
Straw Men Will Damage Tulsa’s Food Truck Community
Mobile Cuisine Magazine has called Tulsa, OK the 14th “Best City in the Country” to start a food truck. The publication keeps tabs on the food truck scene all over the nation, and it’s evident that they’ve noticed in Tulsa not only great food, and great passion, but something that makes Tulsa’s food truck community unique: the idea that working with, and not against each other, is what will help it thrive.
Tulsa’s food truck ordinance as it exists today was created in November of 2011. Largely forgotten, and loosely enforced, the ordinance has come under fire due to changes that were proposed by City Staff and District 4 City Councilor Blake Ewing, in a May 15th Urban & Economic Development Committee meeting, in response to event organizers who were noticing food trucks “poaching” their events — parking just outside the barriers of an event, and selling food without contributing to event costs (which have to be paid by event organizers to the City of Tulsa for street closure, promotions, marketing and security).
It’s easy to arrive at the conclusion that since Councilor Ewing owns a handful of brick-and-mortar establishments downtown, that might see food trucks as a threat, and attempt to legislate a competitive advantage. It’s easy, and that’s why it’s the wrong conclusion to arrive at. In order to stop there, and create a narrative in which Blake is the government over-reaching, evil Mr. Moneybags, you’d have to dismiss that Blake is a long-time collaborator with food truck owners who are also fellow restaurateurs, and operate downtown. You’d have to ignore Blake’s role in representing the City Council on the Downtown Coordinating Council, a group which “provide(s) support and advice for planning and management of improvement, maintenance and marketing of downtown Tulsa.”
You’d have to forget that Blake served on the Entrepreneurship Committee, part of the City of Tulsa’s Economic Development Commission, and while serving in that role, helped to host an event during Global Entrepreneurship Week called, “Food Trucks: Under the Hood” in which several food truck owners came together to talk about the business of owning a truck, and the ways in which Tulsa could work to improve an already thriving food truck community. Projects that came from ideas in that meeting include a mobile app for food trucks, a better permitting process at City Hall, and the creation of better commissary kitchen facilities for food truck owners — all are being continually worked on by the food truck community, working closely with the city.
Most damaging to this public discussion, you’d have to reject the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in downtown Tulsa. Those who have lived, worked, and started businesses in Brady, Blue Dome, The Pearl, and other neighborhoods downtown understand at a deep level that a rising tide lifts all boats. The event organizers, the restaurant owners, and the trucks, have all worked very closely together for the past three years.
It’s this collaborative spirit that emerged from the Tulsa Food Truck Town Hall that took place at Legends, last week. Everyone expressed their concerns with current regulations, and the desire for fair competition with brick and mortars, as well as other food trucks. By the end of the meeting, Blake vowed to not put forth new ordinance changes unless, “food truck owners are happy.” Most truck owners themselves are calling for clear, simple, and understandable regulations, and have welcomed the open door to Tulsa’s Health, Legal, and law enforcement departments.
The enemy in this issue isn’t a malevolent City Councilor, the enemy is a straw man. The biggest threat to a thriving, food-truck-friendly Tulsa isn’t local government, it’s an “us vs. them” mentality. There is no, “them”; there’s a community of food truck entrepreneurs who are working together with City Hall to create a set of rules that is fair for everyone.
Originally published at tulsanow.org.
