Fuel costs force Suffolk food trucks to cut menus, raise fees

Fuel bills are biting Long Island food trucks just as the spring season starts, forcing some Suffolk operators to rethink what they serve, how far they travel and how much they can charge. Alan Pollack, who runs Land and Sea Smokehouse, said the cost of fueling his truck and smoker has climbed sharply, and some owners are now repurposing leftover food, limiting menu options and enforcing travel fees to protect already thin margins.

The pressure is showing up in hard numbers. Elaine Piotrowski of Roxy’s Ice Cream Truck said she spent about $6,500 on gas for her truck and diesel for her generator last year and fears that total could climb to about $9,000 this year. She planned to open for the season on April 11 and keep prices unchanged, but the math is getting harder to absorb. Bruce Vatske of The Branded Bun said a truck fill-up that used to cost $60 to $70 now runs about $100, a jump that can quickly erase the profit from a busy lunch rush or a single event booking.

The squeeze comes as fuel prices have surged nationwide. U.S. gasoline averaged $4.018 a gallon on March 31, the highest since August 2022, according to the latest national data, and diesel has risen more than 40% to above $5 a gallon. In New York, the average regular gas price stood at $4.186 on April 27, while diesel averaged $5.912, underscoring how expensive it has become to keep a truck moving across Suffolk County, Nassau County and beyond. The U.S. Energy Information Administration put New York regular gasoline at $4.004 per gallon in its April 21 update.

For food trucks, fuel is not just what goes into the tank. It also powers generators, keeps smokers running and covers the longer drives to fairs, office parks, beaches and private events that make up much of the spring and summer calendar. That is why some owners are trying to hold the line on menu prices even as they scale back offerings, charging travel fees for longer routes and looking for ways to stretch every gallon.

NYSERDA says its transportation fuels dashboard tracks current and historical gasoline, diesel, jet and ethanol prices in New York, a reminder of how volatile the market has become. For Suffolk customers lining up at lunch stops or local events, the change may soon be visible in smaller menus, higher tabs or fewer trucks willing to make the trip.