Birthday Party Catering

Most birthday parties do not need a caterer. The ones that call us are usually a milestone: a fortieth, a sixtieth, a surprise party where somebody’s family has driven three hours and the host would like to spend the evening at their own party rather than in the kitchen.

The size question

Birthdays are smaller than the events we usually quote, and people assume that rules them out. It does not, but the answer is genuinely conditional rather than a policy.

Whether a twenty-guest event works comes down to where the truck already is that day. It is always worth asking.

The truck is out selling to the public most days, and where it happens to be that afternoon changes what is possible that evening. There is no way to work that out from the outside. A two-minute phone call answers what this page cannot.

Why people book a truck for a birthday

The host gets to attend. Nobody is plating in the kitchen or checking an oven while their friends are outside. That is the reason we hear most often and it is worth stating first.

It is the entertainment as well as the food. A trailer in the driveway gives a party a center. People go over, wait a minute, talk to whoever is in the queue. For a party where two halves of a family do not know each other, that queue does a job no seating plan does.

Everybody eats what they want. A party spanning four generations has a nine-year-old, a vegetarian, and a grandfather who wants meat and no discussion. One base, different toppings, no separate orders. There are vegetarian options; there are no vegan ones.

How it runs at a house

Loaded Truck is the usual choice: guests order at the window and eat wherever they were already standing. Loaded Stations moves the same service indoors if the party is inside or the weather is against you.

Our lines go just as fast as any normal buffet, and the buffet stays open afterward for seconds. When you send an inquiry, we'll give you an estimate of how long it will take to serve your guests. For a birthday that means service is not an event in itself. It happens, people eat, and the party carries on.

Getting a trailer to your house

• The trailer is 22 feet long and is towed by a full-size Chevy van, so it needs a route in and room to maneuver into the spot.
• Solid ground. A trailer this heavy will sink or get stuck in soft ground, and that matters most after a wet week.
• Nothing else for catering or a one-day festival. We are self contained.
• For festivals of two days or more, a 50-amp RV-style outlet within 50 feet, and access to potable water.

On a residential street the questions are whether a 22-foot trailer can get in and turn around, and where it sits when it does. Driveways work, wide shoulders work, and a neighbor’s spare parking works if the neighbor is invited. Send the address when you ask and we will check it in advance.

Surprise parties

Worth mentioning at booking, because a food trailer is difficult to hide and its arrival is the moment the surprise ends. We will time setup around whatever your plan is, but we need to know the plan.

Short notice

Birthdays get organized later than weddings. If your date is a week or two out, ask rather than assuming it is too late. Sometimes the answer is yes, and it costs one phone call to find out.

Asking

Call 931-271-7455, email nicholas@itsloaded.com, or send the details: the date, the address, roughly how many people, and what time you want food going out.

Guest numbers are covered in how many guests we can serve, what a quote includes is in what catering costs, and larger family gatherings are in family reunions.