Food Truck Wars!
Here’s the skinny.
The Downtown Food Committee has called a meeting. They would like other downtown restaurants to come to the meeting and discuss how they have been negatively affected by other restos.
Well first things first, every good revolution needs a logo, can I recommend this one? (Below) It hasn’t been used in a while. 
What’s odd is that I don’t see anywhere on the agenda a proactive conversation about what they can do better to compete with food trucks, how to make your food more interesting, or give out free back rubs, nothing.
This is ‘merica son, freedom ain’t free, that means that if another guy or gal has a killer idea, it might kills yours. You gotta jump in with both feet and fix your product to get it where it needs to be, ain’t no two ways about it. I’d be happy to offer my services as a consultant, me and Kevin Sawyer, if you can handle the truth.
For the record I think the city has been careful, and considerate in how they have implemented the food truck rules. Of course there is room in the conversation for improvement, but not for using government to limit competition.
Finally food trucks have given us a lot in the way of delicious food over the last few years, they have certainly established a place for themselves. The public has been introduced to a lot of wonderful flavors and experiences, how that is bad for the resto biz is beyond me.
A higher tide rises all boats.
Thank you chef for airing this on your blog. Unfortunate small group of people who feel their livelihoods are severely affected. The skyway restaurants have their high season in the winter, food trucks have theirs in the Summer.
hahahahahahahaha. No room to type enough “haha’s” to try to sum up what a joke I think that is.
Well stated. I enjoy both the skyway options (but not the one owned by one of the organizers, yish), food truck options, and the lunches I bring from home – any chance to get outside in the middle of the work day in the warmer months is an added bonus of working downtown. And quite frankly, my money is my money – their b*tching just makes me want to spend money elsewhere and not at their business. They should saddle up on their marketing efforts and come up with better food to draw me in instead of cast a net of negativity and complaints.
Just curious…who else is on the “Downtown Food Committee”? I’d prefer to give my hard earned dollars to businesses that aren’t on that “committee.”
I fully agree, except for the last part. I’d hate to see someone who just wanted to have a conversation hurt because they joined a committee. Who knows maybe some good can come out of it, though that seems unlikely given the approach.
The complainers need a theme song. May I suggest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub75Sk1Wrcc
They hired a marketing consultant? I have a marketing strategy… serve something for lunch that isn’t just fast food or recycled dinner food on bread. Serve food that doesn’t make people feel half dead by 2p. Serve food that suits the taste of an educated clientele in a metropolis.
That will be $4000.
What a bunch of babies.
“I fully agree, except for the last part. I’d hate to see someone who just wanted to have a conversation hurt because they joined a committee.”
Even when the committee is expressly held for the purpose of some PA hack cherry picking data on behalf of a fast food deli that is irked because it is losing business to purveyors of real food?
The invitation makes clear the purpose, and, as I have literally done this for a living, I know precisely the purpose.
I’ll say this. If you stake your claim on the quality of your food, I can’t understand why you would attend this meeting.
If you are concerned about the vitality of the brick and mortar lunch scene downtown, go to Vincent, Sapor, Black Sheep and Be’Wiched as often as you can.
The food trucks have interfered with the Farmers Market on Nicollet Mall on Thursdays also. Several growers who have had stalls on a particular block for years were displaced by a food truck that claimed a spot on the mall.
“if you have been affected by the concentration of food trucks on Marquette Ave come have your voice heard” …how great would it be if every downtown office worker who appreciates the great options provided by the trucks showed up at this meeting to explain how they’ve been positively affected by them? if these jokers tried to pull this shit in Portland, they’d get deoported to Wasington State.