"More than two dozen ABLE Commission and Oklahoma City-County Health Department agents descended on a MidTown coffee shop Friday night, shutting down what was to be an inaugural nighttime food market."

Before everyone blows their gasket, hear me out. I lived in San Francisco (gasp) for eight years up until the past year. It was and is one of the pioneers of the food truck/street phenomenon. What happened tonight happened in SF years ago and still does. For the most part, legitimately so. Google food trucks and you'll see what happened has already happened elsewhere in place like LA, Portland, and Austin.

Mobile food trucks are no different than brick and mortar restaurants in their goals. B&M have to follow certain guidelines regarding food safety, taxes, regulations, etc. Mobile food should not be exempt from these standards either.

Some rules may seem draconian but If there were a hepatitis or e. coli outbreak, you want to have a traceable origin. Food trucks need to have hot water for sanitation. If a B&M is paying payroll taxes and fees, it's not fair for them to compete against someone who may not. You want to make sure food trucks are abiding by the same standard that B&M are held to , BUT you don't want to hinder entrepreneurship.

In many places, food trucks are relegated to "food deserts" or under served areas.

I think the market is a fantastic idea and has been accomplished with great success in other cities. However, since it's been done the organizers and participants should have been better prepared and informed. A simple call to inspection would have prevented all of this.

"taco" trucks have been around for a while,, but as they become more "en vogue", you should expect more of this. Just be pro-active and engage your citizens, govt., and business owners. Easy Peasy Japanesey.