Last year several downtown restaurant owners spoke to city council members regarding our thoughts on food trucks being allowed on public property. We were asked as a group of downtown businesses to work together and come up with a plan to submit to the council for consideration.
As a collective group, we had no problem at all with food trucks being allowed on private property anywhere they were invited (local businesses, Franklin Arts Center, etc). We even went one step further and recommended that food trucks be allowed in all city parks (with and without organized sporting activities), whatever the function may be.
While allowing food trucks to operate within the city of Brainerd and allowing for this additional competition for the brick and mortar businesses, don't you think the city should follow their own edict and allow them at our city parks? There were council members who did recognize the double standard the city was laying out. We all stand behind the food products and services we offer our customers. We also realize the mobile food truck business could add an additional layer of competition to traditional brick and mortar businesses that otherwise wouldn't exist, and yet we recommended to the city our willingness to permit food trucks in the Brainerd community and to allow food trucks to operate at public parks.
The standard the city is setting by not allowing food trucks to operate at city parks because it might adversely affect Park Department revenues through smaller concession sales is now in question. Many council members believe competition is good for traditional brick and mortar restaurants; then the same theory should apply to public park concessions ... both are in business to generate a profit. Is the city afraid of the competition? We aren't!
Toni Kaminski Czeczok
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Owner
Mickey's Pizza & Subs
Brainerd
