Beyond the Food Truck: 10 Offbeat Mobile Businesses

Take a look at this roundup of services that deliver the goods — literally.

Farmer’s Market

If you like the food truck concept but prefer to wield your own spatula, this one’s for you: Riverview Farms in Georgia brings the farm-to-table concept directly to urban locavores in greater Atlanta. Customers can find out when “Farm Mobile” will be rolling into the neighborhood via Riverview’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed or email list. They can pick up fresh ingredients like organic produce, free-range eggs and chicken, grass-fed beef and pork, artisanal cheeses and fresh bread.

Day Spa

So-called mobile spas are a dime a dozen: Providers will bring massage tables, manicure tools and aromatherapy oils to a home or office, then set up shop and provide their services in your den or your company’s conference room. Renewal Retreat Onsite is a little different in that the employer or party host booking it doesn’t need a place — well, maybe an oversized parking spot, but that’s it. The “retreat” is a customized RV that travels throughout  San Francisco and Silicon Valley, delivering facials, mani-pedis and other treatments right inside the vehicle.

Pet Grooming

It’s hard enough wrestling with a dog who hates bath time or a cat who turns your arms into scratching posts when it’s nail-trimming time, whether you do it yourself or corral them into a carrier or crate for a trip to the groomer’s. To keep the fur from flying, more pet owners around the country are turning to mobile grooming services, a growing niche in the seemingly recession-proof category of stuff and services we buy our pets. Mobile groomers use vans or buses that have been overhauled into “salons” for four-footed customers, with tubs, blow-dryers and clipping stations for fur and nails.

ATM

We take it for granted that we can stroll up to an ATM and take out cash whenever we need it, but when storms knocked out power in the Bethesda, Md. region this summer, that simple transaction became impossible. Of course, businesses that normally accept debit and credit cards couldn’t do so for the same reason, which meant a lot of people were stuck — an uncommon but unnerving side effect of our increasingly cashless society. A mobile Bank of America ATM rode to the rescue, parking near one knocked offline by the power outage.

DNA Testing

Despite the popularity of “You are the father!” segments on daytime talk shows, most people would probably rather get sensitive paternity or genetic information in a more private setting. Improvements in DNA testing technology now make it possible for people in the New York City area to get tested in a retrofitted RV and have the results in about a week. Medical professionals in a Reuters article about the “Who’s Your Daddy?” truck — yes, that’s what’s painted on the side — expressed concern that people getting DNA information from such an informal source might not be prepared psychologically for the results

Karaoke Bar

So you want to belt out some tunes — you could go to a karaoke bar, or just let it come to you. The RVIP Lounge & Karaoke Cabaret is just what the name suggests. The company has two overhauled RVs that show up to music festivals and events like South by Southwest, where the owners came up with the idea of adding wheels to a karaoke bar. Companies sponsor RVIP’s appearances, so it’s free for people to climb aboard and belt out their rendition of “Livin’ on a Prayer” or “I Will Survive.”

Boutiques

Talk about a different definition of “mobile shopping.” A number of entrepreneurial retailers looking for a way to make themselves stand out have decided that the food truck model is the way to go, except instead of a Vietnamese sandwich or Belgian waffle, customers can scoop up calorie-free treats. Condé Nast Traveler has a roundup that shows an impressive variety of merchandise merchants sell out of buses and RVs: everything from sundries at a mobile convenience store in Berlin to new and used records out of a vintage trailer in California. (Perhaps in keeping with the theme of repurposing something retro, a high proportion of mobile boutiques specialize in vintage clothing.)

Cigar Lounge

With smoking areas becoming more scarce in an increasingly health-conscious climate, cigar aficionados now can literally bring their own smoking section. A handful of rolling cigar lounges around the country like Mobile Cigar Lounge in Tampa, Classic Cigars in Phoenix, Street Car Cigars in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Styx Lounge in Texas all offer an upscale man-cave experience with lots of dark, polished wood, leather seating and big-screen TVs.   And of course, they all have humidors stocked with cigars so people can puff away without worrying that their smoke is bothering someone else.

Mammograms

Screening for breast cancer is an important health service, but in sparsely populated places with harsh weather like Alaska, it can be tough for women to get access to this medical service. The Providence Imaging Center solved this problem by adding wheels to its screening service. The Center operates a 34-foot mobile lab emblazoned with a pink ribbon and equipped with the machinery to perform the 15-minute exams. The images then are brought back to the Center and read by radiologists.

Roller-Skate Rental

Jealous of all these wheels yet? At one inventive mobile business, you can pick up a pair of your own for the afternoon. The Skate Truck NYC travels to New York City parks and rents roller skates (safety equipment is included in the rental price). Customers can decide if they want to be on wheels for two hours, four hours or all day. Unsure on your feet, er, skates? The Skate Truck also offers group and private skating lessons. Aspiring skaters can find the current location schedule on its website and Twitter feed.