NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO — This region for years has prized its trendy and innovative side — from the shiny, modern performing arts center that resembles a seashell to the custom homes that look more Malibu than Midwest to the streetcar that is near completion.

So when Rachel Kennedy thought of an idea to bring a hallmark of hip — food trucks — to this speck of an industrial hamlet surrounded by Kansas City, Mo., she thought she had a slam dunk.

Ms. Kennedy, who began operating her Cuban food truck, Plantain District, in October, worked with city officials to establish a pilot program to allow food trucks to operate in a park during lunchtime five days a week. She said she thought this could help attract a fashionable set to North Kansas City, a town of 4,300 residents.

But shortly after the trucks began rumbling into Macken Park this month, complaints rolled in from owners of nearby restaurants.

“They bring the truck in, they compete against us for four hours, and then they drive away,” Monte Martello, 66, who owns a Dairy Queen, said during a recent City Council meeting.

Several Council members sided with Mr. Martello, and the food truck pod, which hosts two or three trucks on a given day, appears to be on its way out. The eight Council members are expected to vote on Tuesday on the future of the program, and most seem to favor ending it.

The debate pits tradition versus trend, free market versus fair play. In a town where the most noise comes from semis and trains churning through the industrial corridor, people were reluctant to wade into the dispute.

Find the entire article at nytimes.com