Food truck craze faces roadblocks around Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

Fort Lauderdale

Another example of national innovative urban revitalization trends being held back in Jacksonville.  Allowing food truck courts on some of our surface parking lots and streets with a large amount of vacant buildings would be a pretty easy and cheap method of stimulating pedestrian traffic in dead zones.  Its time for Jacksonville to wake up and realize the only entity holding DT back is ourselves.

In Austin, Texas, food trucks and trailers are a way of life, serving everything from sushi to gourmet doughnuts.

As part of its dining coverage, New York magazine names the city’s best 25 food trucks each year.

In Orlando, a dozen or so food trucks gather on certain nights for a food truck bazaar.

And many cities have phone apps that help people keep track of what food trucks are where.

In Jacksonville, the mobile food action is just a bit slower. A few trucks here, a couple of trailers there.

Drew and Curt Cavins, the brothers who own Mossfire Grill and O’Brothers Irish Pub in Riverside, gave it a shot with their Bus’In Your Chops food truck this year. But it didn’t last more than a couple of months.

“We just didn’t get enough customers,” Drew Cavins said. “And the city kept running us off.”

He said the city told them to leave one downtown parking lot during the day. Then they had to leave an area behind a Riverside nightclub because neighbors complained about the noise from their bus.

“We just gave up on it,” he said. “I know it would work if that’s really what you wanted to do.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/your-money/2011-07-14/story/food-truck-craze-faces-roadblocks-around-jacksonville

[Garden guy]

This city ,by it's backwards leadership, has always been 20 years behind the rest of the country...this is no suprise. It will take forward thinking individuals that make the real decisions for this city to catch up so some cities that are much smaller than we are. These restaurants that are bitching about this are just pissed off that their food isn't as good as some guy in a truck. Personally I'll eat from a tomain wagon if theres a line....i had some of my best foods from the back of a lady's truck in puerto rico,....yummy.

[Noone]

The legislation is 2010-856 and the same can be said for the waterways as it relates to a transient vendor ban. Councilwoman Denise Lee was and maybe is still chair of a special subcomittee that was seeking amendments to the legislation. Councilman Redman was a chair of one of those special subcommittees and I have been reporting to him as a volunteer participant. I don't see that changing.

With a new Mayor and city council and now that councilman Redman is the chair of Waterways an exemption to exclude the waterways from the transient vendor ban may be made. The Jacksonville Waterways Commission is in an excellant position to offer such a resolution

Lets get to Work!

Visit Jacksonville or
Don't Visit Jacksonville!

Next Waterways Commission meeting Aug. 10 at 9:30 council chambers. I plan on being there and my presentation should more than highlight to the Commission that an exemption should be made to the legislation that would exempt the Waterways of our St. Johns River our American Heritage River.

Be concerned and keep score.

I love the food trucks. 

[copperfiend]

Not a shock. I watch Food Network and see these incredible looking food trucks all over the country and our city runs the few willing to do it in this town out of business.

[Intuition Ale Works]

Maybe I missed something but what is the roadblock that Food Trucks face in Jacksonville right now?
Is it the 300 foot distance from a "brick and mortar" restaurant? Permits?

Getting the proper permits should be required for all businesses especially ones that sell food.
Not sure what the city is doing wrong here.
Seems it's more about the lack of demand for food trucks than anything...

Having said that we would love to host any Food truck in our "courtyard" that is reliable and produces a fair priced, kick butt product that goes well with beer. You can "eat what you kill".
Any takers?

[copperfiend]

The article stated that there is a bill before Jacksonville City Council that would prohibit a food truck(or any transient business) from setting up within a mile of a permanent business selling similar products. That is insane. It would make it nearly impossible to have a food truck in this town.

[undergroundgourmet]

Oh Jacksonville will gladly issue you the permits $$$ but no help when you get citations trying to park the trucks. Just ask The Cupcake Truck from Let Them Eat Cake and the taco truck from Mossifre. Mossfire had theirs less than 6 months. It was a beauty. He couldn't win. No other restaurants were in the vicinity. Plus the profit versus paying the fees, staffing, food costs, insurance...etc. Plus neighbors don't take kindly to you storing the truck at your home

[Intuition Ale Works]

Oh Jacksonville will gladly issue you the permits $$$ but no help when you get citations trying to park the trucks. Just ask The Cupcake Truck from Let Them Eat Cake and the taco truck from Mossifre. Mossfire had theirs less than 6 months. It was a beauty. He couldn't win. No other restaurants were in the vicinity. Plus the profit versus paying the fees, staffing, food costs, insurance...etc. Plus neighbors don't take kindly to you storing the truck at your home

What were the citations for?

[undergroundgourmet]

http://jacksonville.com/business/your-money/2011-07-14/story/food-truck-craze-faces-roadblocks-around-jacksonville

[Intuition Ale Works]

http://jacksonville.com/business/your-money/2011-07-14/story/food-truck-craze-faces-roadblocks-around-jacksonville

Not to sound like a smart a$$ but being "run off" by the city and getting a citation are two different things.

I'll ask again but what were Mossfire and let them Eat Cake cited for?

[Ocklawaha]

The article stated that there is a bill before Jacksonville City Council that would prohibit a food truck(or any transient business) from setting up within a mile of a permanent business selling similar products. That is insane. It would make it nearly impossible to have a food truck in this town.

So can we next expect that new restaurants will have to be at least 2 miles apart? Damn, we sure wouldn't want to create an atmosphere of free enterprise and competition in this 'bold new city of the south.'

OCKLAWAHA

[copperfiend]

I go to Tinsletown and see seven or eight fast food restaurants, four sushi restaurants, three sub shops, two delis, three wing places all within walking distance of each other. But god forbid a food truck wanted to operate in that area.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I'm looking for investors now for my Mobile Sushi Truck that I plan on operating throughout Riverside & 5-Points.

Driving You Crazy Rolls

Anyone?

[avs]

This town is SO backwards it makes me crazy sometimes!  What can we do to protest the proposed bill?  Write our council person?

[cityimrov]

It's competition - plain and simple.  A group of business doesn't like competition so they use the forces of government to make sure any competition is wiped out.  That's really about it.  Some people can call it protectionism while others call it socialism but mostly it's about people who already make a comfortable living running a restaurant trying to protect their turf in any way possible so they don't have to "work" to change their business model.

With that being said, there are good arguments for a ban but I haven't heard anyone mention them yet.  Most those arguments really don't apply for Jacksonville FL too.