Media Credit: Samuel Klein | Photo Editor
Doug Povich, center, chairman of the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington, attends a D.C. Council hearing Friday on new regulations for food trucks operating in the District.

Student leaders joined more than 50 residents and business people from around the city Friday to speak out against a proposed crackdown on food trucks.

Under the new rules, a lottery would dish out a limited number of parking spots, allowing food trucks to operate in those areas between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Trucks not chosen in the lottery would have to park at least 500 feet away.

That would mean just three trucks could park on the Foggy Bottom Campus at one time, pushing out the dozen or so vendors that often line up on the popular food truck row – H Street between 21st and 22nd streets.

Media Credit: Hatchet File Photo
Food trucks, serving kabobs and cupcakes on H Street, often flock to campus each weekday.

Scott Lauermann, the Student Association’s vice president for financial affairs, said at the public hearing that food trucks liven the campus’ atmosphere.

“A few years ago, we’d see one or two on our campus, and now on H Street we see 12 during the day, with lines on every one,” the sophomore said. “They do provide a lot of cultural diversity and a great source of food for our students, and we’d really like to see them stay.”

The SA pushed to allow food trucks to accept GWorlds in December, and Ryan Counihan, chair of the finance committee, said students might be able to use their cards at the trucks this fall.

Counihan said members of the SA met last week with Vincent Orange, chair of the D.C. Council’s regulatory committee, and both Orange and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray asked them to testify on behalf of GW students.

“I really think [food trucks] should be given a fair shot,” Counihan said, adding that the sales tax food trucks charge their customers puts them on an equal playing field with brick-and-mortar restaurants. The city has argued that food trucks are given an unfair advantage because their overhead costs are not as high as the other businesses.

The D.C. Council has until June 22 to pass or reject the vending regulations, after which members cannot amend the rules without passing emergency legislation.

“If we were to vote today on these regulations, I can tell you that these regulations are not going to pass,” Orange said during the seven-and-a-half-hour-long hearing. “I think what we have been able to do today is push people to the point where these regulations, with some minor tweaks, can move forward and we can get this in place before the end of this calendar year.”

The Council enters its summer recess July 15.

Jackson Carnes, a junior and member of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said at the hearing that the regulations would stifle entrepreneurship and consumer choice.

“Foggy Bottom has historically had few dining options, and in recent years, food trucks have filled this void,” he said. “These regulations will transform D.C. overnight, from a leader in mobile vending to one of the worst in the country with a one-size-fits-all approach.”

The lottery would especially hurt customers who have enjoyed a burgeoning D.C. subculture, said Kristina Kern, who runs the popcorn truck Stella’s PopKern.

“The really cool thing about being an owner of a food truck is that you’re a part of this really neat culture,” she said. “If there’s this lottery, and all the trucks that win that lottery are kabob trucks, you’re stifling customers’ choices.”

At the hearing, some restaurant owners who run brick-and-mortar shops in Adams Morgan and Farragut Square spoke out in favor of the regulations, saying the food truck craze has hurt their businesses.

Steven Loeb, who owns Loeb’s NY Deli on 17th and I streets, likened the food trucks crowding Farragut Square every morning to “the Wild West” and said it can also be a safety hazard. He added that his deli, which serves K Street customers near campus, has seen declining revenues because of competition from food trucks.

Gray, whose mayoral administration includes the city’s regulatory agency, has faced flak for the proposed regulations. But Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Nicholas Majett said the mayor supports the food truck industry’s creativity.

“There is absolutely no plan, desire, hope or wish for this administration to have food trucks banned from operating in the District of Columbia,” he said.

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council rated the District less business-friendly than all 50 states, compared to Maryland’s No. 17 spot and Virginia’s rank at No. 10. Council member David Grosso called the ranking “an embarrassment to me every time I think about it.”

Famed chef José Andrés, who taught at GW this semester, also entered the D.C. food fight when he told the Washington Post last week that restaurants and food trucks “can coexist successfully,” though the city needed tighter regulations.

If the proposed regulations fail in the Council, food trucks will continue to follow “ice cream truck” rules that require parked vendors to have a line of customers waiting for service at all times.

- Cory Weinberg contributed to this report.

http://www.gwhatchet.com/2013/05/12/at-d-c-council-hearing-students-stand-up-against-food-truck-regulations/

The Kinetic Kitchen from Gig Harbor
Credit Michelle Smith

• WHAT: Public hearing on whether to allow food trucks in Gig Harbor
• WHEN: Gig Harbor City Council meeting, 5:30 p.m., Monday
• WHERE: Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview St.

Mobile food trucks might soon be parking in Gig Harbor.

The city’s planning commission is recommending adopting an interim set of regulations that would allow for food trucks. The rules would last through this year, giving the city some time to study whether mobile dining – which in the South Sound ranges from Korean cuisine to burgers to Mexican food to desserts – should be allowed permanently.

The Gig Harbor City Council is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the proposed food truck rules Monday.

The proposed rules include requiring food trucks to:

• remain out of fire lanes and other areas that need to remain empty
• offer walk-up service only, not driver-through
• adhere to certain sign regulations
• provide secured trash containers
• adhere to state and Pierce County food requirements.

http://gigharbor.patch.com/articles/gig-harbor-city-council-to-hold-public-hearing-on-food-trucks-monday

Shamus Ian Fatzinger/Fairfax County Times – A Curley’s Q BBQ truck operates across the street from a Tortuga food truck on Solutions Drive in Tysons Corner. Food trucks have recently been ticketed for selling merchandise on public streets.

Tysons Corner has developed a thriving food-truck scene in recent years. Now, the colorful trucks serving up bahn mi, paninis, lobster rolls and bratwurst for lunch are running into trouble with authorities.

During the past couple of months, truck owners occasionally have received tickets from police for operating in Tysons Corner.

So far, food-truck entrepreneurs have not been deterred from setting up shop on Solutions Drive, behind SAIC’s campus, and Boone Boulevard. Instead, they’re trying to get organized to work on a solution with county leaders, as they have in other jurisdictions.

Wolf Antoni, who owns the Bratwurst King truck, got his first $50 ticket this month, a fine representing about half of what he earned that cool, rainy day. On a good day, he can bring in a few hundred dollars during lunch.

“At this point, I’m not intending to pay it and will go to court,” Antoni said. “Hopefully we’ll get a judge to agree with our case.”

Antoni said he and other drivers see a conflict: The county health department licenses the trucks for operation, but there is essentially nowhere in the county for food trucks to legally operate.

Under the county code, vendors may not park a vehicle on any street in a business district to sell merchandise, county spokesman Brian Worthy said. The Tysons office complexes that food trucks frequent would appear to meet the state’s definition of a business district.

Food trucks also must have a health department license and a solicitor’s license and must comply with zoning regulations.

Antoni and other food vendors have reported that the tickets being issued are for selling merchandise from a state-maintained roadway, which would apply to essentially every street in the county.

“We’re all small businesses. We pay taxes and everything else,” Antoni said. “Why would you hinder a small business from prospering?”

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D) said she is interested in ironing out the issues. “It is not something that we have a lot of experience with,” she said.

This year, Bulova endorsed a proposal by Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) to look into the regulations and other issues involving food trucks.

Bulova is now planning to conduct a roundtable meeting within the next month with relevant county staff, food-truck owners and the chamber of commerce to dig into all the regulatory matters.

“How do we deal with that in a way that we can make it possible for these folks to safely do business?” Bulova said.

For example, she said, they might be able to legally set up in private parking lots. Or, the county might need to work with legislators to adjust state codes.

Some food-truck operators in Fairfax County are looking to form a local chapter of the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington (formerly the D.C. Food Truck Association) as an organized way of working with the local government.

The association successfully has improved regulations for food trucks in the District and Arlington County, said Uyen Nguyen, whose Lemongrass food truck occasionally serves up Vietnamese food in Tysons. Nguyen is a former board member of the association.

“Fairfax County has a handful of trucks that only operate within the county,” she said.

Other trucks, like hers, might also frequent Arlington and the District. “They’re going to put some of these trucks out of business,” she said.

Nguyen said food trucks are very much in line with the county’s more urban, pedestrian-oriented vision for Tysons.

“I think the regulations need to catch up with demand, especially in the Tysons area,” she said. “To encourage more pedestrian traffic, you need things like food trucks.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tysons-food-trucks-cite-conflict-in-fairfax-county-policy-seek-solution/2013/03/20/1646c264-9035-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html

Hearing on fate of Buffalo food trucks

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Time is running out on Buffalo’s great food truck experiment and city officials are trying to figure out if they should extend the regulations that were passed a year-and-a-half ago or change them.

City officials set vendor fees at a thousand dollars a truck per year. The trucks also have to stay at least 100 feet away from the closest traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant.

At a Common Council committee hearing Tuesday, Buffalo’s fees were compared with other cities. Rochester operators only pay $750 a year and in the nation’s capital, it is only $100. New York City only charges food truck vendors $200 for a two-year permit, but there are additional costs, and the trucks are restricted to certain parking areas.

More than a dozen food truck operators were at the hearing to argue for lower fees, saying the high cost of doing business has shut down a few trucks already. But brick-and-mortar businesses counter their costs are higher than food truck operators, and it’s unfair competition.

“Food trucks are here to stay, despite what some of you might think. So stop treating us like a thorn in your side because that will only cause you further frustration,” said Peter Cimino, owner of Lloyd Taco Truck.

Restaurant owner Tucker Curtin countered, “As the president of the business association up by Main Street, I had a number of complaints from the brick-and-mortars up and down the neighborhood that they were losing a hundred bucks, losing a couple hundred bucks. Tucker what can you do about? I don’t know what to do about it.”

City officials have until April 1 to renew the food truck rules, change them or extend the deadline. Some brick-and-mortar restaurant owners are calling for even more regulations of their four-wheeled competition.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/buffalo/hearing-on-fate-of-buffalo-food-trucks?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wivb_local+(WIVB.com+-+Local+News)

Seoul Food will be offering a kimchi making class this spring. (Twitter/Seoul Food)

One of Arlington’s most beloved food trucks is celebrating Monday after a judge dismissed the case against Seoul Food, whose kimchi, donburi and bibimbap have been feeding locals on the move for more than a year.

Owners Anna Shil and her husband JP Goree faced up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for allegedly violating an Arlington County law mandating that food trucks move every hour.

The couple had been repeatedly cited by a police officer who said they were not moving far enough even though the law currently does not stipulate what distance is acceptable.

“I’m happy this is behind us and we can focus back on making the food we love, serving our regulars and preparing to open our brick-and-mortar restaurant,” Shil said in a statement. “I hope this case spurs the country to get rid of its 60- minute rule.”

In December, Shil shared on Facebook a tense encounter with a police officer:

“At courthouse, today, we were greeted by the cop as soon as we pulled over … After one hour vending, at 12;15, we moved our truck with our customer’s help, and kept running the business. The same cop appeared around 1;00, insisted we didn’t move and gave me another court order.”

Shil says the officer “tried to humiliate” her, and said it was her “lucky day” because he didn’t ask for a business license.

The Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington says it is hoping to work with Arlington County to draft a new law that is easier to understand.

With the legal drama out of the way, Seoul Food can now focus on opening a new restaurant in Silver Spring later this year. Details have not been released, but Shil says they will be located at 11310 Georgia Avenue, Washingtonian reports.

http://www.wtop.com/41/3218137/Arlington-food-truck-favorite-wins-court-battle

Courtesy of Facebook
A Cook County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Beavers Coffee and Doughnuts against the City of Evanston. The doughnut truck company argued the city’s food truck ban is unconstitutional.

A judge has dismissed the suit between a Chicago-based food truck and the city of Evanston.

The five-month case between Beavers Coffee and Donuts and Evanston, however, might continue. The food truck has 60 days to file an amended complaint, an opportunity that co-owner Gabriel Wiesen said the company would definitely take.

Beavers filed a suit with the Cook County Circuit Court against the city in August to challenge Evanston’s mobile food vehicle vendors ordinance. The law requires all such vendors to apply for a license before operating within the city, and licenses can only be granted to vendors that have a physical restaurant within city limits.

Beavers Coffee and Donuts recently opened a permanent storefront in Chicago, although it has no affiliated restaurant in Evanston. Beaver’s argues the policy is unconstitutional because it is discriminatory toward certain businesses.

In an email to Evanston media, city attorney Grant Farrar announced Judge Mary Anne Mason had granted Evanston’s motion to dismiss the case Tuesday.

“Judge Mason immediately agreed with the City’s arguments that Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is not ripe for the Court’s review,” Farrar wrote.

The city argued in its dismissal motion that Beaver’s never submitted an application for an operating license, Wiesen said, adding that Beaver’s did not submit the application for a reason.

“We met with the health inspector with an application in hand, and he told us there was no point in applying,” he said.

Beavers will now apply for a license, Wiesen said, and then file an amended complaint if the city does not grant them the license.

Jacob Huebert, the attorney for Beavers with the Liberty Justice Center, said they are considering their next steps and maintain the city ordinance is discriminatory.

Evanston’s law department “will continue to aggressively defend the city” in the event that Beaver’s files an amended complaint, Farrar said in the email.

Beavers has operated at several Northwestern events in the past, including Dillo Day. The doughnut truck is scheduled to attend this Saturday’s Associated Student Government and Dance Marathon Food Truck Festival.

http://dailynorthwestern.com/2013/01/31/city/judge-sides-with-evanston-in-food-truck-dispute/

(New Braunfels, TX) — Parking was the key issue when New Braunfels City Council turned down a Special Use Permit this week for a proposed Mobile Food Truck Food Court in downtown New Braunfels. But efforts are underway to possibly ease some of those restrictions.

New Braunfels City Council voted 6 to 1 against that special use permit on Monday that would have cleared the way for that Food Truck Court at the corner of Casteel and Mill Streets in downtown New Braunfels.

But about 6 months ago City Council approved plans for a mobile food truck court on Hwy 46 South at Stonegate.

Parking issues downtown ended up playing a key role in Council’s most recent decision.

But city staff says they are looking at ways to change the existing ordinance that might make it easier for these kinds of mobile operations.

For much more on this story, including comments from businessman Jeff Mund and members of New Braunfels City Council.

http://kgnb.am/news/parking-issues-stop-downtown-food-truck-court-moving-forward

Food truck rallies are all the rage, serving up meals on wheels at events and street corners around South Florida. Like traditional restaurants they’re required to have a state license and undergo two unannounced inspections a year.

“In our tool box to find them we have temporary events, we have recurring events, we have social media,” said regulatory consultant Cindy Ross.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation denied NBC 6’s requests to follow or interview inspectors.

Inspection reports from different food trucks in Miami-Dade County reveal inspectors often find multiple critical violations like no hot or cold water at the employee hand wash sink, cheese and chicken not held at proper temperature, and potentially hazardous food thawed at room temperature.

Taqueria Los Dos Amigos met inspection standards with 11 critical violations.

A worker, who did not identify himself, would not allow NBC 6 to go inside the food truck.

“The truck is clean, the inspectors have come out and checked it, there’s no problem,” he said.

“For the most part operators try really, really hard to play by the rules and to do the right thing and they don’t want to make people sick,” said Ross.

While these mobile restaurants do a lot of moving around, they are required by the state to have a License Location Address. For more than 150 mobile food dispensing vehicles, that address is a very small warehouse space in Miami. There, Salchipan serves as a state-approved commissary where food trucks can get drinkable water and dispose of dirty water and grease. They are required to report to their commissary once a week. After we inquired about this location with state regulators they suddenly announced a change.

“The commissary is no longer required for self-sufficient mobile units. They just need an approved place to get fresh, clean water and a proper place to dispose of their waste water, neither of which can be a private residence,” said Ross.

A private residence in Miami is technically the birthplace of a popular food truck: Grill Master Café.

“We would take the truck, bring it home after 4, 5 o’clock when the code inspectors were not around, and we would start building it in the front of our house. Our neighbors were: ‘You guys are crazy, you don’t know what you’re doing,” said co-owner Maria Delgado.

The original truck was sold and her husband has since built a new truck, where food was cooked and served without a license for months.

“Somehow it just fell through the cracks of doing all the transfers and everything for the new truck,” Delgado said.

Meanwhile, the unlicensed truck was also towing an open trailer to events. It was used to serve sweets until the state shut it down in August.

“We were working with the trailer for a good six months, and they would inspect the Grill Master, they saw the trailer. They never said anything until the last minute when I guess somebody gave a complaint,” said Delgado.

The Delgados have a warehouse in Hialeah and have gotten into the business of turning old delivery trucks into mobile kitchens.

Food Cart USA is a high-end food truck manufacturer in Southwest Miami-Dade and California. They have built more than 200 and prices range from $55,000 to $180,000.

“I like to call it the gourmet food truck. This isn’t the typical roach coach that’s being sent out in the street,” said Food Cart USA co-owner Crystal Ramirez.

Her mother who started the business has concerns about inexperienced builders breaking into the business by offering better deals.

“We know there are people building trucks probably in their little backyard, that they’re not even licensed,” said Tanya Ramirez.

A special license is needed to install the gas lines connected to the propane tanks that fuel the kitchens.

More Local Stories

“I’m afraid that for gosh sakes something happens out of a food truck explosion on a propane tank or anything like that, that’s my concern. I’m afraid these people who do not know what they’re doing, something crazy like that could happen,” said Ramirez.

Grill Master Chef owners say they do not have the license to make the gas line connections on the trucks they are building. They say they contract that work out to someone that is licensed.

One way to know if you’re a food truck is licensed to serve food is to look for the number on the truck. The state requires operators to post it.

Inspection reports are available on the DBPR website.

So far this year, the Miami-Dade Health Department says only one person has reported getting sick from eating at a food truck. The number to call to make a report is 305-470-5660.

Food Truck Rolls Over, Spills Contents on Miramar Ramp

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Food-Truck-Regulation-Whats-Going-On-Behind-the-Scenes-179743451.html

San Antonio, TX – Saturday November 10^th through Sunday November 11^th Boardwalk on Bulverde will be hosting the 1^st Annual “Dallas Invades San Antonio” charity event. 10% of proceeds coming from all vendors, as well as a personal donation made by Boardwalk on Bulverde will be donated to Conquer Chiari to help fund research for this devastating neurological disorder.

This family (and dog) friendly event begins at 11:00am Saturday, November the 10th and continues through 8:00pm on Sunday the 11^th. Co-Host Good Karma Kitchen will be leading 6 of the top food trucks in DFW to San Antonio in honor of Michelle Malpica-Hertsgaard a die hard food truck lover who was diagnosed with Arnolds Chiari. Dallas Trucks include: Good Karma Kitchen, Drifting Bistro, SlushWorks, Nammi Truck and Easy Slider.  San Antonio trucks include 10 of Boardwalk on Bulverde’s best trucks: Rickshaw Stop, Society Bakery, Spice Runner, Taco King, Guilty Pleasures, Primo Passo Pizzeria, Sabor Colombiano, Totally Shredded, Toastie Buns, and KC’s Cones.

In addition to the wide variety of culinary options, the Dallas Invades San Antonio – A Conquer Chiari Event will boast multiple playgrounds for children, a mechanical bull, full arcade, moon bounce, as well as live music. Musical performances start times will vary. Over 10 choices of beer will be available for purchase, including brews from several of our official sponsors. Sodas, Gatorade, and water will also be available for purchase. Both admission and parking are free of charge with all ages being welcome to attend

Boardwalk on Bulverde is a family friendly food truck park that opened in January of 2010 at 14732 Bulverde Road in north San Antonio between Thousand Oaks and Loop 1604. The food park is open Thursday to Sunday throughout the year, as well as special events.

If you would like more information about this event, call Cameron Davies at 210-402-2829, or email Cameron at info@boardwalkonbulverde.com. If you would like more information regarding the Dallas trucks, call Christina MacMicken of Good Karma Kitchen at 817-995-9801.

]]> http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2012/11/san-antonio-tx-boardwalk-on-bulverde-hosts-1st-annual-dallas-invades-san-antonio-a-conquer-chiari-event/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2012/10/dallas-tx-new-food-truck-park-off-i-35e-in-dallas-opens-this-week/ http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2012/10/dallas-tx-new-food-truck-park-off-i-35e-in-dallas-opens-this-week/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:32:14 +0000 MobileFoodNews.com http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=30171 By Sarah Blaskovich | Pegasus News

DALLAS — A new food truck park in Dallas is opening in the business district near Mockingbird Lane and I-35E. Called Ambassador Row Food Truck Park, the trucks will serve from a grassy area in front of a building owned by U.S. Food Trucks.

Inside U.S. Food Truck’s building is a commissary for on-the-roll chefs. So it made sense to set up a lunch and dinner spot right outside, said Michael Rangel, president of U.S. Food Trucks. The park will have four to six food trucks at a time and will serve lunch Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

[UPDATE: The facility soft-launched in October, and the official grand opening is Friday, November 2 from 4-8 p.m.]

“We thought it was a great location for us,” said Rangel. “With the oak trees providing a bunch of shade, the grass, and room for a playground, it just kind of became ideal.”

They’re following in the footsteps of their San Antonio-based partner Cruising Kitchens, which – like U.S. Food Trucks – builds and leases food trucks. But Cruising Kitchens went a step further to build a food truck park on their property for all their vendors, and Rangel ran with the idea with his Dallas company.

The food truck park will give preference to trucks created or leased by U.S. Food Trucks, but other trucks can also set up shop, Rangel said. It’s free for food trucks to participate. U.S. Food Trucks only stands to make direct profit from evening alcohol sales in the park.

Keeping a revolving door of trucks with a variety of cuisines is key to the park’s success, Rangel said. “One of the things we notice is [food truck parks] start off really good, and then they die off because it’s the same exact food trucks.”

The first food truck park inside the city of Dallas, which was just announced this week, is Dallas’ Heritage Village’s new Cedars Food Park. Fort Worth also has two food truck parks: Cowtown Chow Down and Fort Worth Food Park.

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2012/jul/13/ambassador-row-food-truck-park-dallas-i-35e/