It's the first food truck vs. restaurant rivalry in downtown Detroit

[downtownguy]

Still, for a business owner in a market with a very limited customer base, its pretty easy to see how the whole situation could seem infuriatingly unfair.

EastsideAl, thanks for a very well-balanced assessment of the situation. I pretty much agree with everything you said, except what I've quoted. Downtown has in fact seen an influx of several thousand workers in the last couple of years. What has Checker done to attract these hungry mouths? I have heard from other, long established downtown restaurants, that their business is up due to the new workers. What kind of golden goose is Checker looking for?

That said, I'm going to put my mouth where my money isn't. In yesterday's first post in the old Legal Food Truck thread on this development, they included a link to Neal Rubin's article in the Detroit News yesterday. In it, Rubin reported that the Checker is competing by offering a $2.99 meatball sandwich. I went to Dago Joe's website and they have nothing on the menu for under $5. At lunch, I tend to eat lighter and usually stay within a $3-4 range. As I was just pondering what to have for dinner, I thought I might check this $2.99 sandwich out. I called over there and, yep, they are serving it all day long.

I will continue to defend the right of food trucks to co-exist alongside brick and mortar restaurants, but it's not likely I'll find anything appealing at the JoeMobile for my lunch taste or budget. But, if the Checker's $2.99 special is good and they keep it, I'll probably go back soon for another one at lunchtime. And if they find a better way to promote and compete without whining to the media, I may just become a regular customer.