Food truck craze faces roadblocks around Jacksonville

[Ernest Street]

Well said.  I think there is a need for outdoor vendors. some of us are struggling 2 story homeowners who just can't afford to sidle up to the bar and lay down $20's  at some regular watering hole. nor do we feel the need to see and be seen.
I will never forget working in Atlantic City for several month's and experiencing the competition between the mobile vendors and the locals.....believe me the customer won big time....everyone was competing to make the heaviest calzone.

and NOBODY bitched to the customers about rising food prices..(local owners take note..and quit looking at your rising profit AP or whatever concrete business plan you are sticking to from 2003) Times changed for the worse and people are cutting back.
If you are nervous about a mobile vendor...maybe you should be looking at this not so new way to get food to people without Formality.

And Yes, in this case indoors is formality.
Maybe partying people want to get outside and eat for a change.?

[marksjax]

Intuition,

I followed this subject a few months ago and from what I remember the city did not want them on city property. In addition to that limitation you also have the brick and mortar restaurants not wanting them nearby (which I understand) so it soon becomes harder to get a good location with steady business for the truck/bus.

My point is they were routinely hassled and are another example of the city not being able to deal with a new idea. Thus, the city council now wants you to be a mile away (I think that is right but could be wrong on this detail).

Essentially the city is saying "We don't want gourmet food trucks in our town".

And by the way, that was one nice bus!

[avs]

This is a great mobile truck food blog I have followed for some years now.  It really illustrates the trend that is happening all over the nation and the really cool food these vendors are coming up with.
http://www.foodcartsportland.com/

In this present economic situation, I would think entrepreneurship would be promoted.  That is what these food trucks represent.  They are start ups for foodies and chefs to get their products made on a small scale and distributed out into the public.  The competition between them has given rise to some wonderful fresh and gourmet menus.  Many are even using fresh local ingredients, which feeds further into the local economy.

If City Council votes against this type of small business spirit then they really represent the interests of corporation and not the "average american" they so want us all to believe in their campaign ads.  This is a real example of an entrepreneur trend sweeping the nation.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Yep.  But while I'm quite aware of what's possible, as are quite a few other people on the site, I think there's still a stigma attached to the foodtruck in Jax - that it's nothing more than another hot dog cart.  Which is true, to some exent, but with the law as is and what is being proposed, there's no foodie or chef in their right mind that would even think about starting this venture. 

There's a few that have been very successful, and I think that they're finding their days numbered as well.

I guess the benefit of having a mobile food truck is if business gets shutdown here due to rules and regs, they could always drive to savannah or orlando or daytona...

[avs]

There are several that are successful too. Allowing an ordinance to pass that doesn't allow equal opportunity for them puts them out of business before they even try.  We need rules and regs that allow those who want to give it a shot equal opportunity.

Every city has to start somewhere and if a few trucks around town can demonstrate to customers what can be done beyond hot dogs then more will show up.  That is why we were starting to see a little trend here in Jax, some had started and opened people's minds up and then more tried.  It is hard enough to start a biz like this and attract customers without the city putting restrictions on where you can be.  If the city wants to do anything to help these guys succeed, the city should be promoting "food pods" on vacant land so they can cluster - that would attract more customers. 

The city can do plenty to stimulate their growth instead of inhibiting it.

[JeffreyS]

I was told at Monroe's Smokehouse BBQ (which I love) they were trying to use the mobile unit to gauge the possibility for a brick and mortar place in downtown. Hard to do that plan if you can't park and serve the people of downtown.

[Jaxson]

July 14, 2011
Outlaws Make Better Lunches
By ZACH BROOKS
THE past few years have been a golden age for street food in New York City. You could get just about anything from a food truck in Midtown Manhattan â€" from waffles and schnitzel to halal chicken and lamb over rice â€" despite the fact that street vending is for all intents and purposes illegal there.

Last month police officers in Midtown cracked down and asked many trucks to leave their spots. Everyone is blaming a court case in May, in which a New York State Supreme Court justice reinforced a regulation saying that no “vendor, hawker or huckster” can sell merchandise from a vehicle parked in a metered space. But although enforcement was scattershot, that regulation has been used against Midtown food trucks for decades.

The crackdown’s real catalyst was the recent explosion of high-end food trucks in Midtown. For the first time, blocks were host to three or four trucks at once. And instead of the old-school food vendors, who are often immigrants used to navigating the gray areas of the business, most of these trucks were operated by a new breed of entrepreneur looking to capitalize on what (falsely) appeared to be the hippest, most profitable trend in the food business.

Food truck regulations have always been purposefully vague and selectively enforced in New York City. The government does not want to strip the city of one of its treasures (can you imagine a New York without hot dogs?) nor can it fully legalize street vending, because opening up hundreds of rent-free spots would damage the real estate economy.

So street vendors and the city long ago struck a tacit deal: the city allows vendors to sell food but reserves the right to kick them out of practically any spot at any time, and vendors keep their heads down, careful not to upset their relationships with the nearby brick-and-mortar businesses, with the police, and with each other. When disputes come up, vendors compromise or move.

Many of the new food trucks’ operators have ignored these unwritten rules. Some early entrants onto the scene, like the Treats Truck and Wafels & Dinges, spent months cultivating spots and relationships, which allowed them to settle into areas that were previously unoccupied. But many new trucks have taken the quicker route, parking where others have found success rather than trying to create a space of their own.

As a result brick-and-mortar business owners who tolerated one truck out front one or two days a week started seeing more and more each day, and eventually got fed up and called the police. Even as an ardent food truck supporter, I find it hard not to sympathize. They pay high rents, only to see food trucks parking free on their doorsteps. There is no denying that the increase in food trucks is unsustainable.

Some are tempted to look to other cities, like Los Angeles, arguably the birthplace of the high-end food truck trend, for solutions. But it is facing an almost identical situation. Mexican vendors called loncheros spent years working out a compromise with the city that allowed them to sell food without interfering with brick-and-mortar businesses, but a wave of fancy food trucks parking in high traffic areas led to a similar crackdown.

Portland, Ore., which has become a mecca for street-food lovers, rents out spots in privately owned parking lots to vendors. But those food trucks operate more like restaurants than street vendors. New York is trying something similar in a Queens parking lot and under the High Line, an elevated park in Manhattan, but it won’t do much good for trucks or lunchers in the city’s more crowded areas.

Some vendors and food-truck fans are circulating a petition asking the city to change the parking rule. But even if it does, other regulations still make most Midtown parking spots off limits. As tempting as it is to try to change New York City’s laws and establish clear rules for vendors, it’s not likely to happen. And it shouldn’t.

Vendors and fans are actually better served by the status quo. New York’s street food scene is unique and vibrant precisely because it exists in that legal gray area. Traditionally only immigrant and small mom-and-pop businesses were willing to risk the city’s intermittent crackdowns. The vague rules have long deterred any passionless big businesses looking for the next lucrative franchise. Turn street spots into legal real estate controlled by the city, and it will be only a matter of time before street food becomes just as bland and generic as that of any fast-food restaurant in Midtown.

So instead of fighting to change the laws, vendors who are passionately committed to their food trucks should do what street hawkers in New York have always done after big crackdowns like this one: wait for it to end and then return to Midtown bit by bit, in a way that is respectful to the rent-paying businesses. Or ditch the truck and open a brick-and-mortar business. It’s the way New York street food has endured for the past 150 years, and the only way it will be here for 150 more.

Zach Brooks runs the Web site Midtown Lunch.

Source: The New York Times

[thekillingwax]

Food trucks are the new cakes/cupcakes. I'm hoping the next big goofy foodie trend involves people walking around with backpacks and extruders and you pay them a buck to squirt some weird mystery goop into your face.

[peestandingup]

Food trucks are the new cakes/cupcakes. I'm hoping the next big goofy foodie trend involves people walking around with backpacks and extruders and you pay them a buck to squirt some weird mystery goop into your face.

I already pay for that on weekends. *rim shot*

But that reminds me of Starbucks' April fools joke they did this year: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/introducing-starbucks-mobile-pour

[copperfiend]

Food trucks are the new cakes/cupcakes. I'm hoping the next big goofy foodie trend involves people walking around with backpacks and extruders and you pay them a buck to squirt some weird mystery goop into your face.

I thought self serve frozen yogurt was the new cupcake?

[Captain Zissou]

Rolling restaurants: Some cities floor it, others tap the brakes
Food trucks spice up the metropolitan menu, but some earthbound eateries are crying foul

By Kari Huus Reporter

SEATTLE â€" Craving a gourmet meal on the fly? Food trucks plying American streets are delivering increasingly varied and sophisticated fare to the urban palate. Mobile kitchens offer hamburgers made from grass-fed cows, artisan breads, ethnic blends like Korean tacos and gourmet dishes that stand up next to fine fare from the brick-and-mortar sector.

The explosion contributes color and variety to cities, arguably invigorating urban spaces in a tough economy. But the popular trucks also present new problems â€" traffic and sanitation issues and resistance from traditional restaurants. So, while some cities are loosening restrictions on food trucks, others are revising and updating legislation to control the growth.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43843455/ns/us_news/

[urbanlibertarian]

From the TU:

http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2012-02-14/story/working-first-coast-new-bbq-food-trucker-confident

Working on the First Coast: New BBQ food trucker confident he'll find clientele
He's confident that his custom-built trailer, a BBQ on wheels, will find a growing market.
Posted: February 14, 2012 - 6:48pm  |  Updated: February 15, 2012 - 7:09am

Working on the First Coast is a weekly Q&A with entrepreneurs, small business owners and others making a living in Northeast Florida.
By Roger Bull

Last year, Patrick O’Grady made his living as parts manager at an Audi dealership. His life revolved around fuel injectors, alloy wheels and LED headlights.

Now, it’s pulled pork, ribs and beans.

He’s part of the still-small-but-growing world of Jacksonville’s food trucks.

As the owner and operator of Driftwood BBQ, he sets his shiny new trailer up outside office buildings and work sites for the weekday lunch crowd. Sometimes he’s outside Intuition Ale Works for the nighttime beer crowd.

When did you start this?
We started planning in April, and our first day on the road was Sept. 1.

What made you think it would work?
It’s just the big hit that food trucks are now, and there are so few in town. Everybody down here likes barbecue. It was an easy fit.

Did you have a restaurant background?
No, but my dad did and he taught me. I started barbecuing about five years ago, planning to do competitions. I think I’ve gotten it all down now.

M&R Trailers out on 103rd Street built your trailer. Was it stock or custom?
Definitely custom. We knew what we wanted. We didn’t need a fryer because we don’t fry anything. I went out and found some used refrigerators and they put those in.

We had a business consultant who was a former health inspector, and she told us exactly what we needed to get approved.

You’ve got a smoker on the trailer. Is everything done on location?
The pork butts are usually done the day before and warmed up. Ribs and chicken are smoked day of. I prep all the sides on my time off.

So what does a trailer like that cost?
About $30,000.

And you work it by yourself?
It’s pretty much just me. My wife, Amy, will come to help if we’ve got catering.

Do you get much of that?
Just a few a month. We’d like to do more, but being new and there’s so many others out there.

What’s a good lunch time revenue for you?
Probably $150-$200 on a normal day. Some days are up to $250 or $275.

Is that enough to keep going?
We’re paying our bills. I’m not really making a paycheck yet. Everything we make goes back into the business. But we’re going to start doing T-shirts and bottling our own sauce. That should bring more revenue. And we do have a wedding in July that we’re doing the reception for.

Some other food trucks have run into problems setting up. Have you?
No, but I really like to get permission from the businesses. As long as you’re not blocking traffic, you’re usually OK. But the Beaches are a bigger problem. The On the Fly truck got chased away from Green Room Brewing. Yeah, we parked at a couple hotels at the beach, but they came down on us. So we’ll be fighting Jax Beach on this, along with Green Room and On the Fly. We’re going to the town hall meeting next Monday.

roger.bull@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4296

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2012-02-14/story/working-first-coast-new-bbq-food-trucker-confident#ixzz1mSajq3pV

[ben says]

Good story. I really hope this guy, and others like him, hang around. Not too sure how he'll survive on $150-200/day though.

[John P]

The office complexes on southside boulevard and gate parkway be the best place for food trucks. I am not sure if they are allowed there though. Office workers dont want to drive somewhere in all that traffic and theres alot of them. They can not walk anywhere either.

[moosebumps]

The office complexes on southside boulevard and gate parkway be the best place for food trucks. I am not sure if they are allowed there though. Office workers dont want to drive somewhere in all that traffic and theres alot of them. They can not walk anywhere either.

There's a hotdog guy that sets up across from the Sheraton near the corner of Gate and Deerwood.  Not exactly easy to walk to, but he sets up cones for a drive through in his wide spot in the road that he's got staked out.  He's been there since last year sometime, so I assume he's got something worked out.