If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I love food trucks. I’ve happily checked out carts in Portland, OR and NYC, and am positively gleeful about the recent boom in food trucks here in Albuquerque. (Check out my giddy review of Supper Truck if you doubt me.)
Which is why I was dismayed earlier this week to hear that some within the Nob Hill business community are targeting food trucks. A group is trying to pass an ordinance that would prevent food trucks from parking in front of Albuquerque businesses, only allowing them to park in front of parking lots. This could put trucks out of business, which would be a shame not just for me but for Albuquerque’s dining and microbrew scenes in general. The synergy between food trucks and pubs like Tractor and Marble is a great boon to both.
If a battle is brewing between Albuquerque’s traditional restaurants and its food carts, we will not be alone. Chicago’s food trucks are suing the city over recently passed ordinances that require trucks to have GPS tracking devices and slap $2000 fines on those found to be parked within 200 feet of other food-serving business, including convenience stores; similar protectionist ordinances were struck down by El Paso courts in 2011.
For those who would like to support Albuquerque’s wonderful fleet of food trucks, a meeting is being held Monday November 19 at 6:00 at Build New Mexico, 122 Tulane Drive SE. I will be there! For continuing information on this issue, as well as regular updates from some of the city’s best food trucks, friend ABQ Food Trucks on Facebook.
If you can’t attend the meeting, you can email the Nob Hill Main Street board nobhillabqmainstreet@gmail.com, or contact the mayor at mayorberry@cabq.gov.
I hope to see you at the meeting!
Talk to me!