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Cousins Subs truck enters its third year, promotes the brand in Wisconsin

Cousins Traveling Sub truck has regular requests for events in the Milwaukee area in addition to scheduled stops, such as business parks. There are two to three regularly scheduled events per week for the truck in addition to special events.

Cousins Traveling Sub truck was part of a rebranding initiative. The truck has been successful and is entering its third year.

July 10, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Six years ago, Justin McCoy, vice president of marketing at Cousins Subs, thought a food truck would be a good idea for the company, which offers deli-fresh classics, along with grilled-to-order chicken and steak sub sandwiches. 

In retrospect, it was a good decision. The truck, called Cousins Traveling Sub, now entering its third year, stays busy throughout the year serving festivals and special events. During the summer, the truck is active between 50 and 60 hours per week.

Justin McCoy suggested the food truck for Cousins Subs when he realized food trucks were becoming popular.

"Obviously the food truck scene was growing," McCoy said. "We do a ton of really large-scale events here in the Milwaukee area and in Wisconsin in general. There have been a lot of different festivals and things that we participate in."

The Cousins Traveling Sub isn't the company's first food truck, as the company had a food truck in the 1980s, called the Sub Truck, that participated in festivals and special events. McCoy was not with the company at the time, and he isn't sure why the original food truck was discontinued in the 1990s, but in 2013, food trucks were becoming popular.

A rebranding initiative

"We were undergoing a complete rebranding effort from the foundation up," he recalled. "We wanted to encourage multi-unit operation versus single-unit operators." The main goal was to grow the Cousins Sub brand.

"I felt the food truck could be a tool potentially for us as we looked to grow," he said. "We're really using the truck to serve non-traditional venues, venues that our brick-and-mortar can't service. When you think about going to a convention center and serve thousands of people, we just don't have the capability with any brick-and-mortar nearby to do that. And people probably won't choose you because they're looking for that grab and go option."

"We're not only providing a grab and go option, we're providing a high quality, made-to-order grab and go option for them," he added.

A full schedule

The truck currently has regular requests for events in the Milwaukee area in addition to scheduled stops, such as business parks. There are two to three regularly scheduled events per week for the truck in addition to special events.

"Throughout the summer months, there are tons of things that are three- and four-day runs, and we're booked for many of those," he said. "It's probably a little heavier on the events side, but they're not just one-off events. A lot of times they're multiple day events." The truck also does a lot of convention events that can last several days.

"We're just getting to the point that the truck is fully active and a solid piece of what we're doing on a daily basis," he said. 

One of the best venues has been the convention center. "We're a pretty quick and convenient high quality option for them, and we've really put up some really great numbers for those convention center events," he said.

The truck falls under the direction of a director of off-premise operations, Ron Willman, who also oversees all special events for the company, including a recently opened a delivery-only commissary in downtown Milwaukee. The commissary strictly prepares online delivery orders for downtown Milwaukee.

There are two to five employees working the truck, depending on the event. One employee runs the fryer and the flat top grill while two people make sandwiches and another person takes orders at the window. The truck also has an oven, a slicer, a freezer and a refrigerator. 

"Every piece of equipment we have in the store we have on that truck," McCoy said. "They do have the ability to prep every single item on the truck. We actually can bake bread on that truck." 

Operations evolve

The truck was originally housed at the corporate office in Menomonee Falls, but has moved to the new commissary just south of downtown Milwaukee. Food ordered from distributors is now loaded at the commissary as opposed to the corporate-owned restaurant that previously served this purpose.

Customer orders are taken using the same Brink POS system as the restaurants. The split between cash and card payments is about even.

McCoy was uncertain whether or not the truck, which operates as its own profit center, has recovered the initial investment. He did not wish to reveal financial information.

As food trucks have expanded, local governments have introduced more regulations, McCoy said. "All of those are uniquely different. You have to be very well versed in every community," he said, although most of the regulations in Wisconsin are reasonable.

The footprint grows

The company is investigating taking the truck to the Chicago area, having recently opened its first downtown Chicago location and signed a 40-store agreement in the Chicagoland area. 

The company does not plan to offer a truck for franchisees. "Trucks are not a cheap endeavor," McCoy said. "We've simply supported things (events) franchisees have."

But the Cousins Subs branded trailers are available to franchisees, and some franchisees have their own trailers.

If the brand were to do it all over, the company would have developed a dedicated team for the truck earlier, McCoy said, and would have booked more activities in advance.

The biggest change over the last two years has been the growth of the food truck industry, he said. "It's just a more competitive landscape than it was three years ago."

Photos courtesy of Cousins Subs.
 

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.