Downtown St. Paul restaurants say popular food trucks unfairly eat into their ...
Andreas Pizza owner Mario Gambino is fed up with food trucks. Last Tuesday, when a cupcake truck parked too long in front of his Lowertown restaurant, he ran outside and screamed at it to leave.
"They're only supposed to be here two hours," Gambino said. "But sometimes they stay four or five hours and no one comes to check. It's annoying."
For Gambino and other St. Paul restaurateurs, the food truck trend is getting to be too much of a good thing. They say the trucks take away business, hog precious meters, make too much noise and don't play by the rules.
"They park right in front of my door," Gambino said. "It's like they're toying with me. My business is down, and you've got someone selling food right in front of you, and they don't pay rent."
But much of St. Paul loves the trucks, and downtown has become a mecca for them. As of June, there were 125 licensed food trucks and carts in St. Paul. Half a dozen trucks caravan weekly on Cedar at Exchange on Mondays. Five line up on Kellogg at Wabasha on Wednesdays. And daily, a dozen or so descend on all parts of downtown to feed the workforce everything from gourmet fish and grass-fed beef sliders to hot dogs and tacos. Mears Park, Rice Park and the Capitol are common stops.
The trucks bring in revenue for the city. According to Angie Wiese of St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, an annual license fee is $244 for a food truck and $217 for a food cart. There's also a $92 charge to hood five meters for a day at the food truck court.
Food trucks can park wherever parking is allowed, as long as they pay the meter fee, said Jake Spano, St. Paul's marketing director.
But St. Paul police spokesman John Keating said it's unlawful to use meters beyond the established time limit, and vehicles are not allowed to come back to the same spot for another two hours.
"They can't just drive around the block and return to the same space," Keating said.
Bill Morrissey, papa bear of St.
Poppa John Pizza Delivery St Paul - News
Bill Morrissey, papa bear of St. Paul restaurateurs, thinks street food is a great option for the downtown masses, and the trucks lend vibrancy to the city. But he doesn't appreciate seeing them line up daily across the street from his St. Paul Grill
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