Cities Declare War on Food Trucks

The American Interest ^ | January 22, 2013 | Walter Russell Mead

[PJ-Comix]

Food trucks have become the hottest new industry, yet many cities are doing everything they can to stop them in their tracks. In city after city, lawmakers are imposing complicated regulations on food trucks and other street vendors, often in the name of consumer safety, which make it nearly impossible for vendors to actually operate their trucks. Chicago’s regulations are particularly onerous, as Reason reports:

According to the Chicago Tribune, 109 would-be purveyors of mobile cuisine have applied for licenses, but the city hasn’t seen fit to OK any of them. Among the requirements they may be having difficulty meeting:

[PJ-Comix]

Cities regulating food vendors out of existence. I used to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays when a food vendor used to serve up jerk pork and chicken. No longer. The city licensed him out of existence.

[PJ-Comix]

No more Carlton. The city got on his case and has prevented him from selling jerk pork and chicken. I sure miss those.

[ltc8k6]

Probably joining a union would get them permits the next day...

[JimSEA]

Yep, we gotta regulate them out of business. After all the entrepreneurs starting these businesses are usually working themselves out of the gutter and out of government dependency. Above all, don’t let capitalism work.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Brick and mortar restaurants who have the additional overhead of paying off building and health inspectors started squawking too much.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

How else can the big-government/big-corporate criminal monopoly maintain their monopoly?

[coolbreeze]

Out here in the country, I noticed a few Spanish speaking tomato pickers who decided selling tacos from an old bread truck beat picking tomatoes. The county leaves them alone and the food is great, though it’s hard sometimes to tell if the meat used to go moo, baa, or WOOF.

[Cicero]

Maybe if they paid protection money, like the other businesses in Chicago?

[max americana]

Here in Socal, I know it differs in each city. The lazy bums from Vernon as an example, have the license for cheap as 80% of the city is warehouse-related and almost no buses nor restaurants are around.

[svcw]

Best sandwiches I have eaten I have gotten off those trucks.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Yes they definitely have to get rid of food trucks because this is the Obama era and food trucks create jobs and we don't want that. We gotta get that unemployment percentage up to the teens, come on come on WE CAN DO IT!

[Kozak]

Up until maybe 20 years ago Chicago had an idiot ordinance against outdoor patios and terraces for restaurants. Finally got rid of it when the restaurants begged them pointing out how popular they were in other cities and costing them conventions and $$$$$$$$$$$

[Mike Darancette]

109 would-be purveyors of mobile cuisine have applied for licenses, but the city hasn’t seen fit to OK any of them.

This is Chicago these guys did not grease the machine sufficiently.

[RC one]

free market my ass.

[Red Badger]

...or MEOW............here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!.......

[txhurl]

You know, I’d sit and come up with a way around this for the ChiTrucks, but I think I’d rather watch the suffering.

[Washi]

Remember this?:

Republicans “have yet to produce a single shred of evidence that the regulations they hate so much do the broad economic harms they claim. That’s because there is none,” said Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada.

[Venturer]

Are we talking about trucks that cook food in the truck or the Roach Coach’s that go around Construction jobs.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I’ve never had bad food from a catering truck. Not saying it isn’t out there, but that’s been my experience.

[Lera]

Cities regulating food vendors out of existence. I used to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays when a food vendor used to serve up jerk pork and chicken. No longer. The city licensed him out of existence.


The health inspectors for the area probably didn't like chasing them around to get their pay off money.

Lived in Miami for a while and had friends that owned restaurants . The health inspectors stopped by each and every single week holding their hands out . They could not stay open even though their places were spotless unless they paid them off too as they would just write something up and say close right now .