Bay Shore food-truck maker's high-flying clients include NASA

Food trucks are hugely popular almost everywhere these days, but what’s cooking behind the scenes of one Long Island company that makes them might surprise you. The road All Star Carts & Vehicles has traveled has taken it from an ice cream truck operation started in the 1970s to contracts with Cinnabon, the U.S. military, NASA and more.

“We did a trade show in Chicago, and it just snowballed,” said Robert Kronrad, 71, recalling the early days of the Bay Shore-based business. The Smithtown resident owns the company with his brother, Steve, 78, of Dix Hills. “I had no idea it would get to this [the company as it is today].”

It all started with the brothers owning about 100 ice cream trucks under American Classic Ice Cream, All Star’s parent company founded as a wholesaler in 1971. American Classic’s clients, he said, included schools on Long Island, local hospitals, ice cream parlors and catering companies. Then during the 1973-74  oil crisis,   the owners decided to develop smaller refrigerated vehicles, and All Star was started.

“Dove Bar came to us as a startup [at the trade show] and asked us to make 25; then there was Good Humor and multiple other large companies. About a year-and-a-half later, other companies came out with the same thing — you couldn’t particularly patent it.”

Still, business for the Kronrads continued to grow with additional carts and kiosks  fabricated from materials including metal, wood and Corian.

“Some people wanted hot dog carts, then coffee carts,” Kronrad said. “Auntie Anne’s [the pretzel chain] asked if we could build kiosks. Anne’s brother came here [to All Star’s headquarters] and said, ‘I’m sold.’ We turned out a kiosk every couple of weeks ... A multitude of things were made” as word spread about the company.

All Star’s kiosks made their way to Long Island malls such as Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station and Roosevelt Field in Garden City. Pushcarts joined the roster, with a stylish All Star flower cart becoming a familiar fixture outside the exclusive  Mark Hotel in Manhattan. A food trailer was built by All Star for the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as for nuclear submarines; and food trucks were made for NASA at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Q: How did you learn to make food trucks and your other fabrications?

I’m an avid reader. I learned by researching everything you need to know about laminates, metals and refrigeration, and I worked with engineers who taught me.

Q: What type of vehicles do you use for the food trucks?

People find a used truck and bring it to me; it’s used because a new truck would cost $50,000 to $60,000. Usually the trucks are step vans,  the same truck UPS and FedEx use with aluminum bodies.

Q: What is the price range of your food truck fabrications, and what were some of your larger projects?

From $30,000 to $90,000. For Nathan’s, they wanted to make a Nathan’s on wheels — with everything Nathan’s sells. That required a big generator because of the power consumption used for things like toasting buns.

Q: What types of foods are sold from food trucks?

These days it can be everything — pretzels, French fries, churros, Vietnamese food, grilled cheese, any type of sausage … Today you’ll see more specialized vehicles, though all basically have the same type of equipment. And you’ll find them everywhere — at weddings, at festivals, breweries, wineries …

Q: What are the most popular foods for food trucks?

Ice cream and hot dogs are still the most popular for carts and trucks.

Q: How do you come up with ideas for things like colors when designing a food truck?

They [the truck owners] give suggestions and design ideas.

Q: How do you find and keep employees?

Most of my employees are long-term. I keep them by being nice to them.

Q: How many hours do you put in each week?

Thirty to 40.

Q: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in or with your business along the way?

Not charging enough for specialty work.

Q: Why do you think food trucks are so popular?

The food’s quick. It’s grab and go, and it’s less expensive than in a restaurant. For an owner, there’s no overhead, no rent, no insurance — no insurance other than truck insurance. You work your own hours and have freedom.

Q: How long do you think food trucks will be around?

I think they’ll always be popular unless there are too many government restrictions for compliant equipment. Some of these people work on a shoestring and don’t have the resources.

Q: What's the best part about owning your own business?

The excitement of new and varied projects, the challenge to build and design things that were never done, and working with clients who have some amazing ideas and how to produce them on a truck.