Will food trucks be the only option for street vending?
After the city forced Hector and Leslie Santiago’s Burro-Pollo burrito street food stand indoors, the culinary duo’s been scheming ways to get back on the streets.
The Santiago’s own and operate Poncey-Highland’s Pura Vida and run Burro-Pollo out of their newest Latino sandwich venture, Super Pan, off N. Highland Avenue.
On a trip to the restaurant Sunday, What Now Atlanta found a sign posted on the door announcing the burrito joint would be closed on Sundays, now through Mother’s Day.
Leslie Santiago, who runs the burrito stand, told What Now Atlanta in an email Monday they can’t afford to be open Sundays, now through May 8.
With the Dogwood and Sweetwater festivals this past weekend and Mother’s day around the corner, Santiago said operating those days doesn’t make “financial sense.”
“The county moving us indoors has cut down on our business quite a bit,” Santiago said. “We’d love to be back out in the street selling the burritos.”
Santiago is waiting to see what legislation City Council ends up passing, she said, which will determine what can be done outdoors.
“We may need to invest in a truck to get back outside,” Santiago said.
The current legislation keeps food vendors from operating for more than one half hour per day, in two different locations, for a total of one hour a day, according to Santiago.
“There’s no way to make enough money in one hour a day. We’re hoping they extend it to at least four hours a day, to make it feasible.”
3 Responses
This site provides a funny take on food trucks…
http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/04/food_truck_rage_look_at_this_fuckin_hipster_food_truck.php
Next big thing for Atlanta: Burger + Truck = Burger Truck. Atlanta will be the #1 state for obesity again. You can do it!
Mark this- Atlanta will do what it has always, everytime done, to anything it touches, Ghetto-ize it. The trucks work fine in other cities, but here what you will see are thingds like the “Sock Truck” I’ve seen. Compliance to sanitary practices will be unenforcable here.