Specialized
Food & Dry Goods Freight
Groceries, dry goods, beverage and produce — moved on clean equipment, into the delivery windows restaurants and grocers actually keep.
Cargo Taxi Deliveries moves food and dry goods across Los Angeles and the western states: packaged groceries, canned and dry goods, beverages, produce, and restaurant and commissary distribution. Loads run ambient or refrigerated as the commodity requires, on clean food-grade equipment, with multi-stop routes built for restaurant and grocery delivery windows.
Food distribution in Los Angeles runs on windows that nobody else has to care about. A restaurant takes delivery before service or not at all. A grocery back door has a receiving clerk for four hours. A commissary wants the whole order at once rather than in three visits. None of that shows up in a mileage calculation, which is why food freight quoted like general freight is quoted wrong.
The work covers packaged and canned goods, dry staples, beverage, produce, and the chilled and frozen portion of the same orders. Multi-stop routes across the basin are the normal shape: one load out of a distributor or commissary, eight to fifteen drops, each into its own window, with the sequence planned around which stops close first rather than around which are nearest.
Equipment is kept food-grade: clean, dedicated, and not carrying anything that would contaminate a food load before or after. Mixed ambient-and-chilled orders are handled either by running the whole load refrigerated or by splitting it, and dispatch will say which is appropriate rather than putting ambient dry goods into a reefer and charging for it.
Specifications
The numbers.
| Route shape | Typically 8–15 drops per load across the basin |
|---|---|
| Temperature | Ambient, chilled or frozen as the order requires |
| Equipment | Clean, dedicated, food-grade |
| Pallet capacity | Up to 12 standard pallets per truck |
| Scheduling | Built around receiving windows, including pre-service delivery |
| Billing | Per run, or flat route rate for recurring distribution |
Equipment used for this work
Mercedes Sprinter
Long-wheelbase, high-roof cargo van for medium loads and efficient multi-stop routes — the workhorse of the fleet.
- Limit: No liftgate — needs a dock or forklift for heavy pallets
- Limit: Maximum 4 pallet positions
26ft Box Truck
Enclosed 26ft box with a liftgate and a pallet jack on board as standard — the right truck for palletized freight going anywhere without a dock.
- Limit: Not a 53ft trailer — 12 pallet positions, not 26
- Limit: Restricted on some residential streets and low clearances
Questions
Food & Dry Goods, answered.
Can you deliver to restaurants before they open?
Yes, and that is usually the only workable time. Pre-service delivery windows — early morning for lunch service, mid-afternoon for dinner — are the default for restaurant distribution here, and routes are sequenced around which kitchens close their receiving first rather than around which are closest together.
Do you handle mixed chilled and ambient orders?
Yes. A mixed order is either run entirely refrigerated, which is simplest when the chilled portion is substantial, or split across compartments or trucks. Dispatch will tell you which is cheaper for your particular mix rather than defaulting to the one that bills higher.
Is your equipment food grade?
Yes — equipment carrying food is kept clean and dedicated and is not used for commodities that would contaminate a food load. If your receiver requires a specific sanitation record or a wash-out certificate, ask dispatch at booking so it is arranged before the truck is loaded rather than requested at the door.
Further reading
How this works in practice.
Related services
Often booked together.
Refrigerated & Temperature-Controlled
Pre-cooled before loading, held at the temperature on the bill, and recorded the whole way so nobody has to take your word for it.
Scheduled & Recurring Routes
The same stops, the same times, the same driver — and one flat rate instead of a stack of individual tickets.
LTL & Palletized Freight
One to twelve pallets, liftgate and pallet jack on every truck, and no terminal in the middle losing your freight.