On a campus with 32,000+ enrolled students in the heart of downtown Atlanta, I am puzzled each day around 12 p.m. when the streets are alive and everyone is out to get a bite to eat. I’m puzzled because with all of the restaurants and assortment of eateries, the demand is still much higher than the supply. Downtown needs fast, unique, cheap food that doesn’t involve a complete restaurant overhaul. It’s time to bring food trucks to downtown Atlanta for lunch.
Street food and food trucks have been a growing trend across cities in America over the last few years. With huge variety, new twists on old classics, and reasonable prices, food trucks thrive in city environments with heavy foot traffic. One might be curious, then, as to why downtown Atlanta is devoid of any and all food trucks during peak lunch hours.
I looked into why and found out, not surprisingly, it is all due to laws and regulations that keep food trucks from being able to operate in the city. According to the Georgia Food Service website’s food truck FAQ, “restaurants and food trucks must have a physical location where the food is cooked so that proper health inspections can be performed.” This means that these food trucks must cook out of a “home base” restaurant, so raising funds becomes more difficult when you need not only a fully functioning kitchen on wheels, but a stationary brick and mortar location as well.
To further add to the headache, Atlanta city laws prohibit food trucks from setting up anywhere they want. To combat this, food truck vendors have made some progress by being able to set up at Underground Atlanta on Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. This is nice and all, but why can’t they do this Monday through Friday?
Better yet, why can’t the entire downtown area be open to allowing food trucks to set up? Just imagine Broad Street being lined with five to six food trucks each afternoon. It’s not like the road is ever busy with motor vehicle traffic, anyways. This would help the area in numerous ways. Not only would it provide hungry students and office workers more variety, but it would decrease the time it takes to get lunch, as well. If you need proof that Broad Street needs more eating options, just look through the window of every restaurant at noon. Lines are often out the door and waiting could take up most––if not all––of people’s lunch breaks.
Beyond the benefit to the consumer, the city as a whole would benefit from these food trucks. Fees and licenses related to operating the trucks could go directly to the city and there could be a “pay to park” plan for the trucks to essentially pay rent for the hour or two they are parked. The demand is extremely high for more quick, cheap food options in Atlanta, and food trucks are the best option.
It is a shame that food trucks in Atlanta are currently pigeonholed into certain areas of the city on certain days. Just take the Howell Mill food truck park located right off of I-75. It’s a great idea to keep the food trucks together in one area, but what’s the point if you have to drive all the way there and find parking? If the city could have a food truck park somewhere in the heart of downtown, everyone in the city would rejoice and come in droves to grab lunch there.
Unfortunately, this ideal food truck park may not become a reality for a few years. Although food trucks are rising in popularity around the country, local city governments are slow to adapt their laws to allow these businesses to thrive in a fast-paced and unique business environment. When the laws change or become more lax, food trucks will be sure to take full advantage of the opportunity. Food trucks are the new frontier of city restaurant business and there is a lot of money to be made. The issue is the fact that the city laws are holding the businesses back from making it!
We just need to make sure these food trucks don’t get too comfortable where they are. Bring food trucks to downtown by supporting the current Atlanta food truck movement taking place each and every day at their numerous locations from Atlantic Station to Underground to Howell Mill. When you vote with your wallet for food trucks over the lackluster spots around campus, the movement will grow until there is finally more options for the ever-hungry consumer.
