GREAT FOR LUNCH! OPEN FOR DINE IN, TO-GO & DELIVERY! 7 Days a Week • Catering & Delivery Casual Dining • Excellent Service INDIAN BEER & WINE GRILLED KABOBS FINE CURRIES WRAPS VEGETARIAN DISHES 2 LOCATIONS: 6770 Winning Drive #910 • Frisco • TX (469) 980-7005 VDB Photos West said the director of code compli- ance services, Carl Simpson, was shooting for May for the ordinance to come up for a full council vote. “I asked him to do his very best to bring it to Council by the last meeting in April, 4/27/22. Fingers crossed that we can meet that deadline,” West wrote in an email. A separate pilot program for mobile food operators is exploring new vending zones, the public spaces where food trucks can park without having to pay a fee or share revenue with another entity or landowner. This 60-day Mobile Food Vending Zone Pi- lot Program so far has two proposed spots to begin operating early this summer: Kiest Park in Oak Cliff and City Hall Plaza at 1500 Marilla St. “Right now, any mobile food vendor has to be tied to a special event permit, be in- vited by a private property owner or work with an entity that has a special agreement with the city, such as Klyde Warren Park. In a lot of cases, there are fees associated with participating in this way, where the entity will take a portion of sales,” Night- engale said. She hopes this pilot effort will allow opera- tors to vend in areas that aren’t the typical spots and eventually expand to more neigh- borhoods. It will allow the city to monitor sani- tation, traffic, hand-washing and restroom use as well as what effects the food parks have on nearby restaurants. They would then use that information to determine more public spaces for all types of mobile food vendors. A robust food truck program goes further than just allowing Dallasites to have more kinds of food to eat. It’s a driver for entre- preneurship and small businesses. A long- term study from Ginette Wessel, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley, found that mobile food units cost $55,000 to $75,000. Accord- ing to the accounting and tech company Sage, the average cost of starting a new res- taurant is $275,000. Mobility allows opera- tors to test different neighborhoods and reach new customer bases that a static loca- tion can’t. “More specifically, rather than pulling la- bor away from places and economic activi- ties in need of growth, vendors jumpstart commerce through pedestrian activity and spill over effects,” Wessel wrote in her study. Austin’s food trucks thrive with fewer regulations, which Dallas may match. “Vendors also contribute to city and county public works, parks and recreation, local economic development, and public health budgets through business taxes and permit fees. Cities with affordable fees can encour- age easier entry into the market. Both cus- tomers and vendors spend locally, sustaining local commerce and investment.” “Ultimately, we hope that this is a move toward more access for both the vendors and the community,” Nightengale said. Any fears that expanding the number of food trucks will hurt existing restaurants are not supported by evidence, according to the Institute for Justice, which looked at 12 years of county-level census data. The oppo- site is true, the organization wrote in a re- port titled “Food Truck Truth.” “Even as food trucks took off following the Great Recession, the restaurant indus- try continued to grow,” the report stated. Authors Dick Carpenter and Kyle Sweet- land also found that the number of food trucks in one year has no effect on the num- ber of restaurants the next year and that food trucks may complement the restau- rant industry. The UC Berkeley report also supported the idea. “Despite the resistance from brick-and- mortar business owners, mobile food ven- dors contribute to the economic development of local settings in many ways,” Wessel wrote. “This research, as well as other studies, shows that rather than detracting business from an area, vendors are known to foster commerce in communities.” The final decision about whether these regulations are updated to revitalize the food truck business in Dallas rests with the City Council. By this summer, it’s possible that we’ll have a new class of mobile food vendors rolling through town. When Ramirez heard of the proposed changes, he was frustrated that it’s taken so long — “They need to get with the times” — and also hopeful that he might get access to Dallas’ large economy. “I’ve been tempted to get a second truck, so if they push through with it, I might do so,” he said. 4438 McKinney Ave #100 • DAllAs • TX (214) 521-3655 WWW.FRESHINDIANFOOD.COM stpetesdancingmarlin.com Deep Ellum • 2730 Commerce 214-698-1511 Come watch all the football action with us! THE LEGEND LIVES ON CHECK OUT OUR NEW KITCHEN DAILY BUFFET STADIUM BUFFET MON-FRI 11AM-2PM MONDAY-FRIDAY 4PM-10PM Sat 11aM-10pM • Sun 12pM-10pM 10250 Shady Trail • 214.358.5511 • babydolls.com THE LEGEND LIVES ON ® EAT AT PETE’S A DALLAS LANDMARK SiNCE 1994 ST. PETE’S DANCING MARLIN Bar & Grill WISE UP, DALLASOBSERVER.COM/FREE/CAROUSELCLUB A PAIR OF TICKETS ENTER TO WIN 19 dallasobserver.com CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER APRIL 7–13, 2022
