Food trucks in Somerville?

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

A couple of weeks ago one of the Clover Labs trucks stopped by the Armory on a Saturday and the response was very enthusiastic, as far as I could tell. I certainly loved having them there! It made me wonder why we don't have more food trucks in Somerville.

Well, apparently part of the answer is the city is only lukewarm on them, at best. Frankly, I was surprised by what some of the Aldermen were quoted as saying in that article. For example, food trucks "don't do any public good" or attract "nefarious activities".

As the article points out, any truck licensed by the state can currently operate legally in Somerville. The city is proposing a new ordinance to make them also get a license from Somerville. I'm not sure if that's going to encourage or discourage the trucks, but at any rate, if you care about this issue, apparently now is the time to contact your alderperson about it.

Comments

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. I just wrote Alderman O'Donovan:

Dear Alderman,

I understand that the Board of Aldermen is considering regulating food trucks with special Somerville based permits. However, I think that we should make it easier for food truck operators to do business in Somerville, not harder - food trucks can provide Somerville residents with exceptional gourmet options without the hefty price tag that you might see in many Somerville restaurants.

On a recent visit to Austin, Texas, I noticed that in the evenings (after typical rush hours) many food trucks operators locate their trucks in a designated downtown lot that already includes wooden benches and seating - thus allowing Austin residents to sample many different cuisines in one outdoor place. And all of this typically for no more than $5 a person. Isn't that an amazing idea? It would be fantastic to have such a food truck lot available in Somerville.

I hope that the Board of Aldermen will make it easier for food trucks to operate in Somerville, not harder because of additional regulations.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's part of the answer, really. The food truck trend has been picking up for a few years, and Somerville has not yet gotten many in regular operation -- but the alderman started talking about it just a few months ago.

This doesn't particularly explain why Harvard Square and various spots around downtown boston got food trucks before we did... to the tune of several summers ago. Barious misgivings of individual alderpeople aside, a new law that hasn't even passed yet that would require an extra license ( and *could* turn out to wind up creating a food-trucks-encouraged area somewhere that I can walk to, if it's done right! ) seems like something that I wouldn't point a finger at yet.

But definitely, talk to your alderpeople in favor of food trucks if you want them! I do. I want a cooler one that Greek Festival, too. :)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Nefarious activities....such as people chewing raw spring rolls with their mouths open, and the dangerous glare created by aluminium foil-wrapped gyros.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

It's horsehockey from the same kind of reactionaries who claim that "nothing good ever happens after 8:00/9:00/10:00 P.M.!" Funny the amount of fear of change that comes from a place that holds itself to be so socially progressive.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

i would guess that the "nefarious activity" might well be drug-dealing, but it's totally a guess, based on no data and the plot to a tv show i saw last year...

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

ha, I love Shamesless, my favorite show on TV right now. (I'm guessing that's what you were referring to with the ice cream truck they had)

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

I'm ambivalent about food trucks as a whole, but something needs explaining to me...

So food trucks can now operate anywhere in Somerville they want as long as they have a state permit, yet they don't. Is there a good business reason why they don't? I've seen a couple by Tufts nights/weekends which is a good spot for trucks -- you have late night hungry crowd with no other (easy) options. Is there an area of town that has a shortage of eating places where these would make sense? (You would think the long lines on Sunday morning in Ball Square would present a huge opportunity -- though I realize it's not the same thing) Or is it a desire by some to have a greater variety of food options?

I recognize that established restaurants have no desire to welcome the trucks and they can create parking and crowding issues at times. Where do we want/need the trucks?

[lac.livejournal.com]

I know in Boston, because I work there, they have specific places they are allowed to park and there are different trucks in different places each day. There's a schedule online so you can see what is where...maybe they aren't showing up here because parking is a huge pain in the butt, or there is some kind of parking issue? Just a guess...I really have no idea.

Boston...also was lukewarm on the idea and it took awhile to work it out so the trucks could park. But, based on the lines, the people love it. I even got lunch at one today and I love them.

[polkaishot.livejournal.com]

I still can't believe how behind the entire Greater Boston area is with regards to food trucks. At this point, most major cities have a decent amount of them and having a Food Truck Festival includes more than just 10 trucks.

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

As long as they regulate the times and locations to area's that want them I think most people would be fine with them.

[ron_newman]

The market can do that -- the city doesn't need to regulate it at all. The city's only role should be to ensure that food trucks follow established food safety and health practices.

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

Yeah Ron it does need to regulate where and when. My neighborhood at three am is full of college students that would love to eat anything but considering that we don't have a commercial business for 5-10 blocks or let alone one that is open at 3 am it could get kind of crowded and noisy. So yes just because the market can support it doesn't mean it should be allowed to go on.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Is there some zoning law preventing a business from opening in the area?

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

Yes

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

How much do these permits cost and how does it compare to the property taxes the city gets from a small restaurant? If a food truck that pays a tenth the revenue to the city coffers can manage to undercut a local eatery by a buck or so, stealing 1 out of 10 or so customers, that can be enough to cause the other place to go out of business. This would be bad for the city and all its residents in general. With that in mind, I think there's reasonable factors to enforce some regulation.

[mrf-arch.livejournal.com]

hat can be enough to cause the other place to go out of business. This would be bad for the city and all its residents in general.

The residents get cheaper food, which presumably they wanted, which is why they went to the truck. It's only a net loss to the city if no other business (or residential use) takes over the space of the other place and starts paying taxes. That seems like an unlikely outcome, given how dear real estate is around most of Somerville.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Presumably a resident would prefer good schools, roads, gov services more :P

Your argument is a little too narrow I think. If a few restaurants shutter and vacancy rates go up, then property owners have to lower their lease rates which in turn lowers the property values (while blighted properties also lower everybody's property values) - this hurts people directly and lowers the tax base for the city. Other than Davis, you see an awful lot of real estate issues in somerville. I'm not saying a couple food trucks will do that, but that it's a good reason for the city to regulate them appropriately for mutual benefit.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Since the trucks are free to come into town now under current rules, is it only non-market factors that are keeping them out of Somerville (i.e., parking)? Or is it that there's just not enough demand in comparison to other locations?

I took a look at the City of Boston food truck schedule (http://www.cityofboston.gov/business/mobile/schedule-tabs.asp) and see that the greatest concentration of trucks is at lunchtime weekdays with the weekday evening concentration around Back Bay. The weekend concentration is at lunch as well, but only about half the weekday load.

I assume some of those trucks are working elsewhere and some take the weekend off.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

There's likely not the demand here that there is in downtown Boston or Kendall+MIT at lunchtime on weekdays, given that more people leave Somerville to commute to a job than come here to work. (No concentration of big office buildings for example.) But it would be good to at least start having food trucks at events, and at the parks on the weekends. The Clover Labs truck the OP mentioned was in front of the Armory during the Herbstalk event and not surprisingly drew a crowd the whole afternoon.

I'd love to see some food trucks here for reasons mentioned (variety of food, price).To me they represent small entrepreneurs and a whole lot of innovative food offerings. I too am writing my alderman and I might just forward it to the whole BOA as some of the comments in the Patch and Wicked Local articles made by several aldermen disturbed me.

[mrf-arch.livejournal.com]

For example, food trucks "don't do any public good" or attract "nefarious activities".

Sad to hear feeding people when they're hungry isn't a public good, anymore. And IME, the "nefarious activity" food trucks most attract is that they take customers away from incumbent brick and mortar restaurants, who would just as soon not have any more competition, if they can avoid it, or regulate it out of existence.

[larksdream]

Only tangentially related, but Planet Money did a great podcast on food trucks in NYC a few weeks ago.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely like to see food trucks pick up. I think they'd be a good way to attract people to all the great parks around the city. Hell, you could set some up on the bike path.

I hate to play this card too, but the somerville dining scene is getting more and more expensive, and quality food trucks would be a great way to offset some of that.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

Do food trucks have lavatories? I think that's what is meant by nefarious. Think about it...

[matthias siebler (from livejournal.com)]

I'm not sure that trucks are all that. Sure its nice to have more variety; and its good to bring food to places that may be underserved; but they can be noisy. They can create a lot of exhaust. What taxes do they pay? And more importantly; what long term ties do they have to the community? A B&M restaurant needs to sink a lot of cash into a place to get running; this gives them an incentive to stay put and help work to make our squares & town better. A food truck can just up & leave if things get hard. What is their incentive to stick around? I'm not saying to ban them; but I think it is good for the mayor to make sure we think about this before opening our doors.