Food Trucks Get Blessing From City Council
Food trucks. Everyone has an opinion; some love their convenience and diverse offerings, while others see them as a blight on the food community. Yesterday, the Seattle City Council joined the "love" camp, as they unanimously approved council bill 117225, a measure that would allow for expanded mobile food vending on the streets of Seattle.
But don't expect a free-for-all of taco trucks and hot dog carts. The new mobile vendors will still have to adhere to a set of guidelines including city code (translation: paying for parking) and parameters regarding where they can set up shop.
What does this exactly mean for the City's established mobile food vendors? In addition to the various other permits they are required to obtain, they'll be issued one by the Department of Transportation (DOT), who will evaluate whether the "activity" will block retail displays and business signage--welcome news for those who hate the idea of a cart camping out in their entry way. Under the new measure, trucks will be forbidden from parking within 50 feet of established food businesses, schools and building entrances.
There are still some lingering questions--for example, do bars count as eateries, since by law they are required to serve food? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that designated food truck zones will be established, which will allow for up to two trucks per city block.
The bill's sponsor, councilmember Sally Clark, gave the following quote:
"Beyond broadening the array of our local food options, street food vending offers a means for people to create new businesses that can grow and create more jobs."
What do the local trucks have to say about the changes in legislation? Matthew Lewis of the Creole Soul food truck Where Ya At stated that he's "not sure how the legislation directly affects us currently, but could open up some new possibilities in the future."
Regarding street food in general he commented that "we are able to feed a diverse audience and expose them to the Creole food in a variety of neighborhoods. I appreciate the community street food fosters and it especially reminds me of the culture at home in New Orleans. It's a way of thinking out of the box in short."
Lewis also notes that, just like a traditional restaurant, his mobile vending establishment faces their own issues, and that there are specific challenges to life on the road.
"There are days the generator is down, which means you have to act quick in order to preserve the integrity of the food we serve. Either fix it quickly or forgo service," Lewis commented.
And on a less serious note when we asked the Marination Mobile ladies to comment, Roz Edison replied in a Seattlest exclusive:
"Now that these two pieces of legislation have passed, we are excited to welcome a new mantra for Seattle. Repeat after us: Toke. Taco. Toke. Taco. Toke. Taco. "
Of course, increased mobile vending does present its challenges--like keeping track of trucks on the move. At Seattlest we are big fans of the site Seattlefoodtruck.com who diligently updates their website, Twitter and Facebook daily on the status of the various trucks around Seattle/surrounding areas.
We have word that another pod of trucks is taking root in SLU at Boren and Harrison. Similar to what is happening at Starbucks HQ and downtown, the trucks will rotate on a weekly schedule. Joining the group is Damiana's Blue Truck Special who was slated to kick off this Friday but posted on her Facebook page that due to technical difficulties is delayed until next week. We wrote about the "new" truck last fall. Merryweather who will be serving "fresh, high quality, elevated but unpretentious comfort food" is the fiancee of Chef Brian O'Conner of Skillet Diner. Something tells us this will be a blue plate special we'll want to eat.
Of course, it's natural that locals have begun to draw comparisons to the vibrant street food scene in Portland. However, the reality of Seattle following Stumptown's less-regulated lead sounds doubtful. Seattle will find its own groove--something that is fair to brick and mortar business, as well as the food trucks.
And just remember, just because it is on four wheels doesn't mean it will be automatically good.
