Mobile Food Pods & Downtown Revitalization

[Metro Jacksonville]

Mobile Food Pods & Downtown Revitalization



Mobile food pods are becoming an important consideration in the growth of street food popularity across America because of their low cost ability revitalize neighborhoods.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-mar-mobile-food-pods-downtown-revitalization

[Noone]

I'd take it one step further. Retrofit a shipping container on the Promised 680' Promised Downtown Public Pier aka Jacksonville's Tradeport Pier that was part of Shipyards/Landmar.

A food container. Have two or three. It can happen tomorrow.

Suddath- God bless Suddath. They said they would not only donate one container but 10 if the demand was there.

                            How about this Food container from Suddath - Remember we are a Port City.


                               Store                            And                      Move
                                   S                               A                           M
                              Spaghetti                       And                     Meatballs  


 Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting in 4 hours. I'll be making a plea for the 4Th, 5Th, 6Th month in a row. The pier needs to be separate. Access to our Waterways needs to happen. The Public Trust has been totally destroyed in this community.  

So who wants to kayak our Waterways in our Downtown Jacksonville Overlay Zoning District?                        

[aaapolito]

Great article.  The lot in Portland, Oregon is fantastic.  I've been there 2/ 3 times and the food has always been good. 

We took after Portland's Saturday Market with the RAM.  I think we should look to Portland again to make this happen.

[BridgeTroll]

I cannot find it but I saw a show on the Food Network or Cooking devoted to this concept.  With the abundance of empty lots in J'ville... this could really take off...

[Garden guy]

Usually food vans are around other stuff....work..shopping...having food vans at the  docks is cool but there's nothing else there. Now if there were a cool zip line or something other than a food van....lol...in the islands these vans were awesome and so fresh....i just hope our council keeps their nose out of things....they tend to get nosey and ruin things around here.

[thelakelander]

Why the docks?  Why not right in the heart of the core, where the few people we actually have, happen to be?  We have enough surface lots, underutilized streets and public spaces already in place.  Concepts such as this could be used to fill in the abandoned and blighted gaps between areas of existing activity.

[The Compound]

The city isnt that friendly with such things. OBrothers/Mossfire has the mobile kitchen now, but finding a place to park it is not easy. I dont believe the city will let them park in public parking spots downtown. They have been parking behind the everbank building in riverside a couple days a week, and I guess that area has a 2 hour limit for parking in that lot, and the city is already on them about staying there too long.  Any good ideas area always made difficult by our lovely city.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Are you discussing semi-permanent structures as shown?  Or are you looking for just mobile food trucks that would be there for the lunch rush and then drive away?

[Garden guy]

This city keeps asking for it's people to make jobs..here they do and the city does what it can to twart the activity...damn nosey "leaders"....if they keep their noses out things can work but they always have to run things and ruin it for everyone...

[fieldafm]

The city isnt that friendly with such things. OBrothers/Mossfire has the mobile kitchen now, but finding a place to park it is not easy. I dont believe the city will let them park in public parking spots downtown. They have been parking behind the everbank building in riverside a couple days a week, and I guess that area has a 2 hour limit for parking in that lot, and the city is already on them about staying there too long.  Any good ideas area always made difficult by our lovely city.

I was seriously considering opening a taco truck, similar to a Kogi BBQ-type establishment UNTIL I spoke multiple times with Buss'n Your Chops.  The city makes it very difficult for such a mobile food truck to operate.
In fact, until I spoke with the OBrothers operators... I didn't clearly understand the transient vendor ban being floated around now.  I am 10000% against that legislation now that I have a clear idea of how it affects small business, the backbone of our city.

Street food has a culture of its own, but it's clear the city's policies on transient vendors do not embrace such a culture at present.

A good read on the subject would be the bill currently being floated around in Chicago.  Google it, it's a GREAT study to understand both sides of the issue.  Essentially, the public demand exists for street food, but brick and mortar restaurants are dead set against it.  Sounds eerily similar to what we are experiencing in Jacksonville...

[The Compound]

Yes, and "The Cupcake Truck" that was run by Let Them Eat Cake had to finally shut down because of these reasons. They couldnt find anywhere to park without being hassled by the city.

[Captain Zissou]

Why the docks?  Why not right in the heart of the core, where the few people we actually have, happen to be?  We have enough surface lots, underutilized streets and public spaces already in place.  Concepts such as this could be used to fill in the abandoned and blighted gaps between areas of existing activity.

Are you discussing semi-permanent structures as shown?  Or are you looking for just mobile food trucks that would be there for the lunch rush and then drive away?

I think we should do either or both on the east and west sides of the future courthouse plaza.  It would add an active use, draw people in to the public space, and create vibrancy that could spill over to the ground floor retail in the garage.  

I also vote we put trucks at the Main Street trash receptacle, because...come on.... it couldn't cause there to be fewer people there.

[fieldafm]

I think we should do either or both on the east and west sides of the future courthouse plaza.  It would add an active use, draw people in to the public space, and create vibrancy that could spill over to the ground floor retail in the garage. 

I also vote we put trucks at the Main Street trash receptacle, because...come on.... it couldn't cause there to be fewer people there

When I get home, I'll post up some pictures of such structures currently in public plazas in different cities. 

I agree with Capt 100%.

Everybody hates the courthouse, but with the addition of an active public plaza... the city really has a chance to get things right when it comes to creating organic, market-driven vibrancy in the urban core by establishing an environment in which small businesses can flourish.

[Shwaz]

Wasn't there some recent discussion about new measures (by the city) to bar mobile food service from anywhere near 'brick & mortar' restaurants?

[77danj7]

Yes, and "The Cupcake Truck" that was run by Let Them Eat Cake had to finally shut down because of these reasons. They couldnt find anywhere to park without being hassled by the city.

What the heck is wrong with this city?