Food trucks will be back at Town Centre Park this summer provided COVID-19 restrictions are eased in time.
Coquitlam council approved extending a pilot program launched last year to assess the viability of having vendors operate in the popular green space. While food trucks struggled to gain traction last summer, staff said they have made several tweaks — including set schedules for when vendors will operate — that could make the initiative more successful.
“Park visitors were enthusiastic about the availability of food services but were frustrated at the lack of predictability,” said a report to council. “Although vendors submitted projected schedules, most were in the park far less often than planned.”
Some vendors that told the city they were eager to participate at the beginning of the year did not show up at all or only appeared in the park once or twice, the report noted.
One of the revisions to the program approved Monday night would see permits cancelled for food trucks that failed to adhere to a set schedule. The city is also opening the door to allowing trucks to operate at other parks if there is an interest.
Vendors had some complaints about how the program was operated.
They told the city it was difficult to get consistent patronage, particularly since they were not permitted to operate during major events when the park was busiest. Four vendors said they would be interested in participating again, while seven others said it would only be feasible if changes were made to the program.
While council ultimately voted to extend the pilot for another year, not everyone at the table supported the plan.
Some councillors questioned what could be learned by extending the pilot during a summer when COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions are expected to continue.
Coun. Bonita Zarrillo said she was worried what the trucks would take away business from bricks-and-mortar restaurants already struggling from the economic fallout of the pandemic. The city should be focusing on helping those businesses, she added, noting that the pilot could restart in in 2021.
“It wasn’t successful as was hoped last year,” she said. “I think it is going to be even more difficult this year… I really want to make sure we are supporting our bricks-and-mortar businesses first.”
Others at the council table said the food trucks may be more successful this year given the restrictions placed on residents by the pandemic.
Coun. Teri Towner noted that restaurants are currently able to operate selling takeout only, which is essentially the food-truck model.
Isn’t this similar?” she said. “You place your order and you take it.”
Mayor Richard Stewart said that with so many major events expected to be cancelled due to the public health crisis, there will be less blackout days when vendors are not allowed to operate in Town Centre Park.
“Some of [the vendors] won’t have many other places to go,” he said. “They will potentially even show up on lousy days to try and make it work. They are more committed to see it through.”
The green space is also going to be busier, he added, which could be an opportune time for a vendor to get a foothold in the market, provided food trucks could ensure that people were adhering to proper physical distancing protocols.
“There’s an opportunity to try and make lemonade here,” he said.
