In our quest to keep our readers up to date with the latest stories relating to the food truck industry has compiled a list of the stories that hit the wire this weekend from Boston, Sacramento, Columbus, Charlotte and Peach Tree City.

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August 17

Free lunch in the Financial District? Not at these food trucks – BOSTON, MA – In an op-ed penned for the Boston Business Journal and published today, Phantom Gourmet host Dave Andelman writes that food trucks shouldn’t be allowed within 1,000 feet of a Boston restaurant, because the meals-on-wheels are taking bread out of the mouths of honest restaurateurs.

“The trucks sell food for significantly less than the restaurants,” he writes. “The restaurants can’t just ‘step up their game.’ It’s impossible for them to meet the prices of their mobile competitors given the cost structure of the two types of businesses.”

Find the entire article <here>

Food trucks and restaurants – can’t we all just get along? – SACRAMENTO, CA – There must have been a thousand people at Garcia Bend Park in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood on Wednesday night for the SactoMoFo Food Festival.

Ten food trucks, offering everything from fish tacos to gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to Southern-style barbecue to Belgian waffles, lined the parking lot. Eager and hungry customers, among them Sacramento City Councilman Darrell Fong and City Manager John Shirey, were there. Yours truly was also in attendance (strictly on a fact-finding tour, of course), and we all waited in long lines to sample the offerings.

Find the entire article <here>

August 18

Nonprofit opens kitchen for use by food carts – COLUMBUS, OH – It’s not much to look at: a plain, concrete-block building behind a chain-link fence at the edge of an industrial park.

But behind the brown garage door, the dreams of more than a dozen entrepreneurs are mixed, baked, blended and packed every day onto one of the growing fleet of food carts and trucks that head out onto the streets of Columbus.

The Food Fort Columbus’ commercial kitchen, at 1655 Old Leonard Ave. on the Near East Side, is just the latest addition to the business incubation work of the nonprofit Economic and Community Development Institute, also known as ECDI.

Find the entire article <here>

Some food truckers say DNC is too pricey to participate – CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Visitors in town for the Democratic National Convention may not get a taste of more than a few Charlotte favorites.

Several food truckers said they are skipping CarolinaFest and the Convention because it’s too pricey to park.

“It would cost me $12,000. I would have to sell 6,000 ice cream cones just to break even,” said David Trauner, owner of Sticks & Cones. “I am hearing a lot of outside, national vendors are coming to town for it.”

Find the entire article <here>

August 19

PTC gets hip to food trucks – PEACHTREE CITY, GA – Peachtree City staff will begin researching rules that will allow for the creation of a food truck parking lot.

The city council gave unanimous approval to a staff request to begin drafting such rules to allow food trucks, which are currently banned by the city’s outdoor display ordinance.

Jimmy Daniel, owner of the Grazing Here food truck seen at the Peachtree City Farmer’s Market, said the idea is to create a place for local residents to enjoy food trucks on an occasional basis, but not seven days a week.

Find the entire article <here>