New West residents will soon be able to satisfy their appetites with a variety of offerings served up by food trucks.
City council has approved a mobile food vending bylaw that would allow food trucks to operate at several on-street locations around the city. The trucks can’t be located within 100 metres of a restaurant serving similar cuisine and must obtain a business licence, meet health and safety requirements and abide by regulations concerning hours of operation, noise and waste.
Jorden Foss, co-owner of Steel & Oak Brewing Company, said the brewery doesn’t have a kitchen, so it was thrilled the city approved a food truck pilot project in front of its business. While he knew food trucks were “wildly popular,” Foss said he didn’t anticipate the number of people who would come to eat food – and not drink beer.
Because of the cost of living, Foss said couples in their early 30s may not have a lot of money to spend dining out at expensive restaurants, but they can enjoy a meal from food trucks. He noted that parents of young children may not want to dine out in restaurants with children but welcome the ability to get tasty take-out from food trucks.
“Selfishly, I would just love a few more options for food to go,” he said.
Guy Ciprian, one of the organizers of the Sapperton Day street festival, expressed concern that food trucks could potentially “crash” events in the city.
Staff assured council that food trucks would have to have one-day licences for attending events like farmers’ markets and wouldn’t be able to attend festivals unless they had a permit from that event’s organizers.
The mobile food vending bylaw will allow food trucks to operate at the following locations: the downtown (Columbia, Front and Carnarvon streets); Ewen Avenue in Queensborough (between Jardine and Hampton streets); East Columbia Street (between Sherbrooke and Braid streets, and between Keary and Hospital streets); 12th Street (between Sixth and 10th avenues); uptown (Belmont Street, and Sixth Street between Eighth and Fourth avenues); the Tipperary Park parking lot; and the parking space in front of Steel & Oak Brewing Company at 1319 Third Ave.
