Food Trucks

[chuck johnson]

"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.

[MikeOKC]

Is this to preempt the outrage?

[chuck johnson]

yes.

The rules food trucks are being asked to abide by are usually not that stringent, especially by the standard set tonight. I've eaten mystery meat hotdogs and shots of absinthe from food trucks in Eastern Europe so I'm not scared but again, as this grows, boundaries need to be made and understood. Just chill out and eat.

If you want to blame someone, blame the organizers and vendors. They aren't being held to a standard any different than those at the state fair.

[blangtang]

JTs tacos was so smart not to show up to this kind of brand killing endeavor. especially with their recent positive bumpage in the DoK. oops for the big truck! the recently proposed change in alcohol laws by the chamber may have something to do with the crackdown, i can't figure out who is on whos side with this.

[chuck johnson]

JTs tacos was so smart not to show up to this kind of brand killing endeavor. especially with their recent positive bumpage in the DoK. oops for the big truck! the recently proposed change in alcohol laws by the chamber may have something to do with the crackdown, i can't figure out who is on whos side with this.

I have I had to guess it was the brick and mortars citing unfair competition and perhaps rightfully so. In San Francsico there's "Off the Grid". A group of truck moves around the city in mostly under served areas throughout the week. They get a one day site license and have bands, florists, manicurists and a liquor license in addition to the food like a traveling show. This way they don't impinge on local business but still create momentum for their own business.

Again, I love what they are trying to do but they need to see what's succeeded and failed elsewhere going forward.

[BBatesokc]

JTs tacos was so smart not to show up to this kind of brand killing endeavor. especially with their recent positive bumpage in the DoK. oops for the big truck! the recently proposed change in alcohol laws by the chamber may have something to do with the crackdown, i can't figure out who is on whos side with this.

JT's didn't decide not to show up for the goofy reason you stated. They were invited, supported the idea and would have loved to have showed up. They decided not to because Marc decided (rightfully so) that it was too big a hassle to transport his trailer for a one night event and then back and have to level it again. He doesn't appear to have any desire to be a 'mobile' food truck. I've spoke with him many times and he seems to very much support food trucks and events with them.

This whole mess actually shows why something we have spoke about a couple of times is necessary - a food truck vendor association so they can police and support each other to promote the industry and have a line of communication with the city and state authorities.

[Thunder]

"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."

I expect these agents to be slapped with class-action lawsuits and lose their jobs.

[kevinpate]

I expect these agents to be slapped with class-action lawsuits and lose their jobs.

That might happen ... right after the pigs fly, the goats moo, and the cows don't come home because they overshot the moon on that last jump.

[bluedogok]

Sometimes "actions" like this are also driven by competitors, usually the "brick and mortar" stores who feel the trucks/trailers are unfair competition. That is what has driven much of the scrutiny here in Austin. One other was a food truck vendor who had a fleet of trucks that served construction sites and the like, not the type of trucks/trailers that have made Austin an interesting place for these type of places and our "trailer court" restaurants. He pushed the City of Austin to enact some new ordinances governing trucks/trailers, once implemented he ended up getting nailed by the city for violating some of the ordinances that he lobbied for.

[metro]

Chuck are you a food inspector or do you work for ABLE?

[Thunder]

Chuck are you a food inspector or do you work for ABLE?

BINGO! It explains how he randomly came on trying to explain himself and their action. Notice how panicky he was to make it so that a new thread is to be created rather than the already in discussion thread. Whatever comes out of Chuck, I don't buy it.

[betts]

I think it's the "more than two dozen" part of the story that demonstrates this was more than a simple attempt to determine that regulations were being followed. Are they afraid of a new concept or was this a case of bullying?

[chuck johnson]

Chuck are you a food inspector or do you work for ABLE?

BINGO! It explains how he randomly came on trying to explain himself and their action. Notice how panicky he was to make it so that a new thread is to be created rather than the already in discussion thread. Whatever comes out of Chuck, I don't buy it.

No. I lived in San Francisco for over 8 years. A city with about 4,000 restaurants in an area 1/4th the size of Norman with less than 5% of them being chain restaurants. Imagine Norman with a couple hundred Sushi restaurants AND a couple hundred Italian restaurants AND add a couple more thousand of everything else. The food truck phenomenon dwarfs what is going on in Austin much less OKC: Curry Up, Chairman Bao, Tamale Lady, Creme Brulee Cart, guys selling bacon wrapped hotdogs out of conversion vans. As someone who witnessed this wonderful progression first hand in SF and LA, I'm very aware of all the fits and starts that came along. What happened last night has happened everywhere else. Google any of this and you'll see some of the issues that are going to arise. Food trucks have always been relegated to random parking lots and in relatively insignificant numbers. As those numbers increase and begin to encroach on other eateries, issues will need to be confronted.

I recently relocated to OKC where I grew up. I joined this forum to get a feel for what the food scene has become since I've been gone and to find some of the more exotic things that I miss from my days in SF. I am very happy to see that residents of OKC are more adventurous towards food than they were when I left and have developed much more sophisticated palettes. My family was one of the first Vietnamese families in OKC and I remember when it was strange to see a non-Asian at a Pho restaurant or at Cao Nguyen.

Being Asian, I love the weird and exotic cuisines. I completely embrace the food trucks and only hope they learn from the experiences of others. This is very exciting for OKC and if it develops as it has in other cities, things are about to get really interesting. We need a Filipino food truck and a Ramen truck. In Portland, a local brewery has a bus with beer taps on the side for customers to fill their growlers.

If you doubt my sincerity or motives, let's meet for lunch or dinner. I need someone to go eat hot pot with me and they only offer it to groups of two or more.

I was also somewhat intoxicated when I posted the thread. I should have posted it under any existing thread.

[Thunder]

If you doubt my sincerity or motives, let's meet for lunch or dinner. I need someone to go eat hot pot with me and they only offer it to groups of two or more.

Sounds like a date. :-)

[White Peacock]

We need a Filipino food truck and a Ramen truck

What we really need is a good bento place so I can get a regular fix of yakisoba.

[MustangGT]

I expect these agents to be slapped with class-action lawsuits and lose their jobs.

Don't hold your breath here, because it won't happen. What the did was legal and proper. If you ever want to get revenge upon a business a good way is to sic the Health Dept on them.

[MustangGT]

This whole mess actually shows why something we have spoke about a couple of times is necessary - a food truck vendor association so they can police and support each other to promote the industry and have a line of communication with the city and state authorities.

Agreed. Safety in numbers. United they stand singular/divided they will fall.

[Larry OKC]

Don't hold your breath here, because it won't happen. What the did was legal and proper. If you ever want to get revenge upon a business a good way is to sic the Health Dept on them.

my experience with the OKC Health Dept has been that they can do very dang little. They have to catch in the the act (not based on what someone says they observed). they can only make "recommendations" to the business. They can't cite or fine them. Can't shut them down. At least that is what I was told a few years back when I reported unsafe food handling procedures at a local Arby's. I had worked in the fast food industry for 15 years and the places i worked for (Wendy's, McDonald's & Hardee's had very stringent corporate policies).

A few years ago there was this pizza place on south side (I-35 & 44th?) in front of a hotel. The Oklahoman had a campaign to get this place shut down (full page articles detailing its problems). Cited many times for health violations. Failed heath inspections etc, yet it remained open for years. They finally closed and razed the building (a grassy plot currently).

While the place was a dive and I wouldn't have been surprised at all to have found the things reported, their food was always tasty and I never encountered any problems (never got sick etc).

[bornhere]

They can and do shut down restaurants that fail inspections. In years past, some very popular OKC restaurants have been closed until they complied with health and safety codes.

[Larry OKC]

Maybe things have changed. This was a few years back. The only shut-downs I have seen have been more along the lines of back taxes (Leo's BBQ, the Mex place on Meridian just south of 23rd (originally a Taco Bueno). Safety shut downs I have seen too, Fire Martial or building code etc. But I can't think of a single one because of the "Health Dept" (here in OKC).

[bluedogok]

Maybe things have changed. This was a few years back. The only shut-downs I have seen have been more along the lines of back taxes (Leo's BBQ, the Mex place on Meridian just south of 23rd (originally a Taco Bueno). Safety shut downs I have seen too, Fire Martial or building code etc. But I can't think of a single one because of the "Health Dept" (here in OKC).

I remember news reports of some in the past but most got the problems sorted out rather quickly and reopened. Most of the time it was on a regular inspection and not a complaint based inspection. I don't think they have enough agents to do inspections based solely on complaints.

[bornhere]

The most famous or infamous example was a Mexican franchise shut down after inspectors found traces of human waste in the food.

I don't remember which one it was, but they shut down a local BBQ after finding racks of ribs stacked on newspaper on the kitchen floor.

And the original Split-T was shut down for health violations. More than once, I think.

[MustangGT]

They can and do shut down restaurants that fail inspections. In years past, some very popular OKC restaurants have been closed until they complied with health and safety codes.

Precisely. Records of inspections and actions are available on their website. It is really funny that some of the highest end eateries, based upon price tend to have VERY BAD inspection reports. Interestingly most inspectors carry bottles of bleach in ther vehicles. That way when they throw the food out and pour bleach over it it cannot be brought back inside and served. I have witnessed this action first hand and it is supremely GROSS.

[ctchandler]

Pancho's was shut down back in the 80's.
C. T.

The most famous or infamous example was a Mexican franchise shut down after inspectors found traces of human waste in the food.

I don't remember which one it was, but they shut down a local BBQ after finding racks of ribs stacked on newspaper on the kitchen floor.

And the original Split-T was shut down for health violations. More than once, I think.

[Larry OKC]

C.T. was that here in the City? Know Panchos used to be here long ago and came back (like IHOP) but I don't recall them being here when I moved back in 85.