D.C.'s food truck underworld
Despite their popularity, food trucks at the National Mall are paying a hefty price to operate.
reason.com/video/2023/10/04/d...
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Every year, over 25 million tourists flock to the iconic National Mall in Washington, D.C. Yet as they explore some of the nation's greatest museums and monuments, visitors often find themselves faced with limited dining options, which boil down to either pricey cafes at the Smithsonian museums or food trucks parked along the Mall.
The food trucks have, unsurprisingly, become a favorite among tourists. "The diversity is incredible. The food is so well cooked. You could see they really poured their hearts into it. The prices are extraordinary. You can't beat it," Jason, a visitor from Massachusetts who bought a gyro from a food truck nearby, tells Reason.
Yet to serve the hungry tourists at the Mall, D.C.'s food trucks have to pay a hefty price, since their operation is technically illegal. To serve their customers and make a living, food truck operators often have to park in illegal spots along the Mall, or stay parked in legal spots after their meters have expired. They are often fined up to $300 a day by the D.C. parking police.
Food truck operators also face fierce competition for coveted parking spots. Vendors like Maged Naeem, who runs Chicken Friendly just outside the National Museum of American History, resort to parking dummy cars overnight to keep their prized spots, ultimately leading to more parking tickets.
Meanwhile, the fines rack up. In 2022 alone, the city collected $467,000 in parking tickets along the Mall.
This wasn't a problem until the COVID-19 pandemic. Before lockdown restrictions and work-from-home policies, the food truck business was booming in other parts of the district, particularly with the lunch crowd.
"That wasn't only just good for the food truck owners, although it was great for them. It was good for the city as a whole. Right? Get more options for customers, tastier options, more awareness of different cultures and their cuisines, better choices for tourists. It was wonderful for everyone," explained attorney Justin Pearson, who directs the National Street Vending Initiative at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm.
The pandemic destroyed much of the food truck scene in the district. While trucks can still legally operate in other areas of D.C., foot traffic has dropped significantly, driving many food truck owners to close shop, Pearson added.
"The pandemic obviously closed all of the office buildings. That lunchtime business went away overnight virtually," Doug Povich, owner of the Red Hook Lobster Pound food truck, which went out of business in 2020, tells Reason. "Trucks then had to find other places to vend."
Now, the only spot in D.C. that continues to have reliable lunchtime foot traffic is the National Mall. The challenge for the food trucks, however, arises from the division of authority in the area: The roads where the food trucks park fall under the jurisdiction of the district, while the sidewalks where the transactions take place are overseen by the National Park Service. The D.C. government therefore lacks jurisdiction to create legal parking spots for the trucks along the sidewalk.
Neither the National Parks Service nor the district is willing to assume enforcement responsibilities, meaning the trucks technically remain illegally parked.
"There's inter-bureaucracy apathy, I guess. Nobody wants to be in charge of actually taking care of the trucks down there," Patrick Rathbone, owner of the Big Cheese Truck, tells Reason.
Until the district and the National Parks Service come to an agreement on operating permits, food truck operators will remain stuck in the middle, continuing to pay large fines as they serve the hungry lunch crowds at D.C.'s National Mall.
Produced by Justin Zuckerman; Audio Production by Ian Keyser; Editorial Support by Katarina Hall
Music: "Prelude Carmen" by Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra via Artlist; "Life's Journey Begins" by idokay via Artlist; "Thoughts" by ANBR via Artlist; "Cherubinos Aria Voi che sapete" by Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra via Artlist; "Little Things" by ANBR via Artlist
Пікірлер: 81
I love food trucks, the more they sell, the cheaper the prices because of the fierce competition that you just wouldnt see in stalls or diners. Now an apprentice like me can even afford a tasty snack like that from time to time. Great job food truck owners i appreciate your hard work.
Shows how much demand there is when the trucks are paying hundreds in fines per day but still able to keep their food affordable
I think food trucks are a great thing and I support them
@marcus27886
Ай бұрын
Me too these food trucks here in DC are cheaper then Manhattan and Brooklyn New York
Anyone notice all of the fire hydrants being blocked off?
All vendors must not comply with the city. If you are one, stop paying the fines, you are being ripped off.
If the local government is making a half million dollars a year on parking tickets and these food trucks are still managing to stay in business despite the tickets then I don't see this changing anytime soon. Also, why are the cafeteria food prices so high? The video says there is a lack of competition, but it also seems like the cafeteria has a ton of competition in the form of food trucks illegally parked just outside.
Customers are being ripped off at the cafes in the museums the same way movie goers are being ripped off by $6 popcorn at the movie theaters. Its part of what makes the operation work. The museum food vendor is giving the museum a 15-20% cut of sales (very common arrangement) . Food at any attraction is always more expensive.... amusement parks, airports, boardwalks
I love the example "dummy car"... that is parked directly in front of a fire hydrant. LOL. I guess it just goes to show, if the gov makes you a criminal you care a lot less about other laws you break.
When we visited DC recently, a guy in uniform sternly told my kids and me to stop waiting in line and told the food truck owner to leave after serving the final customer. A few blocks away a full street of food trucks operated without anyone telling them to leave. My children asked me why this happened and I didn’t know know why.
@Pvt_Vick
10 ай бұрын
Simple. Some food truck owners who refused to be ripped off by the government by paying fines get removed, while the ones that pay the fines, remain. It's like taxes, if you pay them nobody comes looking for you, but if you don't oh boy.
@princessmarlena1359
10 ай бұрын
Uniform? Probably some pissant security guard who thinks they are a real cop. If it was a real cop, then he’s just a badge heavy bozo compensating for something small.
@Elbereth42
8 ай бұрын
WON"T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?
I love the food trucks, but the cafeterias are NOT a rip off, they provide things the trucks do not provide: bathrooms, heat or air conditioning, hand washing sinks, shelter from rain, snow and sleet, comfortable [okay, more comfortable] seating, proximity to the museum so one can take a break, but be near the exhibits once rested, etc. We can have both.
@1krani
10 ай бұрын
Pretty sure the only extra charge is based on the convenience of being in the museum. I've seen cafes like that one, and they're always overpriced compared to walk-in cafes and delis.
@crissd8283
10 ай бұрын
I don't think this video is calling for outlawing the cafeterias. They are welcome to exist and compete in an open market. Go capitalism.
@ghost307
10 ай бұрын
When I worked at Navy Pier in Chicago one of the requirements for getting a vendor license was to give a 50% discount to anyone with a City ID. Depending on how much money you plan on losing to the city employees, you have to set your prices accordingly. If they didn't have to sell those meals at half-price, the prices for everybody else would be much lower.
@1krani
10 ай бұрын
@@ghost307 Someone should sue over 14th Amendment violations. Specifically preferential treatment by the law is unconstitutional, yes?
@ghost307
10 ай бұрын
@@1krani Happens all the time. The millionaire tax comes to mind.
$10 Boba teas in a SMALL cup is highway fkn robbery!!!
There's a food truck lottery for the spaces. The government makes money off the spaces.
@Pvt_Vick
10 ай бұрын
The government STEALS money off the vendors. The nature of government is violent.
They should do monthly lottery for the spaces, and then let them reserve parking spots for a month at a time.
Is the food really good and where do they use the bathroom??? Do they poop right next to your food?
@glennwatson3313
10 ай бұрын
Its not that good and not clean.
@WeWokeTheGiants
4 ай бұрын
I have a food truck where I live and I rent a space from the city next to the courthouse for either $50 or 10% of my sales every month. I use the restroom in the courthouse, because I have a singed agreement with them to use their bathrooms and their kitchen for commissary use.
People are not "Screaming" for more food options. Stop exaggerating.
Who is complaining???? Who has ever once complained in all the history of food trucks??? The answer is nobody has ever complained, that leaves one reason for the tickets! It is a new way of TAX. This new Tax is then passed on to the consumer
It should be on record that this is anecdotally one of the worst price to food quality/quantity that you can get in America. $12 for a falafel pita that someone else could sell for 8
Not all food truck vendors are good. Watch out for the ones that don't post prices. Just a few months ago, I was charged $15 for soft serve on a waffle cone and $20 for a bubble tea. This was after I had ordered. Make sure you ask the price BEFORE you order.
Is this NPR?
did bro just play the fnaf song?
Obviously, the politicians aren't getting their kickbacks from the food trucks.
Gov doesn't want completion
Lots of awkward pauses in this video?
I think some kind of Uber eats service will work very well with food trucks. They are already on wheels, why not deliver to the WFH crowd.
Yeah, great food, chicken fingers and ice-cream.
Let the people eat!
You know they make these buildings where you can go make food and sell it to people. Or... face the "challenge" that parking spaces on streets are for people going places and parking their cars to go to one of those crazy buildings where you can sell things. Crazy I know.
@holycrapchris
10 ай бұрын
Yeah, but the customers aren't walking down the side streets to permanent establishments, are they? The customers provide the demand, and the food trucks are fulfilling the needs of the market.
@innernouter
10 ай бұрын
Thats some funny stuff. I like food trucks as much as the next guy but was thinking the same thing. Reasons answer to everything, even restaurant owners who are licensed and have much higher overhead getting screwed, is " Oh Well.. the market will take care of it"
@richardshipe4576
10 ай бұрын
@@holycrapchrisyou're the only commenter applying basic economics in your responses to these room temp IQ people
I just visited Washington DC for the first time and these garbage food truck are simply disgusting! And I am not even talking about the amount of harmful fumes they make when they are all in line with the engines on! They're so stinky! The city officials should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this.
It's illegal because it's supposed to be a street. But now buses can't drop visitors off in front of the museum. If it was meant to be a food court with permanent stalls, it wouldn't be trucks driving away every night for no reason and being replaced by cars "keeping their place". This is an inefficient, broken, wasteful system. I'm all in favor of inexpensive food vendors. Open a food court for them. They won't need an expensive kitchen truck. They could operate or rent carts and stalls. The street in front of the museum is meant to be a street, not a place for anyone to keep their vehicles parked 24/7. Raise the fines and put them out of business. But at the same time, create areas for these vendors by the museum. They won't need to burn gasoline and propane, they can have permanent storefronts and stalls with electricity. Does anyone really think putting all our small takeout restaurants into trucks is efficient or economical? It's a kludge, a loophole being exploited at public expense because rents are high and the city won't make enough space available for street vendors to operate. So now we have vehicular restaurants that just take up parking space on city streets. Like restaurant boats clogging up canals. It makes no sense. It's not an efficient use of space. These food trucks are effectively immobile, returning to the same spot every day. These businesses should have permanent spots on land. Some cities are even more stupid and inefficient about trucks. In New York City, these food truck vendors have to have someone sleep in the parking spot overnight in order to keep it. So vendors will sleep there, or hire someone to do it, for years. It's a stupid, broken system. Don't try to keep it, push for something better instead. A food court with permanent, assigned spots could offer lower prices to consumers and much better quality of life for vendors.
@LynyrdSkynyrd.4Ever
10 ай бұрын
They need a plain old parking lot that the food trucks can use
@holycrapchris
10 ай бұрын
Buses drop people off in front of the museums. The food trucks are parked in parking spaces on the _opposite_ side of the street. You can see the pay-to-park signs at 1:04
@ghost307
10 ай бұрын
It's surprising that other cities have these problems, but they all seem to go away as soon as the food truck start paying money to transact business.
Food trucks rip off too. $30 for two smoothies.....and no prices on trucks. Screw them.
Looks like most of those tickets were given out on assumptions. There’s a local business here that builds out custom food trucks. I always see a really flashy one they have with “Custom Food Trucks” graphics that seems to be like a rolling billboard for them. It doesn’t actually serve food. I wonder if they’d be down to let me take it to DC just to see how many tickets I can get when I’m not even serving food, then I can flip the script by proving that I did not sell food and had no intention to. Not looking for a pay day. Just want to scare them away from over-regulation.
Parks mini van in front of the fire hydrant..overnight! That's risky!
I STILL think about that video you guys did with Drew Carey when ReasonTV started, about Los Angeles street vendors.
The people must eat!!!
Both the food trucks and Smithsonian food offerings should exist. I worry about my health/weight so the food trucks diet is not for me. Also, accessibility is an issue for drop-offs. Space should be provided. Those roads and sidewalks are paid for by tax payers (all tax payers). I love the entrepreneurial spirit of the food truck owners/workers. And I love the shared historical/scientific showcase that is the Smithsonian. All valid.
Those fines are revenue for the city, a way to tax a minority indirectly, without being held accountable by voters if they do direct taxation.
@nobodynoone2500
10 ай бұрын
If that is the case, (it is emphatically not), maybe those "minorities" should stop breaking the law. Not being held accountable is a whole different issue, and the real one, but you are literally arguing in your comment for "minorities" not to be held accountable. Maybe chill with the racism.
@jmcoelho7
10 ай бұрын
@@nobodynoone2500 maybe you should start by asking what I meant by "minority", cause I'm using it in the mathematical sense, a small number.
Where in hell do they find these goons that want the job of harassing these small business people?
@ghost307
10 ай бұрын
Power-mad people are easy to find. Just look at the TSA.
Give me food trucks, or give me death!
Food trucks should be allowed!❤
Leave the trucks alone!
I'd definitely buy from a lunch truck. Not the Smithsonian! God bless the Institute for Justice ❤❤❤
@Elbereth42
8 ай бұрын
There is no God.
The Smithsonian is beyond the government's proper mandate.
Editing on this piece needs to be tighter. It’s only 5m long, but so much dead space and takes over a minute to get to the point.
The word “Affordable” doesn’t exist anymore
Can't believe trucks are still illegal in DC. Saw it in the 80's and 90's and am saddened that my industry brothers and sister are still fighting these cretins.
Any argument as to why this is illegal (safety, anesthetics, parking availability, etc.) is moot since they're doing it anyway. Tourists obviously love it. I used to work at the Library of Congress and really didn't care for their pricy high school cafeteria style food.
A lot of the food trucks now are super scamy profiting off of false advertisement like things like boba tea where they will charge ridiculous amounts for something that is not what is being advertised
The people love it. PROHIBIT IT NOW!
Five nights at freddy's
@Lucas.Blevins
10 ай бұрын
I was thinking the same thing