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 Chicago, Arcata, Broward County, Sacramento and Ft. Collins.
August 10
Heavenly food trucks: the rise of mobile munchies – Food trucks have been capitalizing on the everyday busy (and hungry) lunchgoer for years. These restaurants on wheels serve up everything from thick homemade waffles to sizzling and savory tacos, satisfying even the pickiest of grab-and-go foodies.
Nationwide food truck revenue is up 15 percent over the past five years and took in about 37 percent of the $1.4 billion revenue in street vending last year alone, according to research done by IBISWorld Inc.
Find the entire article <here>
34 New Food Trucks Apply for Chicago Licenses – Chicago, IL – Drive-by foodies are growing in Chicago.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Friday that since the city’s revamped food truck ordinance passed last week, 34 new traveling stands have started the application process.
“This surge in initial interest is proof positive that our strategy is working – we have created a workable ordinance that is allowing the food truck industry to grow in Chicago,” said Emanuel in a statement.
Find the entire article <here>
August 11
More food trucks on Arcata’s menu? – Arcata, CA – Next week, the Arcata City Council is set to consider easing restrictions on mobile food truck permits. To steal a line from Wilford Brimley, it’s the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it.
Current city code mandates, among other requirements, off-street parking, seating and a portable restroom for “sandwich wagons, recreational vehicle cafes, hot dog wagons, ice cream wagons and similar uses” — restrictive regulations that stand between you and good street food.
Find the entire article <here>
Friar Tuck’s Food Truck: Rebuilt Truck Debuts Today – Broward County, FL – You’ve been glued to the Olympics coverage for weeks, watching stories unfold of strangers on the other side of the world triumphing in the face of adversity. Well, here’s a local story that you can literally sink your teeth into.
For months, Clean Plate Charlie has been tracking the progress of local food truck owner/operators Robb and Abby Muise and James Seeley, who saw their dreams to launch Friar Tuck’s food truck come to a screeching halt when their truck literally crashed into pieces in a devastating accident on the Florida Turnpike in June.
Find the entire article <here>
August 12
Food truck conflict spreads – Sacramento, CA – Just as Sacramento food truck operators and owners of brick and mortar restaurants reached a compromise over where and when the trucks can operate, another battle is brewing in the statewide mobile food arena.
An advocacy group in Southern California is not happy with Sacramento’s proposed regulations, which it calls illegal, and has vowed to fight any efforts by Sacramento truck owners and city officials to push for state legislation giving cities the right to regulate food trucks.
Find the entire article <here>
New regulations expand opportunities for mobile food vendors in Fort Collins – Fort Collins, CO – Where to go for lunch has traditionally been a question reserved for diners. Now, proprietors of mobile food vending trucks are wondering the same thing.
New city regulations are now in effect for outdoor vendors enable food trucks, pushcarts and other businesses on wheels to move about town. Previously, they had been confined to a single location, and public rights of way (parking places and public lots) were off-limits.
The rule change establishes three pockets where hungry folks will find regular food truck activity in public lots. It also opens the door for groups of vendors to operate on private lots and folds nonfood vendors — think pedicabs and seasonal pumpkin peddlers — into the regulatory framework.
Find the entire article <here>
