The Newly Created Food Truck Park on Munjoy Hill Opened This Morning. Ten Trucks Showed up Out of the Fourteen Now Permitted a Space.
Picnic Tables Set up for Food Truck Patrons at the Park.
Jim Keithley, of Channel 8, Working the Food Truck Park Beat today. “What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the (Surprised) Gander.” Right, Jim?
The long-awaited launch of the Food Truck Park, off Cutter Street on the east end of Portland. arrived this morning. But its arrival brought with it concerns for the future of the small businesses that have been forced off the Eastern Promenade to accommodate a handful of complaints from area residents – a fact according to a city employee.
Garrett Champlin, owner of the Eighty Eight Donut Truck said he arrived at 8:00 am this moring. “I was the first one here and I will be the first to leave this afternoon.” He said that at least initially his sales will be at a different rate. “We need to give it time to see how it works out.” he said.
Numerous food truck owners refused other than anyomously to this blogger: “The city is not one I want to fight with,” said one food truck owner. She went on to say: “These are rules created by bureaurcrats and not business owners. There are logistical issues the city doesn’t understand. We are an experiment. It will take about two weeks to get a better feel for business here.”
There are two regulations that food truck owners must comply with. The first is that trucks must occupy the Park at least five days a week. The second regulation is that none of the food trucks can be parked in this space between 10:00 pm – and 6:30 am. That second regulation will be a problem for Jordan Rubin, the owner of Mr.Tuna. He was accustomed to parking several vehicles on the Eastern Prom – a behavior that wasn’t popular with residents of the area. “We’ll keep an eye on this and see how it progresses,” Rubin said today.
One food truck owner called the city incompetent. “The city held a lottery and then called it off. Is that competency?” he asked. ‘Why didn’t city hall meet with food truck owners before all the decisions were made rather than after they were made?”
“The city could have done more to help us get this off the ground,” said one food truck employee. “Why didn’t they send out a press release announcing the establishment of this new Park? They send out press releases all the time about other things,” he asked. “Maybe the city just doesn’t want us to succeed here. There is nothing like some good PR.”
For more background information on interim City Manager West’s policy pivot, please visit post herein dated June 2, 2022.