Food Trucks & Pop-ups

Food trucks, pop-up kitchens, and mobile caterers face unique challenges: changing locations, limited daily stock, and the need for pre-orders. This guide explains how to use multiple stores with a landing page to manage day-based or location-based menus.

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The Challenge

Traditional single-store setups don’t work well when:

• You’re at a different location each day
• Stock is prepared fresh and limited per day
• Customers need to pre-order for specific dates
• You want to close ordering once daily capacity is reached

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The Solution: Day/Location-Based Stores

Create a separate store for each day or location, then use a landing page to guide customers to the right one. Example setup for a food truck: Each store has its own:

• Menu and pricing
• Inventory limits
• Opening hours
• Pre-order settings

A single landing page links them all together.

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Setting Up Day-Based Stores

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Step 1: Create Your First Store

Set up your base store with your full menu:

1. Create a new store in the dashboard
2. Name it clearly: “Friday - Brewery District”
3. Set the location address
4. Build your menu with products and modifiers
5. Enable inventory tracking for limited items

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Step 2: Duplicate for Each Day/Location

For each additional day or location:

1. Contact support to duplicate your store
2. Rename it appropriately: “Saturday - Farmers Market”
3. Update the address if location differs
4. Adjust menu if offerings vary by day
5. Reset inventory levels

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Step 3: Configure Pre-orders

Each store should accept pre-orders for its specific day:

1. Go to Settings > Operations
2. Enable Pre-orders
3. Set Pre-order days ahead (e.g., 7 days)
4. Configure available time slots

For a Friday-only store, customers can order anytime during the week for Friday pickup.

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Step 4: Set Opening Hours

Configure each store’s hours to match when you’re at that location:

1. Go to Settings > Opening Hours
2. Set hours only for the relevant day
3. Leave other days closed

Example for “Friday - Brewery District”:

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Step 5: Request a Landing Page

Contact support to create a landing page that:

• Shows your branding and logo
• Lists all your day/location stores
• Lets customers choose where and when to order
• Links directly to each store’s menu

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Managing Daily Stock

Use inventory tracking to limit orders to what you can produce.

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Enable Inventory Tracking

For each limited item:

1. Go to Menu > Products
2. Click on the product
3. Enable Track Inventory
4. Set the available quantity

When inventory reaches zero, the item shows as unavailable.

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Reset Inventory Daily

Before each service day:

1. Open the relevant day’s store
2. Go to Menu > Products
3. Update inventory levels for each item

Example for a taco truck:

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Sold Out Behaviour

When an item sells out:

• It displays “Sold out” on the menu
• Customers cannot add it to cart
• Existing orders are unaffected

This prevents overselling and customer disappointment.

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Example Configurations

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Weekly Food Truck Route

5 stores, one per weekday location: Landing page shows: “Where would you like to order from?”

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Weekend Pop-up with Limited Drops

2 stores for Saturday and Sunday: Both stores have identical menus but separate inventory. When Saturday sells out, Sunday remains available.

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Multi-Location Food Truck Fleet

3 trucks operating simultaneously: Each truck has its own store with location-specific inventory.

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Customer Experience

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Finding You

Share your landing page URL everywhere:

• Social media bio
• Google Business Profile
• Printed materials
• At the truck itself

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Ordering Flow

1. Customer visits your landing page
2. They select their preferred day/location
3. Menu opens for that store
4. They browse, add items, and choose a pickup time
5. They pay online
6. Order prints at your truck (or you receive it in the app)
7. They collect at the scheduled time

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Pre-order Benefits

Pre-orders help you:

• Plan prep - Know exactly what to make
• Reduce waste - Cook to demand
• Skip queues - Faster service for pre-order customers
• Guarantee stock - Customers secure limited items

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Operational Tips

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Promote Each Day’s Location

Post daily on social media:

• Where you’ll be
• What’s on the menu
• Link to that day’s store

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Manage Customer Expectations

On your landing page or store notice, explain:

• “Select your pickup day below”
• “Pre-orders close 2 hours before service”
• “Items are limited - order early to avoid disappointment”

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Handle Walk-ups

Keep some stock for walk-up customers:

• Set inventory slightly below actual capacity
• Add a “Walk-up specials” product for on-the-day items
• Use the snoozing feature to add items mid-service

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Track Performance by Location

Compare stores to see:

• Which locations drive most orders
• Average order value per location
• Pre-order vs walk-up ratio
• Popular items by day

Use this data to optimise your route and menu.

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Printing and Notifications

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At the Truck

Set up a portable printer to receive orders:

1. Go to Settings > Printing
2. Configure your thermal printer
3. Orders print automatically with pickup time

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Mobile Notifications

From the dashboard on your phone you can:

• Open Orders → Live Orders to see today’s orders as they arrive
• Accept an order (Accept order), then mark it Ready for pickup and Complete
• Check the day’s sales under Analytics → Reports

To be alerted away from the screen, go to Stores → your store → Settings → Operations → Order Notifications and choose how alerts are sent to you. The list is fixed — there are two options and no “off” option:

• Email & Browser — “Receive email and browser notifications for new orders.”
• Browser Only — “Only receive in-browser sound and push notifications.”

A sound plays for each new order while the Live Orders page is open, so keep that tab open and in the foreground on the phone or tablet you use at the truck. Phone browsers suspend background tabs, which stops the sound and the real-time feed — a printer or email alerts are more reliable when the screen is not in front of you.

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Seasonal and Event Stores

The same approach works for:

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Festival Stalls

Create a store for each festival date:

• “Reading Festival - Friday”
• “Reading Festival - Saturday”
• “Reading Festival - Sunday”

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Christmas Markets

One store per market day with appropriate inventory:

• “Christmas Market - Dec 15”
• “Christmas Market - Dec 16”
• “Christmas Market - Dec 17”

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Private Events

Create a temporary store for catering events:

• Set menu specifically for that event
• Open orders a week before
• Close after the event

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Getting Started

1. Plan your schedule - List all days/locations you operate
2. Create your first store - Build menu, set inventory
3. Contact support - Request store duplication and landing page
4. Configure each store - Hours, inventory, pre-order settings
5. Share your landing page - Promote across all channels

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Related Guides

• Orders Overview - Configure pre-order windows
• Inventory Tracking - Manage stock limits
• Opening Hours - Day-specific availability
• Printer Setup - Portable printing