People whose mouths began watering this spring, when they heard the word that street food is finally coming to downtown Minneapolis, may want to grab a granola bar to tide them over.
The first batch of applications for food-cart licenses share two problems. First, the food-service vehicles being proposed are heavier than city staff anticipated and could damage downtown sidewalks. And the prospect of setting up and taking down big vehicles at requested high-traffic sites is presenting unforeseen logistical challenges.
Some of the more recent applicants asked for smaller carts, says Ricardo Cervantes, the city's deputy director for licensing, and they'll probably be able to start serving food this summer.
City staff are looking for alternatives that will work for bigger vehicles, including finding second-choice sites. "We've got to be creative," Cervantes says. One idea: an apparatus lighter than a truck to move cart trailers into place.
Some food vendors may be able to operate out of private surface parking lots, where they could also have the option of using the property owner's power supply. (Food carts on public right-of-ways must be able to provide their own power.)
A rough winter of freeze-thaw cycles has loosened granite sidewalk pavers on the Nicollet Mall, a prime food-cart site, making them more susceptible to damage from heavy loads.
Tony Perella, general manager at
Hell's Kitchen, contacted by email on an overseas trip, says his restaurant's plans for a food cart (reportedly to be called Hell on Wheels) will probably be pushed back to 2011.
Sources: Ricardo Cervantes, City of Minneapolis; Tony Perella, Hell's Kitchen
Writer: Chris Steller