Another day, another food truck call to arms. This time it’s from the Chicago Reader’s Mike Sula, who centered his article around the Lockwood’s Phillip Foss and Chef Matt Maroni. The two had convinced separate alderman to pick up the cause to allow food trucks in the city, and then joined forces to help gain greater awareness. The heavily researched article touches on the main reason for conflict, but delves even deeper in exposing a half dozen other roadblocks hindering action.
The main reason there aren’t more food trucks in Chicago is that they must cook all their food in licensed kitchens. That means that nothing can actually be cooked in the trucks, severely limiting the kinds of food sold. But the article also explores the issues of sanitation, running water, excess trash, restrooms, zones of influence, and how to give out permits.
The article didn’t exactly claim that change was on the way, but that didn’t stop Phillip Foss from going on a giddy Twitter run last night, dropping the link for the article four times, hinting at what we hope turns out to be a Sky Full of Bacon food truck, pondering the need for bio fuel in the trucks, and managing to give what seemed like dozens of digital high fives to Mike Sula, “@MikeSula Journalism exemplied!!! It has been an honor!”
The assault, along with TOC’s Street Food Now, will hopefully get the wheels turning, as they say. No official action has been taken by the city. Still, we’re having a hard time getting past the concept of a roving truck with Mike Gerbert slinging bacon out to the masses.
The Food Truck Roadblock [Chicago Reader]
