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Food trucks get no slack in Durango

City: Tough rules offer fairness to bricks-and-mortar competitors

Food trucks have blossomed as an industry in some big cities, but regulations in Durango have made it tough for entrepreneurs to find traction.

Unlike other cities, the trucks in Durango can’t operate on a public street or park, and they must find a private lot and request a six-month permit from the city to operate. When the six months is up, owners of truck-kitchens must leave for six months to allow the site to be vacant for half the year, Planning Manager Nicol Killian said.

It’s a model that attempts to balance concerns about food trucks undercutting restaurants and the entrepreneurial opportunity they offer, said Greg Hoch, the director of community development.

But local food truck owners say the system makes it tough to thrive.

The food truck model has boomed in other cities because it doesn’t require the same up-front investment as building.

“It’s allowing more creative young people to do these type of startups and not go under,” said Marcos Wisner, the owner of the The Box on Main Avenue.

But instead two food trucks locally, Mariana’s Authentic Cuisine and The Box, face an uncertain future because at the end of September both will reach the end of their six-month permits.

The two have some options for staying open, but neither has landed on the perfect solution.

For Marianah Hiddyat, the owner of the bright yellow truck on College Drive and Eighth Street, it’s a battle she has fought for three years with City Hall.

She has moved four times and closed one winter to meet city regulations. Each move has been tough because of the expense and lost customers, she said.

This time she has started a petition to bring to the city to allow her to stay in her current site. So far, she has gathered about 100 signatures.

“My business is not hurting anybody else,” she said.

Both businesses can apply to the city to stay on their private lots, but the owners would have to improve their sites extensively to qualify for a permanent permit.

Hiddyat would need to make about $10,000 in improvements to her site, she said.

Wisner faces a similar choice. He would take on major construction, including improving a sidewalk to stay open.

He would like to stay open and build his local notoriety, but he may at least temporarily close.

The two can also find new sites, but they can’t swap because it wouldn’t leave either site vacant, Killian said.

Another food truck in town, Home Slice Pizza, faced similar challenges in recent years, but Cory Kitch, the co-owner chose to build around his food truck to meet city regulations.

He urged the city during the Land Use and Development Code revisions to modernize their regulations for food truck, but it never rose to the top as a priority, he said.

“I think it’s something that’s never been revisited,” he said.

The city did make some tweaks in the code that covers food trucks, including commercial outdoor seating, Killian said. But the city didn’t loosen the rules concerning operating on public streets nor the six-month permit.

Limited parking on most of the streets zoned for commercial use, and trying to fit a food truck downtown are safety issues, Killian said.

Ensuring food-truck owners upgrade their sites if they plan to be there permanently is a fairness issue, she said.

“There are some businesses who put a lot of money to renovate and open a restaurant. ... They feel like we should be fair on how we treat food trucks,” she said.

For example, Michel’s Corner Crepes on Main Avenue made changes to his landscaping to be permanent.

However, food carts are not subject to the same rule. The carts can operate year round without making site improvements. But they can’t use the site 24/7, they have to follow restrictions on hours and days, Killian said.

Some see the regulations as blocking an opportunity for more restaurants to get started and raise the money for a building, Kitch said.

The owner and general manager of the Ore House, Ryan Lowe, agreed that more opportunities for food trucks could be a positive for the food industry, if handled well.

“I think fostering the restaurant community is incredibly important,” he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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