Street food in Ecuador !! (Starting a new business)

I don't know the ins and outs of this business which has a zillion food stalls especially in Mariscal sector and Centro Histórico, but I can tell you this ...

If you succeed in the food stall business, you'll be the only Gringo I've ever seen or heard of who has done so.

cccmedia in Quito

Perhaps you need to investigate which foods are tasty with diesel sludge.

There are food carts everywhere. Competition is tight, and prices are so low that margins have got to be razor thin. I'm sure there are dozens of regulations, but from what I've seen the locals don't follow them. No hand washing sinks, no refrigeration, etc... As a gringo, you are likely to stick out like a sore thumb operating a food cart, so expect to invite curiosity, jealousy, and greater scrutiny. In other words, you'll likely have to follow a bunch of regulations your competition gets away with ignoring. I have seen a couple gringo operated food trucks (vans to be specific) on the coast. There's one that looks to be a mixed gringo/local family selling shawarma in Canoa and there were some hippies in Mompichi selling god knows what out of a WV bus.

As already pointed out, there are a number of fixed stalls and portable ones all over the city. From what I have seen they are made up of two types;

1. Fixed, a small booth the size a restroom stall or a little bigger. They normally have dry goods, snacks, pocket items etc. Some will have cold drinks, with and without the cold part. Many don't appear to have electricity, there are a few that do have power and will make photo copies of documents. Ones that do cooking mainly use a tank of gas with a simple grill setup, very simple as in half of a 55 gallon drum type, but it serves it's purpose. 

2. Portable, these seem to appear daily in doorways, along side streets etc. The grill setup is as described above, and a cooler may or may not be used for meats. No long term storage or refrigeration seems to be in use. Also no sink etc. Sanitaton is a very big question and concern.

I have not seen any posted license, permits, inspection documents etc. You can also find mobile carts selling ice cream etc. The other thing is at many intersections you can find people selling fruit, water, small electronics, phone chargers, cables etc. I have no idea if this is controlled, it seems not to be. But a Gringo in a box would draw attention... It could be used to your benefit, as many people think Gringos do better business.

What kind of interaction you receive from other vendors would be hard to say. The normal perception is that Gringos are well off, so taking money from them may not be a welcome change. There are a great deal of under or un educated folks here, even though there are many small business people trying to make a buck. You may not be well received.

The goods sold are very inexpensive, so to compete you would need to be very creative in what you sell and how you sell it. You could make the Gringo thing work for you, but speaking spanish would be a must. You have to remember that you are in a place where you can get a meal for $2.00. Most customers seem to be people in transit, at bus stops and choke points throughout town.

It is doable, the type and quantity of hoops required is unknown. It would be an interesting experiment to conduct.

Good luck,

Even if it were a success, the question is how much profit……seems there are better options around to generate some money….

I agree completely,  it would be an interesting experiment however. The reaction to a Gringo business with direct contact. As of yet I have not come across any Gringo businesses, with the exception of the mexican food place, which is no longer around.

If you know of any in Quito, I would be interested to know. In order to lend support and hear their story.

If profit margins are as thin as these posters state, then you are going to be the guy standing under the umbrella.  Your income from the venture won't be enough to let you run the business while somebody else braves the elements.  Can you stomach the boredom of standing in one spot during slow periods, which could be most of the day sometimes?

If the current operators are providing no sinks nor visible sanitary service as the posters state, it may be a reflection of how thin the operators' profit margins are.  They feel they can't afford anything but the basic service. 

Turf skirmishing is nothing to brush aside.  If the locals figure you're taking away their business, they may use shunning, Spanish language bad-mouthing directed at your potential customers or direct go-home-Gringo invective in whatever language... to dissuade you from crowding their block.  Tough to succeed in a hostile environment such as that.

You also need an advance answer to this question... if I don't have a residency visa, will the licensing authorities allow me to run a business in competition with Ecuadorians?

cccmedia in Quito

Wow...now thats an eye opener and I kind of anticipated what it would be like to collide heads with the gringos and I certainly can't afford that and all your feedback is awesome  really appreciate it.

One thing that no one answered, but nevertheless I got my response (read btw the lines) - All you folks here are foodies 

Ecuador is all about foodies…….

vpbuzz wrote:

One thing that no one answered, but nevertheless I got my response - All you folks here are foodies 

Us ?!

This is nothing compared to the photos and commentary at the Unofficial web site of the greater Cuenca expat community, Nards Barley alcalde.

cccmedia in Quito