The Speedway food truck operates at a previous event. Credit Speedway

The Maplewood City Council passed a law in October to allow food trucks in the city for a 6-month trial period, beginning this month.

The food truck, Speedway Eatery, reported on Twitter that it’s the first food truck licensed in Maplewood, and had a succesful first day of operation, on Thursday.

The business reported (tweeted) on Twitter it was coming to Sunnen Drive, then that it had arrived, then that it had a sold-out day.

The Speedway Eatery’s tweets are below.

Tuesday, Nov. 6

We are now the only licensed truck in the city of Maplewood

Thursday, Nov. 8, 9 a.m.

15 Sunnen Drive Maplewood we will be out to see you today Have Chili Mac & Chicken Noodle Soup on the truck Window opens at 11:00

10:45 a.m.

MAPLEWOOD. We are HERE!!! Check out our menu http://WWW.speedwayeatery.com  15 Sunnen Drive window is open Gooey Butter Cake like you have never had

4 p.m.

15 Sunnen Drive, Maplewood WOW What a Day THANKS FOR THE SELL OUT !!!!!

Speedway owners told Patch they’d be contacting the property management for their next visit, and look forward to working with more companies in the Maplewood area.

 http://maplewood-brentwood.patch.com/articles/first-licensed-food-truck-in-maplewood-has-sell-out-first-day#photo-12103427

Jeannine Beck, executive director of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce said the chamber is still against the idea of food trucks operating in Maplewood. *Image not included in original article.

First the city of Maplewood, its local eateries and its chamber of commerce opposed the idea of letting food trucks open shop, but now they’re moving forward with a possible six-month trial period to allow them.

The change of heart happened last night at the Maplewood City Council meeting. According to councilman Tim Dunn, who favored food trucks in June, five out seven council members were in favor of letting food trucks operate inside city limits.

Dunn said food trucks will not be permitted to operate in the town’s main business area downtown at Manchester Road and Sutton Boulevard and will not be allowed to attend events sponsored by the city or the chamber of commerce unless invited.

Those parameters moved some council members to favor the measure, Dunn said. Jeannine Beck, executive director of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce, said she was surprised to see the food truck issue back on the council’s agenda. “I was under the assumption that the issue had been laid to rest,” she said.

The chamber is still against the idea of food trucks operating in Maplewood, Beck said. Chamber members say the mobile eateries will affect all businesses, especially those that rely on delivery like Imo’s and Jimmy Johns. Dunn disagrees, saying food trucks will bring more people into the city and increase foot traffic at area businesses.

Councilwoman Karen Wood said when she initially decided against allowing food trucks in Maplewood, she didn’t know much about them. “So I started looking into it and found out a lot of food trucks have a following – that they could really bring people into this town,” she said. “I’m willing to give it a six-month trial.”

The proposal to allow the food trucks for the trial period has been sent to the city manager for an ordinance to be drafted. The council will consider the ordinance at its next meeting, with a final vote possibly taken in October.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2012/09/maplewood-may-allow-food-trucks-after.html

By Kurt Greenbaum | PATCH

Sarah’s Cake Stop mobile cupcake truck in downtown St. Louis on Valentine’s Day. Credit Christopher Reilly

Regulators have discussed bans on them for “cannibalizing” local businesses. But is that anti-competitive?

It’s happened most recently in Maplewood, where city leaders have discussed possible restrictions on where food trucks can operate — or even if they can operate in the city at all.

Council members have said the trucks could cannibalize the existing brick-and-mortar businesses in the area. The city hasn’t yet made a decision on the issue.

Eureka bans the practice, which also came to light again several months ago when a Chesterfield cupcake maker tried to operate in the area and generated Facebook buzz when it didn’t happen.

The Show-Me Institute has campaigned in its writings against the bans on food trucks, which it says are anti-competitive. In a recent post on the Maplewood situation, the authors said a move to ban food trucks would “limit competition in the food service business.” (That post incorrectly stated that the city had voted on the ban.)

Food trucks seems to be all the rage in other parts of the country, enough to support television shows such as The Great Food Truck Race and Eat Street.

Is it legitimate to be concerned for restaurants that invest in property and set up shop in a community? Or should they have to compete with mobil food trucks? Is this a free-market issue?

http://wentzville.patch.com/articles/food-truck-bans-good-or-bad-for-business#photo-4912454

By Doug Miner | PATCH

Could food trucks be in Maplewood’s future? Credit Doug Miner

Barry Greenberg said food trucks can work in the right place and time. He said it’s not a black and white issue.

The Maplewood City Council discussed food trucks at its last meeting, June 12.

No vote was taken, but the consensus of those present (Shawn Faulkingham was absent) seemed to be against allowing food trucks in Maplewood.

Several St. Louis media outlets reported on the meeting.

Council member Barry Greenberg prepared a comment for one of those outlets, but the article published without it. Greenburg offered it to Patch, so below is his comments on the pros and cons, and how food trucks might work in Maplewood.

Here is Greenberg’s statement:

The advantages of the food truck concept is that offer a break from the normal routine, and they can be fun. They can also offer variety, food that might not be available in immediate area. Whether food trucks should be allowed in Maplewood is not a black or white question, but a nuanced issue where solving one problem can result in the creation of other problems. Food trucks can work, given the right place and the right time. It obviously works in other neighborhoods, so the question is why wouldn’t it work for Maplewood.

Each community is unique and has its own characteristics. We have a fairly small and compact central business district. We have a great distribution of eclectic and mainstream eating and drinking establishments in Maplewood. These restaurants are owned and operated by individuals that have made a commitment to our community by investing in building out a brick and mortar facility, paying sales and property taxes, and being open for more than lunch hour. Any restaurant these days needs to make a profit whenever they are open and lunch is a very competitive time slot.

Lunchtime diners are driven by convenience, by cost, and by a pleasurable dining experience. Maplewood has prospered based on its emphasis as a pedestrian oriented community. The existing restaurants do a good job of capturing the local lunchtime diner with good food, eclectic ambience, a variety of choices that allow for people to make a last minute selection.

The people that work in the downtown Maplewood area are the primary restaurant patrons. Our restaurants would have a difficult time surviving on Maplewood residents and daytime workers alone, but we are able to attract a significant number of diners from other communities due to the abundance of free and convenient parking. You don’t have to spend your lunch hour looking for a parking space and then spend the equivalent of the cost of your drink for the privilege of parking your vehicle. Our central location allows us to draw customers from neighboring communities who may not have the variety or quality of food choices that Maplewood provides.

In order for food trucks to work for Maplewood, they need a location to operate from a location that doesn’t cause parking and safety issues, but most of all, does not cannibalize customers from our established, permanent restaurants. The only way for that to happen is to draw a significant number of additional customers from other areas to a location within easy walking distance to our existing restaurants. When food trucks are by nature a destination business, I have concerns about diners driving to our community for the sole purpose of eating at a food truck and then changing their mind to eat at a different venue.

Our restaurants have a symbiotic relationship with our retail stores. The lunchtime diner is many times a retail customer and this is an essential component of experiencing Maplewood in the middle of the day. We have stores, such as Penzey’s, Vom Fass, Kakao, and Cheryl’s Herbs that are somewhat exclusive to our downtown. It makes it easier to shop when you can park the car and walk to lunch in close proximity to each other.  How would we attract a new business, like Pie Oh My (which will be coming soon)to a building in Maplewood when we allow a truck purveying baked goods to park close by?

Historically, new restaurants in Maplewood have been warmly welcomed by the existing restaurants, because they know that that investment in the community will benefit everyone. They support each other throughout the day and evening. Food trucks don’t make that type of investment in the community. They show up only when and where they can make a profit, for that is the nature of the mobile food experience. They do not have to provide seating, nor bathroom facilities or other amenities that brick and mortar restaurants do.

Conversely, they can provide a valuable service to those areas that do not have a vibrant and thriving dining infrastructure. Many people view food trucks as an event driven phenomenon, and that is how I see food trucks best fitting into our community. Our monthly MCBF concert series, or high school athletic events might be the proper venues to facilitate food trucks with a portion of the receipts going to the Chamber or MRH school district.

http://maplewood-brentwood.patch.com/articles/food-trucks-in-maplewood-council-member-says-events-might-be-the-right-place#photo-9526900

Rollie Conner of Jimmy John’s told the city council he hires Maplewood Richmond Heights students. He was at a previous meeting in this photo. Credit Mary Konroy

MaplewoodCity Council drew attention from the media when it discussed food trucks at its Monday meeting.

Maplewood Mayor Jim White (ran unopposed) and council members Barry Greenberg, Fred Wolf and Karen Wood oppose food trucks operating in the city.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch ran an article the next day, quoting Maplewood city manager Martin Corcoran that the food truck issue is dead, “as of tonight.”

Mayor Jim White and council members Barry Greenberg, Fred Wolf and Karen Wood were listed as opposed “because they were worried the trucks could “cannibalize” the local restaurants’ business,” the article stated.

Corcoran is quoted that it would take four votes to pass, and as of Monday, they weren’t there.

The St. Louis Business Journal summarized the meeting in an article on Thursday. Councilmember David Cerven, who said in the meeting he’s for food trucks, was quoted in the article. Jeannine Beck, Maplewood Chamber of Commerce director, and Adrian Glass, owner of The Post told why they are against.

“Maplewood doesn’t have the capacity nor the foot traffic to support those and traditional restaurants, especially around lunchtime,” Glass is quoted in the St. Louis Business Journal article.

The Show-Me-Daily, which comments on Missouri public policy, criticized that the council confused the word, “cannibalism” used in the meeting, “with another “c” word that is vital to any market-driven society: competition.” The article states government shouldn’t put “limitations on ingenuity and entrepreneurship.”

(The Show-Me-Daily stated a vote was taken, which is incorrect.)

Maplewood-Brentwood Patch also reported on the food truck discussion, and how the council stood on the issue.

http://maplewood-brentwood.patch.com/articles/biz-journal-pickup-on-food-trucks#photo-9483529

After the Maplewood Planning and Zoning Commission talked on Tuesday about possibly allowing food trucks to operate in the city, Patch users took to Facebook to show their support and dissatisfaction with the idea.

Some users, like Stefano Sommer and Pat Wilken Maloney, said they were afraid that food trucks would harm the existing brick-and-mortar restaurants that populate downtown Maplewood.

“We have local restaurants, some more recent than others, that I would like to see thrive. Food trucks would only harm that,” wrote Sommer on Maplewood-Brentwood Patch’s Facebook page.

Other users were quick to support the idea, however.

“Would love to have food trucks in Maplewood. We actually will travel to where some of our favorite trucks are parked. I know other people do that too. Those people would become visitors to our community and would get a chance to see all the cool things we have to offer,” Jennifer Day wrote.

Andy Fallert said that food truck operators are local business owners that should be supported too.

“Theses are not trucks operated by large corporations, they are owned and operated by people that live in the area and want to offer a new type of dining to stl,” Fallert wrote.

Andy Roberts had an idea that incorporates the Sutton Bus Loop.

“You could put the food trucks on Sutton by the old bus loop. People could enjoy lunch in the grassy area or shelter. I agree with Kevan, I don’t think it would turn away business to local restaurants/shops, but instead bring new people into the Maplewood business district that may have never been and actually step into the stores after they eat. Perhaps local shops could also set up and vend during the lunch as well driving traffic to their stores,” Roberts wrote.

So, what say you on the debate? Join the discussion on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MaplewoodBrentwoodPatch