Budding entrepreneurs have taken their culinary talents to the streets in “food trucks” in Durham, Carrboro, and all over the country, creating their own jobs and stimulating an otherwise stagnant economy. Now they’re trying to make their debut in Raleigh, where the owners of struggling brick and mortar restaurants are doing all they can to keep out the competition.

Until now, food trucks effectively have been barred from downtown Raleigh, as they are not allowed to park on public streets or in private parking lots. City council is considering reversing the ban on at least the latter of those options.

A change to the city’s zoning ordinances would allow private businesses to host food trucks in their parking lots, so long as they were located at least 50 feet from any restaurant and weren’t occupying parking spaces required to fulfill the minimum parking requirement of the primary business.

Food truck operators would be required to get a zoning permit, a City of Raleigh business license, a North Carolina Sales and Use Certificate, and a Wake County Environmental Services permit. They also would need to provide evidence of a means for disposal of grease within an approved grease disposal facility.

Restaurant woes

Although the food truck rules still would be restrictive compared to those in other cities, restaurant owners expressed adamant disapproval at a public hearing April 19.

Food trucks should stick to festivals and construction sites, said Alex Amra, owner of Tobacco Road Sports Café and Amra’s bar.

Amra said restaurant owners in downtown Raleigh pay high rent, high taxes, and have high overhead. He said he and others have invested a lot into making Glenwood South what it is and that it was unfair for food trucks to come in and “feed off of the business we’ve brought to these streets.”

“If you want to approve them, that’s cool,” Amra said. “We’ll go ahead and declare bankruptcy and buy some food trucks because they’re a lot cheaper.”

Niall Hanley, owner of Hibernian, Solas, and The Diner, reminded the council who paid the city’s bills. He joined Amra in claiming that he helped build Glenwood South.

“The city needs to understand that we rely on you guys to take care of us,” Hanley said. “We’ve been here a long time and we’re paying our taxes. I have 120 employees.”

Two McDonald’s operators also voiced their displeasure. Rick Richards said he had just agreed to spend $2 million to make his McDonald’s store on Western Boulevard “look right for Raleigh.”

“Allowing trucks of all vintages, sizes, and colors is not a very well thought-out plan for such a classy city like Raleigh,” Richards said.

Food trucks have already hurt business at Richards’ Duke University location. Since food trucks have been allowed in Durham his sales there have dropped by 10 percent, he said. If the trucks are allowed in Raleigh, he threatened, “I may have to lay people off, and the city will receive less taxes.”

Ed Mills owns one McDonald’s restaurant on Peace Street and one near Shaw University. Mills said he spent a fortune trying to comply with city regulations when he transformed a 450-year-old building into a McDonald’s.

“I had to have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of landscaping to beautify the location,” Mills said. “I had to meet handicap requirements, fire requirements, water requirements, and lighting requirements.”

“And now you tell me they don’t have to meet any of those regulations, but they can park a truck 50 feet away from me?” he asked the council.

Food truck wishes

Panamanian immigrant Nicole Belmo owns a food truck called Café Prost, out of which she sells German pretzels, brats, and coffee. Pleading her case to the council, Belmo said food trucks provide jobs and build entrepreneurial spirit in a down economy, bring liveliness to city streets, and help reinvigorate struggling restaurants and businesses.

“Street food culture is thriving all over the world,” Belmo said. “In Panama you can buy whatever it is you want on the street for 50 cents or a dollar. That comes in handy for students and workers during lunch.”

Amy Davis, co-owner of Slippin’ Sliders, takes her gas-guzzling food truck on an 80-mile, round-trip commute every day from her home in Knightdale to either Carrboro or Durham. Davis would prefer to serve her gourmet mini-burgers in Raleigh and worries about wear and tear on her truck, “but we stay where we’re welcome,” she said.

Michael Stenke, who’s the owner, operator, head chef, mechanic, driver, and plumber at
Klausie’s Pizza, said some businesses have asked him to park out front, saying his truck draws crowds. Stenke said he had a mutually beneficial relationship with Big Boss Brewing Company until two weeks ago when the bar was “threatened by the city.”

Consumer choice

“I’m just an eater,” Raleigh resident Rob Lumas told the council. “I’ve enjoyed the food truck movement we’ve had going on, and I’ve been a little disappointed to see them driven to surrounding communities.”

Iraq War veteran and Raleigh resident Jonathan Lubecky addressed the council and the restaurant owners.

“I patronize Amras, the Diner, Solas and all of these restaurants … but occasionally I want to go get a greasy piece of pizza out of a food truck,” Lubecky said. And in America, he argued, he should have every right to that choice.

“I find it abhorrent when people say ‘pass a law because we don’t like competition,’” Lubecky said. “That’s the antithesis of what this country was founded on, it’s not what I fought for, and it’s not what I want the city I live in to do.”

“There’s a simple solution to competition,” he added. “Build a better product.”

The city planning commission will consider the issue further and send it back to the council in the next four to six weeks for a final decision.

Sara Burrows is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.