by RichardM » Sun Jul 02, 2017 5:35 pm
OPINION
THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK KERFUFFLE OF 2017
There has been much debate and even news stories about this dust up here in Foodie City.
I went downtown last evening, (7/1/17) yes it is safe - unlike the Highlands where they have major drug busts with bricks of heroin and cocaine in the walls of a house but @LMPD refuses to discuss where the house is exactly or who owns it - and looked over the No Food Truck signs. (Photos can be seen on my Facebook page.) They are located on the North West Corner of Market St, the North East Corner of Market St and the South East Side of 5th St. They point East, West and South respectively. They mark off meters so they can not be used by food trucks.
Searching the area that these probably illegal (I am not an attorney nor do I play one on the internet) signs demarcate there are just three restaurants that would be “saved” by the signs: Osaka Japanese Restaurant, Bazo’s Fresh Mexican Grill and DISH ON MARKET. As many of you know I am an Uber driver and do most of my driving during the day and most of that downtown. I have seen many trucks in those areas and NONE - I say again - NONE are offering any food that is in direct competition with either of those three restaurants. And only ONE of these restaurants really needs to worry about being saved.
Way back in ancient times when food trucks first burst on this scene, I was a huge supporter of them and lobbied hard with the city administration to get them approved and up and running. You know, bringing Louisville into at least the latter half of the 20th century in food truck culture. As part of my involvement when trucks first hit the streets some four years ago there was just ONE RESTAURANT that pitched a hissy fit - as opposed to a conniption fit - about food trucks on that corner. They are still there and still in business. The other two are new since then.
Part of the sensible rules is that the food trucks must be at least 150’ from the front entrance of the restaurant measured by the easiest legal walking distance. That means NOT directly across the street but down the block, across the street IN the crosswalk then up the block to the food truck. Back then when the first hissy fit was thrown, I got a walking measuring wheel and measured the distance from the NEAREST restaurant to the food trucks following the guidelines spelled out in the ordinance. The distance was 162’. Well past the minimum requirements.
Fast forward to the current situation. First off telling a hotdog vendor he can’t sell close to a restaurant that does NOT serve hotdogs because it does serve bread and you put your hotdogs on a bun is utterly ridiculous and whoever the inspector is telling them that needs retrained for a minimum of 6 months. They should not be allowed out on their own. They should have direct supervision at all times by someone with at least a smidgen of brain matter.
If you run a brick and mortar restaurant and are intimidated by a food truck selling to customers who are buying at a walk up location, taking the food elsewhere to eat, then you have so many other problems to solve you should not be worried about what is outside your place. Should a taco truck or a sushi truck be pulling up in that area to offer lunch? No not really, that would be first and foremost unethical and unsavory. Additionally, it would at the very least violate the spirit of the law if not directly violate it. Now can three trucks park in that area and sell BBQ, Hot Dogs, or chicken? Probably. The mear fact that a restaurant has on their menu one of those items or all three of them is not going to harm the business. A restaurant, that currently has their website account suspended, should not be worried about a food truck when they offer: 8 Appetizers, 6 Salads, 5 Sandwiches, 2 Soups, 9 Entrees, 5 Burgers 14 sides & 4 desserts FOR LUNCH. There is not a truck in the state that offers that kind of menu on the street for lunch. There are very few food trucks who could operate across the street if none could sell any one of the items on that menu. And not a single food truck in Louisville offers sit down waitress service.
So put on your big boy panties and get to work on your problems and quit trying to lay them off on some imaginary problem across the street.
Richard Lord Meadows, Earl of Vienna, Marquess of Morgantown and Westover, Baronet of Parkersburg, and West Virginia’s Ambassador to the Portland Neighborhood.