Applying Spatial Location to the Amphitheater Food Trucks

Often, I find myself on weekdays craving the “Got Dumplings” cart near the McIntire Amphitheater. However, the dumpling cart is not the only food truck that sets up there; the “Yum Yum Xpress” truck, the “El Tako Nako” truck, and “The Pie Guy” truck also set up at the same location. Like rival chicken restaurants gravitating toward each other to attract each other’s customers, these food trucks are arguably performing similar firm behavior. This is an application, albeit a very loose application, of Hotelling’s spatial location theory of firm behavior—I say “loose” since, among other reasons, the four food trucks do not supply identical goods. However, assuming some customers’ preferences permit them to choose between more than one food truck, the fact that all four food trucks are mobile provides some line of comparison, for competing, profit-maximizing firms with “wheels” are capable of moving to wherever their competitors are in order to feed off their customers. This is somewhat sensible as there have been times when I have walked to the Amphitheater determined to buy dumplings before deciding at the last minute to get quesadillas at the “El Tako Nako” truck.

(Image Source)

(Also, notice the wheels on the food trucks!)

Moreover, another departure from Hotelling’s model in this case is the distribution of college student foot traffic. The lane that the four food trucks occupy consistently garners higher volumes of foot traffic relative to most other alternative locations, especially during midday hours. This is because the Amphitheater serves as a mass intersection of multiple walking routes to and from academic buildings, so potential customer foot traffic is not uniformly distributed. Yet another wrinkle is the lack of the one-dimensional assumption that Hotelling’s and Downs’ models share—the food trucks choose to set up shop on a two-dimensional plane, that is each truck can move north, south, east, or west on a map. However, assuming UVA Dining has no overriding discretion over where the food trucks are placed, there are no interests pulling each food truck toward or away from the Amphitheater. In other words, like Hotelling’s model and unlike Downs’ model, there are no spatial limitations placed on each firm’s mobility, so firms can “leap” each other if they so wish. As a result, it makes sense for each food truck to simply go where foot traffic volume and opportunities to attract other carts’ customers are maximized. Though this example may fall short of providing an ideal example of Hotelling’s model such as the “hot dog stands at the beach” scenario, applying Hotelling’s and Downs’ models is nonetheless useful in understanding the possible implications of economic theory underpinning a regular on-Grounds occurrence.