Food Trucks Face Regulatory Speed Bumps

Portland, a longtime mobile eats conscientious objector, has finally joined the "food truck revolution," but there are still plenty of regulatory issues that could make it difficult for trucks to succeed in the city, writes Meredith Goad in her Soup to Nuts column in the Press Herald.

First, food trucks have a slew of city fees to deal with: license fee, inspection fee, building permit, occupancy permit, and night vending permit. Second, a rule that says trucks must park 65 feet from one another effectively outlaws clustering at events—a hallmark of food truck culture in other cities.

Jim Chamoff, who owns Gusto's Italian Food Truck, tells Goad that the city has also been draconian in its enforcement of parking laws on downtown streets: "I've literally gotten tickets while on the truck serving food. The bottom line, quite frankly, if they want food trucks in Portland, they're going to have to change the laws or it's not going to fly in Portland. Not the way it's written now."

Despite the regulatory hurdles, Portland is poised for a food truck boom this summer. Here's a list of nine trucks that are either already in operation or are set to launch in the coming months.
— Tom Minervino
· Soup to Nuts: Truckin' [PPH]
· All Coverage of Food Trucks [~EMAINE~]
[Gusto's Italian Food Truck via Facebook]