A legal Food truck: All it took was a year and 60 trips to city hall

[jsmyers]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet, but it is relevant:

http://metromodemedia.com/features/f...rucks0219.aspx

[Melocoton]

The cost of operating a police department does not decrease when people decide to buy from a food truck instead of a brick & mortar restaurant.

The cost of operating a fire department does not decrease when people decide to buy from a food truck instead of a brick & mortar restaurant.

Your repetition of these formulae, which propose that A is somehow causally related to B, implies that you think you've hit on some winning argument that will carry the day. You could replace "buy from a food truck instead of a brick & mortar restaurant" with virtually anything else, though, and the sentence would make exactly the same amount of sense. Because obviously a food truck is not solely, or even significantly, responsible for the poverty of the city or state.

If you spent half as much time analyzing, say, declining rates of taxation on the wealthy, federal aid to cities, the roots of unemployment, subsidies to the fast food industry, Detroit's downtown real estate economy, the decline of the Michigan manufacturing economy, Rick Snyder's urban policy, or anything actually important to the cost of maintaining our roads and police and the kinds of food available downtown, as you have spent single-handedly holding up one end of this ludicrous debate, you might be on to something.

[Fnemecek]

Congratulations! You've proven me wrong.

There is absolutely no need to adapt to a changing market. We can continue doing things as we have for the past 200 years, even as the world around continues to change and evolve.

Change is evil.

We should never, ever change.

When we adapt to change, the entire world will collapse.

Are you happy now?

[noise]

Congratulations! You've proven me wrong.

There is absolutely no need to adapt to a changing market. We can continue doing things as we have for the past 200 years, even as the world around continues to change and evolve.

Change is evil.

We should never, ever change.

When we adapt to change, the entire world will collapse.

Are you happy now?

Why you insist on implying such disingenuous ideas, or outright lies, will never cease amazing me.

[Fnemecek]

Why you insist on refer to them as disingenuous or outright lies never ceases to amaze me either.

But hey - don't worry about it. You guys have changed my mind.

I no longer believe in adapting to a changing world.

Be happy!

[noise]

See? Take the blinders off. You're the ONLY one not adapting to change here.

[Downtown Dave]

Here's Ann Arbor's approach - a collection of 10 individually owned and operated street food carts in one spot: http://www.annarbor.com/business-rev...-hungry-crowd/

More here: http://markscartsannarbor.com/

[elrick]

i don't want to get into all of the poiltics, but el guapo was at belle isle saturday for the Copa Detroit. the food was great and reasonably priced.

[Jowlska]

I had the el guapo chicken burrito. It was very good!

[noise]

You're supporting the continued demise of Detroit! The sky is falling!

[Dag]

Just to give some perspective on this issue.

In Lansing the food truck, Trailer Park'd, has developed such a following due to its preparation of food and locally sourced ingredients that they will be opening a restaurant. The restaurant is expected to open November 1st, and will be called Fork in the Road.

They are still planning on running the trailer as well, and you will occasionally see them set up in Eastern Market as well.

I know that this is contrary to what some people were adamant about in this thread, but it is good to see the success stories like this.

[Richard]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politic...er-all/1199563

The first rally 2000 showed up the one last week 4200 notice in the report things get resolved when you have voice in local Gov.

[compn]

I live in SW Detroit - home of the taco trucks, and I love them.

i had a taco truck burrito [[el toro #3) for dinner, it was the best burrito i've had in years. sorry, burritos at taco bell or the coneys or even most mexican 'restaurants' in town cant compare.i was sad to see margaritas in royal oak die. they had some good food. now to find out where the other el toro trucks are hiding...

[noise]

Have any restaurants gone out of business and cited the food trucks as the reason yet?

El Guapo has been at Wayne State a lot recently. Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Subway don't seem to show any signs of slowing down, however.

[SWMAP]

"Have any restaurants gone out of business and cited the food trucks as the reason yet?" .

To put a little perspective to your slightly smart-alec comment above, read today's article on this topic from Neal Rubin:
"Dago Joe's food truck rolls away with business from nearby Checker Bar & Grill"
Regulations and red tape kept food trucks out of Detroit until last year, even as they became as trendy as cupcakes in other cities.
They're fresh and fun, with catchy names and splashy designs and items you don't typically find at restaurants where "overhead" doesn't mean a sunroof. They're good for a city's atmosphere and image.
They're bright new lights, and everyone likes a shiny object — but there's an unfortunate trade-off if some of the old lights start to dim.
The Munros are competing, not just complaining. Dago Joe's sells a meatball sandwich for $6.49, so the Checker Bar added one for $2.99. It hasn't raised prices in three years, and you'll find turkey and vegetarian burgers on the menu along with the trademark patty custom-ground from select cuts of steak.
The problem is, Munro says, there simply aren't as many mouths to feed downtown as there used to be, even with the addition of Quicken Loans. Nobody drinks. City workers' lunch breaks have been cut to 30 minutes, so they're eating at their desks.
"It's brutal," she says. When her dad, Harry, turned 80, they had a sprawling party at the bar. The founder of the feast just turned 90, and this time the party was friends-and-family at somebody's house. They couldn't afford to throw the doors open for free.
For his part, Sciamanna tried to be neighborly.
His first day, he stopped by hoping to buy or borrow cash register tape. No sale. Then he offered to pass out Checker Bar fliers at his pickup window.
"We're paying rent like everyone else around here," he says, though of course he realizes it's not the same. He's too small to be the rising tide that lifts all fish sandwiches, "but we're hoping we'll jog some memories about how cool it is down here," and then everyone will be better off.

[noise]

"Have any restaurants gone out of business and cited the food trucks as the reason yet?" .

To put a little perspective to your slightly smart-alec comment above, read today's article on this topic from Neal Rubin:
"Dago Joe's food truck rolls away with business from nearby Checker Bar & Grill"
Regulations and red tape kept food trucks out of Detroit until last year, even as they became as trendy as cupcakes in other cities.
They're fresh and fun, with catchy names and splashy designs and items you don't typically find at restaurants where "overhead" doesn't mean a sunroof. They're good for a city's atmosphere and image.
They're bright new lights, and everyone likes a shiny object — but there's an unfortunate trade-off if some of the old lights start to dim.
The Munros are competing, not just complaining. Dago Joe's sells a meatball sandwich for $6.49, so the Checker Bar added one for $2.99. It hasn't raised prices in three years, and you'll find turkey and vegetarian burgers on the menu along with the trademark patty custom-ground from select cuts of steak.
The problem is, Munro says, there simply aren't as many mouths to feed downtown as there used to be, even with the addition of Quicken Loans. Nobody drinks. City workers' lunch breaks have been cut to 30 minutes, so they're eating at their desks.
"It's brutal," she says. When her dad, Harry, turned 80, they had a sprawling party at the bar. The founder of the feast just turned 90, and this time the party was friends-and-family at somebody's house. They couldn't afford to throw the doors open for free.
For his part, Sciamanna tried to be neighborly.
His first day, he stopped by hoping to buy or borrow cash register tape. No sale. Then he offered to pass out Checker Bar fliers at his pickup window.
"We're paying rent like everyone else around here," he says, though of course he realizes it's not the same. He's too small to be the rising tide that lifts all fish sandwiches, "but we're hoping we'll jog some memories about how cool it is down here," and then everyone will be better off.

I don't know how blaming the consumer and their habits/tastes puts my comment in perspective, but I will take this opportunity to say I had an unremarkable burrito from El Guapo at WSU a little while back.