Chicago’s food truck industry appears to be struggling to keep pace with the burgeoning dining scene that the city is known for.
Despite some progress made since 2012, there remains a significant gap between the vibrancy of Chicago’s restaurants and its mobile food vendors.
Earlier in the year, a Reddit user sparked discussions over the city’s lack of food trucks, particularly when compared to the thriving food truck culture in cities like New York.
The consensus among many users pointed to the unique and stringent regulatory landscape in Chicago as a primary barrier to the growth of the food truck industry.
In 2012, an ordinance was passed which aimed to improve the food truck landscape by allowing mobile operations to cook on their trucks, a practice that was previously prohibited.
However, instead of leading to an explosion of food trucks, the number of licensed vendors has dwindled, falling from 127 in 2012 to just 82 today, as reported by the Office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Sam Barron, who co-owns The Fat Shallot food truck with his wife Sarah Weitz, reflects, “There was a sense of excitement to be building the food truck culture in Chicago from the ground up.
Sadly, the restrictions the city has imposed since the beginning did what they seemed to have been designed to do: halted the growth of a promising industry.”
The restrictive law has created numerous hurdles for food truck operators.
The ordinance mandates that trucks cannot park within 200 feet of any brick-and-mortar restaurant, even including well-known chains like Starbucks and 7-Eleven.
This positioning rule severely limits where food trucks can operate, complicating logistics further.
Moreover, the designated parking areas for food trucks are accessible to the general public, meaning food trucks often face competition from regular vehicles for prime spots.
The two-hour parking limit, which includes preparation and clean-up time, leaves trucks with very little opportunity to serve customers.
Food truck operators face steep fines for any violations, a reality that has forced many out of the industry.
Weitz shares, “There are very few of us that are still around from the beginning.”
Critics suggest that the original aim of the ordinance was to protect traditional restaurant owners rather than support mobile food vendors.
A pivotal figure in this discussion is Tom Tunney, a former 44th Ward Alderman, who led the charge for the ordinance.
His background as the owner of Ann Sather’s Restaurant and the former president of the Illinois Restaurant Association has raised questions about whether the law truly served the greater good of the food truck community.
Following this sentiment, Glenn Keefer, a restaurant owner and formerly of Keefer’s Restaurant, wrote a viral op-ed arguing that mobile restaurants evade the costs associated with traditional establishments, such as high real estate taxes and building permits.
Despite these challenges, some food truck advocates initially viewed the ordinance as a small victory, albeit a flawed one.
Matt Maroni, a former food truck owner and advocate for the law in 2012, expressed understanding of the ordinance’s shortcomings, stating, “This is a process and a long one…you can’t try to grab everything up front and be angry that all things weren’t passed right away.”
Over a decade later, food truck owners lament that the initial excitement has faded, with many asserting that the law has hampered the industry.
Rachel Angulo, co-owner of La Cocinita, a Latin American street food operation, but has diversified by focusing on private events and catering.
Angulo recalls the difficult experience they had trying to operate: “We’d send it out every day and hope for the best.
I’d get texts from our driver saying he tried multiple spots. It was pretty brutal.”
She described how her husband would wake up before dawn to secure parking spots in hopes of a successful lunch service.
Eventually, continued frustrations led them to reconsider their strategy.
Bublick, of Soul & Smoke, shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing that their food truck rarely operated on the street and focused mainly on private events.
“We’re never going to just pull our food truck up on the side of the street and start selling. That is almost impossible,” she remarked, highlighting the significant limitations they face.
Weitz and Barron have also shifted their business model, relying more on food halls than street locations.
Together, they operate two food trucks and have expanded to multiple food hall locations and even a full-service restaurant.
Yet even successful operators struggle with regulatory issues. Weitz noted that renewing licenses has become a more daunting task, with inefficiencies in the system on the rise.
She said, “The City of Chicago is less efficient than they have ever been. The city is going backwards.”
Other food truck owners echoed Weitz’s dissatisfaction, citing arbitrary changes required by inspectors and lengthy waits for approval processes.
Bublick added that the rules governing food trucks are often unclear, causing confusion even among inspectors.
As a glimmer of hope, City Hall has begun to make some adjustments to address the industry’s challenges, albeit slowly.
In January 2020, an ordinance was passed that doubled the allowed parking time for trucks from two to four hours, aiming to offer food trucks more time to operate.
In 2023, as part of efforts to revitalize downtown following the pandemic, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration waived fees for participating in events like the Chi Food Truck Fest.
Ivan Capifali, commissioner of BACP, indicated a desire to support food trucks as small businesses that contribute to the city’s economy.
However, many food truck operators remain skeptical.
They note that persistent regulations such as the 200-foot rule still inhibit growth despite the city’s efforts to promote its food truck scene.
Weitz summarizes her thoughts, “We need more support.
I started 12 years ago. Not many restaurants last 10 years. A food truck is a lot more viable than a restaurant for so many reasons.
It’s less expensive to get started, it’s less expensive to run. It should have a higher success rate than a restaurant for all of those reasons, and right now in Chicago, we don’t.”
With numerous obstacles still in play, the future of Chicago’s food truck scene remains uncertain, leaving many operators yearning for an environment where they can thrive.
image source from：https://chicago.eater.com/dining-out-in-chicago/24446090/chicagos-food-truck-laws-reform
