Portland finds room for more food trucks, allowing all applicants to stay on Eastern Prom
Courtesy / Mr. Tuna
Mr. Tuna mobile sushi truck.
In the end, all the food trucks will stay on the Eastern Promenade in Portland.
After owners and employees protested against a lottery that chose only some of their trucks for new, restricted vending spaces, city officials relented late Thursday. All 15 applicants, including two trucks that will share a spot on alternate days, will be allowed to operate in a parking lot off Cutter Street, about halfway up the promenade's embankment.
The pilot program will run from June 15 to Nov. 15, and the city is not charging a fee for trucks to operate in the lot during this initial season.
“As with any pilot program the city operates, it is a learning experience. The city is accountable to a wide variety of constituencies and it must take all of these factors into account when making operational decisions,” the city of Portland said in a statement.
City staff first presented concepts for the program last fall after receiving numerous complaints about food truck operations along the Eastern Promenade roadway. The complaints cited excessive trash, noise, traffic and pedestrian safety problems.
After selecting 10 winners in a random drawing this week, the losing food trucks balked. Interim City Manager Danielle West met with them on Wednesday to hear their concerns.
“I want to thank the food truck operators who were able to meet so quickly with me yesterday following the lottery so we could explore a solution,” West said.
“I appreciated hearing their thoughts and feedback regarding our plans for the food truck pilot program on the Eastern Promenade this season. I realize how important it is for them to know in advance where they can locate and operate. Given we are very close to the start of this pilot program, I wanted to make every effort to see if we could accommodate all of the food trucks that applied.”
After receiving the various truck dimensions from the operators, the city said it was able to reconfigure the space in order to accommodate all 14 spaces.
“We’re happy they’ve listened to the trucks and included everyone,” Jordan Rubin, owner and chef of Mr. Tuna, which had failed to win a lottery spot, told Mainebiz.
“There’s still a lot of details that we think still need to be worked out. I hope the city listens to our concerns. A lot of the food trucks still have concerns how the pilot program will be run."
Rubin had said he feared losing his 12 part-time and full-time employees, as well as missing out on $500,000 in revenue for the season if he failed to get a spot on the Eastern Promenade.
The 10 trucks initially selected for permits in the drawing were On A Roll, BOGS Bakery, Falafel Mafia, George’s North Shore, Gelato Fiasco, Vy Banh Mi, Tacos La Poblanita, Cargo Pizza Co., Twist and La Mega.
The remaining trucks, who now will be able to operate, include Mr. Tuna’s sushi truck, as well as Eighty 8 Donuts, Maine Maple Creemee, Cheese the Day and Ironclad Eats.
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