Your custom food truck builder in Denver
Mile High Food Trucks designs and builds custom food trucks, food trailers, and concession trailers out of our shop at 3895 E 45th Ave in north Denver. We have delivered more than 200 rigs, and a large share of them run right here in the metro, from the Ball Arena and Coors Field crowds to the brewery patios in RiNo and the office parks down in the Tech Center. Being a Denver shop means shorter build trips, faster service calls, and a builder who already knows the local health department and the streets you will actually run.
Whether you are launching your first truck or adding to a fleet, we fabricate the whole rig in house and help you get it licensed and on the road. Call us at (720) 209-2653 for a quote.
Why Denver is one of the best food truck markets in the country
Denver rewards mobile food. Trucks cluster in RiNo, LoDo and Union Station, Five Points, South Broadway and Baker, the Tennyson and Berkeley corridors, and downtown around Civic Center at lunch. On summer Wednesdays and Thursdays, Civic Center EATS parks more than a dozen trucks and carts for the downtown lunch crowd, and RiNo runs its own steady stream of food truck festivals and brewery pop-ups.
The brewery scene is the quiet engine. Dozens of Denver taprooms have no kitchen of their own and run a standing rotation of trucks, which gives you predictable weekly income instead of chasing one-off events. The sports calendar stacks on top of that: Broncos game days at Empower Field, Nuggets and Avalanche nights at Ball Arena, and Rockies afternoons at Coors Field all move serious volume. And the downtown and Tech Center office corridors book trucks for team lunches, appreciation days, and product launches, which are some of the steadiest, highest-margin bookings you can land.
Where you can operate in Denver
Denver is friendly to food trucks, but the location rules matter, and building your truck to fit them is part of the job. A few of the basics: you cannot set up within 10 feet of another truck, you cannot use metered spaces, loading zones, or bus stops, and you have to stay at least 100 feet from a school during school hours and out of the Central Business District and away from parks and parkways unless it is a permitted event.
For anything longer than 30 minutes at one spot, you generally need a zoning permit, which Denver allows in the mixed-use, commercial, industrial, and most downtown zone districts, with a limit of about four consecutive hours per zone lot per day. Short stops under 30 minutes and private catering are treated differently. Brewery lots, private property, and events that run long all lean on that zoning permit, so operators who skip it risk a citation. When we build your truck we set it up to work within these rules, and we can help you think through where you plan to vend before you commit to equipment.
Denver food truck licensing, made simple
Denver runs its own health department, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE), separate from the state. To operate on Denver streets, at breweries, and at events, you need a Denver Retail Food Establishment-Mobile license. You apply through the city EXL portal with your menu, equipment specs, and a commissary agreement, and the truck goes through a plan review that checks your three-compartment sink, handwashing station, and ventilation hood.
Budget a one-time application fee around 150 dollars, an annual license from roughly 100 dollars up to about 200 dollars depending on how complex your menu is, and a pre-operation inspection for the inspector time. Denver inspects mobile units about twice a year, unannounced. Every Denver truck also needs a commissary, a licensed base kitchen approved by DDPHE where you prep, store, and service the truck, and commissary space in Denver usually runs 800 to 1,500 dollars a month. We build your truck to pass Denver plan review the first time, and we can point you toward commissaries that fit your menu.
The 2026 law change that makes a Denver truck more valuable
As of January 1, 2026, Colorado House Bill 25-1295 created full license reciprocity. In plain terms, a Denver mobile license is now valid across the entire state, and the state CDPHE license is valid in every jurisdiction except Denver. So once you are licensed in Denver, you can work Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and beyond by giving that jurisdiction 14 days notice, instead of pulling a separate permit in every city. The same law stops local governments from banning trucks in any zone where a restaurant is allowed and caps proximity rules at 50 feet. For a Denver-based operator, that turns one license into a statewide business.
Built for Denver altitude and four seasons
Denver sits at 5,280 feet, and altitude changes how propane and generators perform. We tune regulators and size generators for thinner air so your equipment holds output on a hot afternoon or a cold morning. We also insulate for real winters with closed-cell spray foam, insulated plumbing runs, and heated water lines as an option, so you can keep serving through January instead of parking the truck for four months. Denver operators run year-round now, and the build has to support it.
Denver builds we have delivered
We build for every concept and every size. Here are a few rigs we fabricated for Denver operators, from a compact trailer to one of the largest mobile kitchens on the road.
See many more finished rigs in our build gallery.
What we build
We build custom food trucks, food trailers, and concession trailers to match your menu and your budget. Most custom builds land between 90,000 and 150,000 dollars depending on size, equipment, and finish, and a full custom build runs about 16 weeks. If you need to be serving sooner, we keep pre-built and used inventory ready for faster delivery, and our sister shop, Mile High RV Works, handles welding, fabrication, electrical, plumbing, propane, and refrigeration for repairs and upgrades. See our full build process and what a build costs, or browse pre-built inventory. You get one point of contact from the first sketch to the day we hand you the keys.
Why Denver operators choose Mile High
We are a Denver shop, not an out-of-state factory. You can visit your build in person, we know DDPHE and the local commissaries, and when something needs a same-week fix we are minutes away instead of a freight quote away. We have delivered more than 200 trucks and trailers, we are licensed in Colorado, California, and Washington, and we build every rig for the way Denver actually operates. When you buy from a local builder, the relationship does not end at delivery.
Food truck builder for the Denver metro and the Front Range
From our north Denver shop we serve the whole metro, including Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Centennial, and the Tech Center, and we build for operators up and down the Front Range in Boulder, Fort Collins, Estes Park, Northern Colorado, Loveland, Greeley, and the Vail Valley town of Avon, plus Wyoming markets like Cheyenne, Casper, and Gillette.
Denver food truck FAQ
How much does a food truck cost in Denver?
Most custom builds run 90,000 to 150,000 dollars depending on size and equipment. Pre-built and used trucks can cost less and ship faster. We give you a firm quote after we talk through your menu and plan.
How long does a custom build take?
About 16 weeks for a full custom truck. If you need to open sooner, ask about our pre-built and used inventory.
What license do I need to run a food truck in Denver?
A Denver Retail Food Establishment-Mobile license from DDPHE, plus a commissary agreement. As of 2026, that Denver license also lets you operate statewide by giving 14 days notice to the other jurisdiction.
Where can I park a food truck in Denver?
Popular spots include RiNo, LoDo, Five Points, South Broadway, and Civic Center at lunch, plus brewery lots and private events. For any stop over 30 minutes you generally need a zoning permit, and you have to stay clear of metered spaces, bus stops, schools, and the Central Business District.
Do you help with permits and commissary?
Yes. We build your truck to pass Denver plan review and point you toward commissaries that work for your menu.
Can you build a trailer instead of a truck?
Absolutely. We build food trailers and concession trailers as well as trucks, and trailers are a popular choice for brewery and event operators.
Get started
Ready to build? See our full build process, browse pre-built inventory, check the gallery, or call us at (720) 209-2653. Corporate buyers start here.
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