While Vancouver has trumpeted the variety of new food
offerings through its food cart program in recent years, roughly a third of
food vendors are still just plain hot dog stands—as controversy continues over
the expansion of the program.
The City of Vancouver launched the food truck program in
2010—to the chagrin of some restaurant owners—by issuing 17 licenses and has since
issued over a hundred to various operators in the downtown core. A smorgasbord of options can be found
in the ‘Other’ category, where, of the 35 food vendors, there is almost no
duplication of cuisine to choose from.
While there has been some debate as to the potential impact of expanding the food truck program—the city predicted 130 licenses by 2014—the consequences are still unclear.
Ian Tostenson, President and CEO of the British Columbia
Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), says that the issue is still
in a grey area and the city is trying to gather more information in order to
determine exactly what the impact of food trucks is.
“The city put a moratorium on the licensing of new food
trucks until they could figure out what the impact was, both for restaurants
and food trucks,” says Tostenson. “The city is talking about expanding the
program again, but our position will be, let’s get some facts before we start
adding more to the struggle.”
Cindy “Mom” Hamilton, owner of Mom’s Grilled Cheese located
at the corner of Howe and Robson Street, says that despite the challenges, it’s
a fair and a legitimate food service. “It’s a slog and there’s a lot of
competition, but it’s a vibrant culture and it offers a unique service for
people on-the-go who don’t have time to sit down and eat.”
Tostenson says that the BCRFA supports local businesses and
competition and doesn’t have a problem with food trucks necessarily.
“We never opposed food trucks, we just opposed the continual
expansion of it without having an awareness of what the impacts were in the
marketplace and to bricks-and-mortar restaurants.”
A map of food carts in Vancouver displays 'hot hog carts' (red) versus 'everything else' (yellow)
Tostenson points out that most of the complaints they
received were coming from restaurants in places where there was a high
concentration of food trucks.
“In fairness, I think the city cracked down—if any of the
food trucks were encroaching or operating in areas where they shouldn’t be,
they put some rules in place,” says Tostenson.
Hamilton, on the other hand, says that it doesn’t matter if
you’re a small hot dog cart, a truck or a trailer, you can only operate your
food truck in the area designated by your license, and that there are a number
of other regulations and requirements that must be adhered to. “Your location
is predetermined. Also, you can’t lend your spot to anyone and you have to be
there at least three months of the year.”
According to a story in The Huffington Post in August of
this year, Vancouver City Councilor George Affleck said in a news release, “The
enormous success of our food cart and truck vendors should not be at the
expense of brick and mortar business that pay property tax, employ thousands of
people, and generate millions of dollars for Vancouver’s economy.”
Looking back at the last three years, Tostenson says that
the food truck business is a tough one. “I’ve noticed that a lot of the food
trucks haven’t done as well as they expected.”
Hamilton says that the amount of upkeep and maintenance on a
food truck is the biggest challenge by far. “To have brick-and-mortar would be
heavenly after doing this for three years, just because you never know if your
restaurant is even going to make it to the spot.”
Hamilton points out that, while the city isn’t issuing any
more permits at the moment, you can still get a mobile permit which allows you
to roam around outside of the downtown core.
“I don’t think I’m stepping on anyone’s toes here. There’s a hot dog stand and a cart and another truck on the same block, but we’re all providing choices. It’s a free enterprise. If you want to own a restaurant, own a restaurant. If you want to have a food truck, then go for it,” says Hamilton.
Mr. and Ms. Lee, owners of Mama Lee’s Korean Express, say that food carts are a great way for people who can’t afford to open a restaurant to share their creations. “If it’s good food, it’s good food. You should be able to share that with people,” says Mr. Lee.
 |
| Mr. and Mrs. Lee in their food cart on Granville Street. Photo by: Stuart Gallacher |
