Permitting and Inspection Consulting Consulting and assistance service guiding clients through permitting, health inspection, fire inspection, and DMV registration for their mobile kitchen units.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ mobile vending and ghost kitchen units completed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• APEX Specialty Vehicles: One of the largest U.S. custom food truck and concession trailer builders, headquartered in North Carolina. Directly comparable as a full-service custom mobile kitchen fabricator serving the same QSR, franchise, and SMB customer segments.
• Prestige Food Trucks: Custom food truck and trailer builder offering design, fabrication, and equipment integration. Direct competitor in the same custom-build model targeting restaurants, franchises, and entrepreneurs.
• M&R Specialty Vehicles: Custom food truck and specialty vehicle manufacturer with comparable in-house fabrication capabilities and similar target customer base across QSR and entrepreneur segments.
• Farber Specialty Vehicles: Manufacturer of custom mobile vehicles including food trucks, concession trailers, and command centers. Direct peer in custom mobile fabrication with comparable enterprise and government customer work.
• Worldwide Specialty Vehicles: Designs and builds custom mobile kitchen and specialty vehicles for the food service industry. Direct competitor with comparable product breadth across trucks, trailers, and container-based builds.
• Dragon's Wagon: Custom food truck and mobile kitchen builder offering design and fabrication services. Comparable as a smaller-scale direct competitor focused on the SMB and entrepreneur segment.

Broad incumbents

• Summit Bodyworks: Established commercial truck body and upfit manufacturer with broader product portfolio including service bodies and specialty truck bodies. Comparable on the truck-body fabrication capability though diversified across many end markets.
• Utilimaster: Large commercial vehicle manufacturer producing walk-in vans, truck bodies, and specialty vehicles. Comparable in fabrication scale and capability though serving a broader delivery/utility customer base.
• Hackney Industries: Specialty vehicle manufacturer with food service and beverage distribution vehicle offerings. Comparable as a broader specialty vehicle fabricator with overlap in mobile food and beverage units.

Emerging players

• Vintage Chassis: Smaller custom food truck builder with focus on premium aesthetic-driven builds for restaurants and entrepreneurs. Comparable in custom-build model though at lower scale than the leading national players.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cruisingkitchens
• Xx.com/cruisinkitchens

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cruising Kitchens