Food Trucks

Park District Offers Sanctuary To Food Trucks

One of the chosen ones.
One of the chosen ones.

One of the many weird things about food trucks in Chicago is that they’ve been operating all along… on Chicago Park District land. Go to Humboldt Park and you’ll find Mexican and Puerto Rican businesses operating out of vans, serving hot food. The Park District has its own rules and, apparently, a decidedly different attitude about food being fixed on and sold from trucks. Now the Park District is aiming to help some of the trucks hoping to sell downtown and elsewhere by granting them permission to park in and sell from the parks.

So far Bridgeport Pasty, Connie’s Pizza, e.leaven, Starfruit and Wagyu Wagon have all been granted permission to park and serve in six locations within Grant Park, Pritzker Park, Lincoln Park and near the Buckingham Fountain. Is this a shot fired from one city department to another? Hard to say, but it does suggest that the Park District, which has more experience with food trucks than the rest of the city put together (except maybe the parking ticket branch of the police force), does not think that a few food trucks are the menace to the survival of brick and mortar restaurants that is claimed. [DNA Info]

Park District Offers Sanctuary To Food Trucks