The institute opened an 8,000-square-foot “Food Fort” July 1, 2011, on Parkwood Avenue on the Near East Side, offering food preparation and storage space for cart owners.

An attempt to find some common ground between eateries that stay in place and those that move around is scheduled to take place tonight, Thursday, July 26.

A citywide forum on issues and concerns relating to food carts and trucks is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Charity Newsies building, 4300 Indianola Ave.

“The idea is to just discuss the situation,” said James R. Blazer II, a member of the Clintonville Area Commission who called the gathering.

He said last week that he’s hoping to have city officials, entrepreneurs from the local food truck community and representatives from “bricks-and-mortar restaurants” on hand for the forum.

A representative of the Economic and Community Development Institute has been invited to participate.

The institute opened an 8,000-square-foot “Food Fort” July 1, 2011, on Parkwood Avenue on the Near East Side, offering food preparation and storage space for cart owners.

“This is kind of a fact-finding thing,” said Blazer, who represents District 3.

The gathering is open to the public, and Blazer encouraged those who are interested in issues relating to mobile restaurants to attend.

The result of the meeting might be recommendations for action by Columbus City Council, Blazer said.

Food trucks became an issue in Clintonville last August when the owners of Yerba Buena Latin Grill pulled up stakes from the 4400 block of North High Street and moved out of the neighborhood. One of the owners said this was in response to complaints lodged against the business by then-Clintonville Area Commission chairman John DeFourny.

DeFourny, who resigned his post in May, said he was merely passing along the concerns of local residents who said Yerba Buena Latin Grill was violating city regulations regarding how long a mobile food operation may remain in one spot.

Northland Community Council graphics task force coordinator William Logan, speaking shortly after Blazer announced in early June that he wanted to hold a forum relating to food trucks, said he would be willing to participate, but that it wasn’t a major issue of concern in his area.

“We’ve been diligent in working with the city to see that vendors understand their responsibilities with regard to health violations and zoning violations,” Logan said. “We would certainly participate. It is, at this moment in the summer, not a prevalent issue.

“We have no objections to mobile food vendors as long as they play by the rules.”

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/northland/news/2012/07/24/fact-finding-meeting-on-food-trucks-tonight.html

After about four months of operating out of a North High Street parking lot a few blocks south of Henderson Road, the popular Yerba Buena food truck packed up and moved to a new location on Indianola Avenue.

Owner Carlos Gutierrez said the move was due to a combination of complaints that drew the attention of Clintonville and Columbus officials, and property owner Fifth-Third bank’s desire to develop the space.

“I was asked to move by Fifth-Third,” he said.

“The city was just following up on some complaints.”

After city officials followed up on the complaints, Gutierrez moved his operation to 4490 Indianola Ave., where he serves food from noon to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Despite the complaints — and no matter their source — Gutierrez is determined to keep Yerba Buena, which specializes in Venezuelan food, operating in Clintonville.

“I like the neighborhood and I don’t like people to tell me what to do,” he said.

“If people didn’t like me, then my sales wouldn’t be what they are. Here in America, people let you know very quickly when they like you.”

He said the lines at his food truck are evidence his food is well-liked in Clintonville. A Facebook page for the business also has 758 followers.

Gutierrez, who owns the Downtown restaurant El Arepazo, said Clintonville is the perfect place for Yerba Buena.

“I just think part of it is because of Clintonville’s lack of restaurants and places to eat,” adding that Clintonville residents “are open and willing to try new things.”

Many of Gutierrez’s patrons at his restaurant hail from Clintonville. When he decided to buy the 30-foot food truck, he surveyed his Facebook fans on where to place the cart, many Clintonville residents suggested their own neighborhood.

Paul Borkoski, owner of Yankee Cajun — a food truck located at the corner of Crestview Road and Indianola Avenue — also said Clintonville is great place for food trucks because of the residents.

“The demographic here is diverse and there’s a range of people here that might try something different,” he said.

“I have my own uniqueness to my food and I think this is an area where people might actually try something different other than your typical meat-and-potato places.”

After operating in the same location since April, Borkoski has dealt with no ordinance or zoning violations from the city, he said.

Neither has Angela Theado, who owns The Coop — located at the corner of Indianola Avenue and Cliffside Drive.

Opened since the beginning of September, she said people seem to appreciate food carts in Clintonville.

“I think the community really likes them and supports them. It’s unique and you don’t have to have a building to have a restaurant and feed people — which is probably the nicest thing you can do is cook someone a meal,” she said.

Other established food trucks in Clintonville include Boston Bert’s Seafood, on Indianola, and one of the most popular mobile food units in Central Ohio: Ray Ray’s Hog Pit, at North High and Pacemont.

Gutierrez said he’s glad more food trucks are popping up in Clintonville, but he wishes that codes would be enforced evenly across the city.

“I didn’t want to open that can of worms and say, ‘Hey, why are you coming to me only?’ ” he said.

Food trucks not only provide a service to the community, they also make more people interested in food, Gutierrez said.

Borkoski said that food trucks are unique because customers are actually dealing with both the owner and executive chef.

“The No. 1 thing is that you’re actually dealing with someone that cares about your experience and how you want your food cooked and how you like it,” he said.

“The demographic here is diverse and there’s a range of people here that might try something different.”

http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2011/10/03/the_booster/news/bofoodtruc_20111003_0410pm_4.txt

Northeast Ohio loves food trucks and food trucks love Northeast Ohio. Although Northeast Ohio is the least likely region to eat out on a regular basis (according to a recent survey by livingsocial), food trucks are growing faster in popularity here than in any other region in the country. The concept of affordable gourmet food on the move is perfect for Northeast Ohio, where the population is sprawled. Food trucks can go to concentrations of people, also filling the void of food desserts in some areas. Gourmet food on the move also falls in line with the Midwestern, laid back attitude Northeast Ohioans exude.

http://theciviccommons.com/blog/the-more-food-trucks-the-merrier

Courtney Hergesheimer | DISPATCH Patrons wait for their orders at the Yerba Buena Latin Grill food truck on N. High Street in Clintonville.

After less than four months in Clintonville, the popular Yerba Buena Latin Grill food truck will move during Labor Day weekend.

The Venezuelan food truck might not move far, perhaps. Somewhere else in the North Side neighborhood, maybe over on Indianola Avenue, owner Carolina Gutierrez said.

“People are familiar with our food. They’re very friendly there,” she said.

Mostly friendly.

Someone called the city in June to complain about Yerba Buena, which is parked in the lot of a vacant office building at 4100 N. High St.

On Aug. 10, city inspectors cited the business for operating without the proper zoning clearance. The food truck was parked there overnight, in violation of city zoning rules.

So, as food trucks continue to gain a fan base across Columbus — the Columbus Food Truck & Cart Fest at Downtown’s Columbus Commons last night featured more than 25 trucks and carts — growing pains continue.

City code enforcement manager Dana Rose said his office receives several complaints every month about food trucks parked overnight and the chairs and tables placed outside the businesses, another violation.

Chris Presutti, the city’s chief zoning official, said they might be accepted in some neighborhoods more than others.

But Dave Paul of the Northland Community Council said he receives complaints about food trucks that have set up shop along commercial corridors such as Morse Road.

John DeFourny, chairman of the Clintonville Area Commission, told a weekly newspaper in June that he worried that food trucks would siphon business from nearby restaurants.

Yesterday, he insisted he had nothing to do with Yerba Buena’s citation.

“The violation is a storage issue,” said DeFourny, a local real-estate broker. “I’m not forcing anybody to move.”

Julie Lindemann said she will follow Yerba Buena wherever it moves.

She became such a fan of Yerba Buena Latin Grill that she sometimes stops there during her commute home to Grandview Heights from her job in New Albany to sample Latin American dishes such as patacons and fish tacos.

“I don’t care where it is. I’ll personally go where it is,” she said while waiting for her order one afternoon this week.

Farther south in Clintonville, Paul Borkoski operates his Yankee Cajun trailer four days a week along Indianola Avenue in the parking lot of the Crest Tavern. He opened in April.

He said he sometimes leaves the trailer overnight and that no one has complained. In fact, he said he was asked to work a Clintonville block party this weekend.

Some restaurant owners embrace the competition.

“I love having them in the city. I love seeing them blossom,” said Kevin Malhame, a founder of Northstar Cafe, which has a location on N. High near Yerba Buena.

“You don’t want one parking in front of your front door,” he said. “But in general, they foster an interest in food. They foster excitement about food.”

Complaint or no complaint, Gutierrez said she has to move anyway because property owner Fifth Third Bank plans to build a branch there.

She and her husband, who own the Downtown restaurant El Arepazo, want to buy another food truck, she said.

“People need to be more open-minded in the city,” she said. “You want to have more variety.”

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/27/food-truck-to-move-overnight-parking-breaks-rule.html