Re: “Portland seeks feedback on food truck program” (Sept. 20, Page B1):
On June 15, Portland’s food trucks relocated from the Eastern Promenade roadway to Cutter Street, within the park. For the record, this is still on the Prom.
Simultaneously, city officials were requested to bring all stakeholders to the table – food trucks, playground and trail users, athletic field users and boaters – to discuss criteria for measuring success and evaluating this process going forward. Request denied. City officials preferred to “see what happens at the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Tuna relentlessly badgers and protests, not recognizing the Eastern Promenade became a windfall food destination because of the pandemic shutdown of indoor dining, making food trucks and designated streetscapes the only dining option. Of course their business boomed.
What vendors must now accept is that dining indoors is back to normal. Food trucks are no longer the only game in town. The city eliminated street closures and pop-up restaurant sites for this very reason, yet brick-and-mortar restaurateurs have not stormed City Hall, made erroneous videos or demanded that the City Council take responsibility for any income discrepancies. The city also graciously waived the $5,000 food truck fee this season. How about “Thank you, City of Portland!”?
Diane Davison
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
