Chicago, IL – A City Council committee today signed off on 21 locations where food trucks will be able to park on a regular basis, but two others didn’t make the cut.

chicago food truck stands

 

The ordinance making food trucks legal requires that at least 30 “food truck stands” be set up across Chicago, but it’s expected there will be far more in the end, said sponsoring Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd.

One of the rejected locations is on Broadway south of Wellington Avenue. The East Lakeview Chamber of Commerce opposed, saying the location would allow food truck vendors with lower overhead costs to unfairly compete with 20 restaurants that spend at least $150,000 a year to maintain their storefronts.

As a result, that location was removed, said Ald. Thomas Tunney, 44th. The alderman said the request came from a local coffee shop owner who thought food trucks would bring in more business, but the business turned out to be the only local bricks-and-mortar food operation in favor of the stand, Tunney said.

“The businesses just don’t feel that this is the right thing to do for them when they are trying to make a dime,” Maureen Martino, executive director of the East Lakeview Chamber, told members of the License and Consumer Protection Committee that endorsed the 21 locations.

“There’s really no parking at all” in the area, she added. “And there is really not a need for more food.”

Once again, Alderman Tunney shows his true colors along with a local restaurant lobby. Since when is it up to these individuals to determine what areas of the city need or don’t need more food options for consumers?

Find the entire article by Hal Dardick at The Chicago Tribune <here>