Given that the city council voted to OK food trucks on public property at last night's meeting, will we get swamped with them? I would be not, at least not on the town square, whcih appeared the major point of concern when voting on the ordinance.
The town square just doesn't have the concentration of population needed to sustain a food truck, which by their very nature need heavy pedestrian traffic in order to stay in business. Consider the Strip, or S. Illinois depending on how well you know Carbonale. During the Strip's heyday in the 1990s, foot traffic at night could support up to 4 transient food stands within a two block stretch. Winston's Bagels held out for long after the others departed but eventually even he moved to a more lucrative location on East Grand.
Food trucks will do well if they can locate near Memorial Hospital, giving staff there a convenient option to on-premises dining, near the clinics on the west side of town, or close to campus, as students are always looking for another dining option. Any place else just doesn't have the concentration of population needed to support a food truck.
The town square just doesn't have the concentration of population needed to sustain a food truck, which by their very nature need heavy pedestrian traffic in order to stay in business. Consider the Strip, or S. Illinois depending on how well you know Carbonale. During the Strip's heyday in the 1990s, foot traffic at night could support up to 4 transient food stands within a two block stretch. Winston's Bagels held out for long after the others departed but eventually even he moved to a more lucrative location on East Grand.
Food trucks will do well if they can locate near Memorial Hospital, giving staff there a convenient option to on-premises dining, near the clinics on the west side of town, or close to campus, as students are always looking for another dining option. Any place else just doesn't have the concentration of population needed to support a food truck.
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