Digital Menu for Food Trucks and Kiosks
Small space, changing location, patchy internet. A screen menu fits a truck better than you'd expect.
A food truck menu changes with the event, the day's prep and whatever sells out first. Chalk works until it rains. A small screen on the serving hatch, driven by a player that keeps going without internet, is the better tool, and it costs less than a season of printed boards.
The right hardware for a truck
- A small TV or monitor, 24–32 inches, mounted inside the hatch facing out. It runs off the truck's inverter or the generator like the rest of the kit.
- A player that caches content. The CastWize player downloads the menu and keeps playing it offline. Connect it to your phone's hotspot when you want to change something; the rest of the time it doesn't need a connection.
- An Android TV box or a Raspberry Pi is small enough to velcro behind the screen. Anything that runs Android, Windows, macOS, Linux or Raspberry Pi OS works.
Changing the menu at the hatch
Studio runs in a browser, so the phone in your pocket edits the menu. Sold out of the brisket at 1pm? Edit the slide and publish; the screen updates within seconds over the hotspot. Prices for a festival versus a lunchtime pitch are two playlists, and you switch between them in the dashboard before you open the hatch.
Day, location and season
Schedule rules by day and time still apply on a truck: a breakfast menu for the morning market, lunch from 11:30, a "last 10 portions" slide for the final hour. A seasonal special gets a start and end date. If you run several trucks or a truck and a kiosk, group the screens and update them all at once, or each on its own.
What to put on it
- The menu with prices, six to eight items, large type: people read it from the back of the queue.
- One photo slide for the signature dish, rotating with the menu.
- Your socials and the next pitch: "Thursday: Riverside Market", so the queue knows where to find you.
- Allergen and payment notes, small and constant, in a strip along the bottom.
Cost
$5 per screen per month, and the first screen is free for 30 days with no credit card, so a single-truck operation can try the whole season's first month for free. Start from the free menu templates, or see digital signage for restaurants and cafés for the broader setup.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work without internet?
Yes. The player caches its content and keeps playing. You only need a connection, such as a phone hotspot, when you want to change something.
What screen should I use on a truck?
A 24–32 inch TV or monitor mounted inside the hatch, powered from the truck's inverter or generator like the rest of your equipment, with the small player fixed behind it.
Can I keep different menus for different events?
Yes. Keep a playlist per event or pitch and assign the one you need before opening, or schedule them by date in advance.
More from the blog
Café Menu Board on a TV: How to Set One Up
Turn the TV behind the counter into a café menu board that switches from breakfast to lunch on its own.
Digital Signage for Bakeries
A counter screen for today's bakes, prices that change when the tray does, and a sold-out slide that takes two taps.
Digital Menu Boards for Pizzerias
Sizes, toppings and deals on a screen you update from your phone, with a lunch-slice board that appears at noon.
Ready to put your first screen up?
First screen free for 30 days, no credit card required.