Customer Alioni Dameron waits for her Kafta Classic on the streets of Rosslyn. Photo by Michael Lee Pope.

It’s shortly after 1 p.m. on a beautiful spring day in Rosslyn. The streets are packed with people, many of whom stop to read the menu at Kafta Mania — a food truck owned by Pascal Halabi and his mother, who came to America from Lebanon about 25 years ago. Because Arlington County limits food trucks to a two-hour vending time, Halabi is about to close his door and drive away despite the fact that he still has customers wanting to place an order.

“How am I supposed to tell customers if they are waiting in line to get food after two hours that I have to shut my window and I can’t serve them?” he asked. “Would you tell a brick-and-mortar business that they have to close after two hours?”

Tension between food trucks and brick-and-mortar businesses is nothing new. But now that the Arlington County Board has given the green light to the creation of new vending zones, the rules of the game have changed a bit. The county manager’s office now has the authority to create new zones where food truck vendors could potentially stay longer than two hours at a time. The new zones might also allow vendors to open their doors late at night to cater to the bar crowd, rather than ending all sales at 8 p.m., which is now the case.

“I think the underlying problem is that there’s not a level playing field,” said Arlington Chamber of Commerce president Rich Dowd. “In a normal brick-and-mortar operation they have fairly heavy expenses, especially in Arlington.”

THE HISTORY OF FOOD TRUCKS in Arlington dates back to 2008, when the County Board took action to expand a set of rules created for ice-cream trucks. Back then, the vendors were limited to parking for five minutes at a time — and, even then, the customer was required to stop the vendor for a sale. Since that time, food trucks have exploded thanks in part to the social-media revolution. Today, the county has about 100 licensed mobile food vendors.

“We need more places to go,” said Chong Lee, who sells kimchi tacos out of a green truck called Lime Tree. “And we need more time.”

Owners of food trucks and food carts disagree with those who say they don’t pay taxes and fees.

“Well that’s not fair because we pay state tax,” said Sabri Uzun, who sells crepes out of a cart at Crandal Mackey Park. “But they don’t like competition so what can we do?”

NOW THAT COUNTY BOARD members have taken action to give the county manager’s office more authority to create new vending zones, Arlington officials have the ability to draft a new map that would allow longer hours and later nights for the vendors. But, according to commercial development specialist Jill Griffin with Arlington Economic Development, no discussion is currently taking place to create a new zone.

“We have to be careful,” said Griffin. “We need to look at the land use that’s around and the parking resources and what’s happening in the evening.”

For the time being, county officials have not taken any steps to create any vending zones. That means that all food trucks are limited to two hours in a specific parking spot, and that they must stop selling at 8 p.m. All vendors must live with that for now. County officials have the ability to create hours that are longer and later, although they seem to be in no rush to make that happen.

“Sometimes you are in the mood at 12:30 and sometimes at 1:30, and then they’re gone,” said Alioni Dameron, who works in Rosslyn. “So you are stuck with the usual corporate choices.”

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2013/may/15/arlington-food-trucks-longer-later/

]]> http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/05/arlington-va-will-arlington-food-trucks-be-able-to-park-longer-than-two-hours-or-after-8-p-m/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/04/rosslyn-va-mamas-donut-bites-brings-fresh-treats-to-rosslyn/ http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/04/rosslyn-va-mamas-donut-bites-brings-fresh-treats-to-rosslyn/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:00:16 +0000 MFN Editor #1 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=48547 By Rachel Hatzipanagos | Clarendon-Courthouse-RosslynPatch.com

Mama’s Donut Bites food truck in Rosslyn. The food truck offers made-to-order donuts in Arlington. Credit Rachel Hatzipanagos

A made-to-order donut truck has rolled out in Rosslyn, adding to the ever-expanding options of mobile cuisine in Arlington.

“You can smell them from blocks away,” said Elaine Hosein, co-owner of Mama’s Donut Bites. “It makes it more appealing.”

Fresh donuts on the Mama’s Donut Bites food truck. Credit: Rachel Hatzipanagos

Mama’s Donut Bites started out a farmers market in Vienna in 2011 and launched the truck in March.

Fresh donuts being cooked on the Mama’s Donut Bites food truck. Credit: Rachel Hatzipanagos

“We are all obsessed with food,” Hosein said. “We were debating on opening up a shop or a food truck, and a food truck is less costly. Plus, I think it’s really cool to drive around in a big truck.”

Elaine and her brother Rod Hosein bring the ingredients for the donuts to the site and fry them to order on the truck. They offer one donut flavor a day, ranging from apple cider to red velvet and blueberry.

Fresh donuts on the Mama’s Donut Bites food truck. Credit: Rachel Hatzipanagos

Customers can also add toppings including raspberry preserves, dark chocolate and white chocolate.

“They are very light and fluffy and airy donuts, not as dense as what you would get in a store,” Hosein said.

The food truck currently operates throughout Arlington five days a week, typically from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Its schedule changes frequently, so follow the truck on Facebook and Twitter page for updates.

http://clarendon.patch.com/articles/mama-s-donut-bites-brings-fresh-treat-to-rosslyn#photo-13924591

Food truck has its license inspected by police in Rosslyn (file photo)

Around lunchtime on Friday, Aug. 24, five Arlington County police officers, including three undercover officers in plainclothes, were assigned to enforce mobile vending regulations along the county’s Metro corridors. By the time lunchgoers had returned to their offices, police had issued seven court summonses to four different food trucks for a variety of violations.

The operation was one of two such coordinated enforcement actions against food trucks this summer — operations that have become necessary due to repeated violations, according to police.

As the number of food trucks in Arlington continues to rise, complaints against improperly licensed or illegally parked food trucks have risen — with many of those complaints coming from the brick and mortar restaurants that compete with food trucks for customers. In response, Arlington County Police say they came up with a plan of action earlier this year that included a vendor education campaign.

“[Police] determined that based on the number of complaints, we needed to at least assess the situation,” Arlington County Police second district commander Capt. Andy Penn told ARLnow.com. “We looked to see what was going on and noted that there were some violations were occurring. [We] then got together and decided that the best approach is going to be an educational campaign, certainly in the beginning, just trying to make sure people are informed and seek compliance.”

Penn said police met with vendors, inspected vending licenses, and handed out a small booklet listing relevant county ordinances. They also distributed a one-page handout of the most commonly-violated mobile food vending rules, including requirements for each vendor and employee to be licensed and — the perhaps most controversial rule — that food trucks can only remain parked in one spot for 60 minutes at a time. Finally, officers issued warnings when vendors were not in compliance, Penn said.

With the warnings distributed and the violations continuing, police began enforcement, issuing summonses that require the vendors to appear in court, in person, and pay a fine.

“The goal was not to give anybody a summons until they’ve been warned at least one time, if not more,” Penn said. “To my knowledge, the people charged have been previously warned.”

On July 25, a coordinated “district team” of officers observed how long food trucks were parked in various areas and issued summonses to three vendors, all for parking more than 60 minutes, Penn said. On Aug. 24, five officers — including two uniformed officers and three plainclothes officers — issued seven summonses to four different vendors.

The plainclothes officers were only detailed to the district team on Aug. 24 for a “limited amount of time,” Penn noted, and were in plainclothes “for a different issue.”

“The initial intent for the plainclothes had nothing to do with vendors,” he said. “They just happened to be in plainclothes that day.”

Food truck operators, meanwhile, have been voicing their discontent, calling the rules — in place since 2010 — “unfair,” and suggesting the fines and required court appearances are heavy-handed.

“Law enforcement has stepped up efforts in major areas like Crystal Drive, N. Lynn Street and N, Stuart Street in Ballston to enforce the rule,” Bada Bing food truck owner Nicholas Terzella told ARLnow.com via email on Aug. 24. “Police have been staking trucks out. When I was parked in Crystal City a few weeks ago, an Arlington County police officer sat across from Chic fil A for over an hour. In this time, multiple cars pulled up to 2200 Crystal Drive and double parked (this happens daily). None of these cars are EVER ticketed. The officer sat there for 1.5 hours and ticketed us.”

“This is the first time in my 2 years of business that I have ever received a ticket,” he continued. “I admit, parking in those particular locations is AWFUL!! That’s why we can’t just leave after the 60 minutes and just grab another spot. This rule ends our lunch service early and makes staying in Arlington impossible. We have to change it now or Arlington will soon be a food truck wasteland.”

Trucks owners have been taking their case to the County Board and to Arlington Economic Development, and Terzella said there’s discussion that the 60 minute rule might be changed next year.

In the meantime, he said that the Bada Bing, Seoul Food and Sinplicity trucks have collectively received at least four summonses, while the Lemongrass and Willie’s Po Boy trucks have been forced to move. He said the fine and court fee for the summonses is $106, but the fact that many truck owners have to take their truck off the street for a day in order to appear in court is even more damaging.

“Food truck owners and food trucks are a reflection of our great country,” said Terzella, a former high end restaurant chef. “Different cuisines, different styles different backgrounds… all doing what we have to do in a struggling economy. Small businesses like food trucks are whats going to help pull the economy out of this mess. Why are we being penalized for running our business the only way possible?”

“Restaurants are asking for protection,” he added. “All trucks want is our freedom!”

File photo (top), photo via Twitter (middle)

http://www.arlnow.com/2012/09/07/exclusive-acpd-launches-coordinated-operations-against-food-trucks/