Crazy Question

Check out local warehouses and dcs. Been to several where a food truck or something pulls in and sells to drivers and the employees

 

I've seen food trucks near truckstops before, but mostly in places where the weather is goo for most of the year (Southern CA, Houston TX, etc.). These trucks were never IN the truckstop, but were nearby, usually in a vacant business which they rented space from, often with a large enough parking area for 3-4 trucks at a time. These things were also registered locally, with health inspection permits prominently displayed.

Southern Illinois does get winter, and I'd assume that for 4-5 months out of the year, the weather would be cold enough that you would have extremely little business during those times. A better idea might be as follows: Find a guy who has an independent fuel and convenience store setup which also caters to trucks. Many of these places are owned by Hindus and Sikhs, so cooking something along that cuisine is already a proven method. Keep your food halal, and you would likely get a lot of drivers of Indo/Pakistani origin patronizing your business. There is a place just outside of Indianapolis on I 70 like this, and another one in Texas I've heard about.

 

I’ve seen a few truck stops where someone has a food truck across the street or somewhere with a huge phone number on the truck , and they delivered to your rig .

 

Food trucks are a truckers favorite site to see.. I have seen many of them operating across the street from a truckstop.. And i will always give them my business.because truckstop food sucks and its expensive like u said.. Plus id rather give my money to the small local guy ans take care of them before i give my money to a corporation..

 

I would say goto truck stops and post a bunch of posters with your info. Then, additionally to this, Put a flyer on ever truck in the parking lot. Goto the fuel island and in and around the truck stop and parking lot and hand out flyers to all of them and strike a quick and brief conversation with them. Offer your products and services. Make sure your restaurant is available on GrubHub, UberEats and DoorDash.
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!