Business Matters

Fort Smith planning panel reviewing tight rein city has on food trucks

Every June, Hari Paizis packs his gyro trailer in Fort Smith and heads out to hit the festival circuit.

Leaving town means Paizis isn't bound to follow a provision in the town's mobile vendor ordinance that would require him to wait 90 days for a new permit. That new 120-day permit would only allow Paizis to set up shop 500 feet away from his previous location.

Paizis doesn't leave Fort Smith because of the rule. Business is good at the music festivals and fairs he's been serving for the past 28 years, so it makes sense for him to leave at the beginning of each summer.

Those out-of-state commitments mean Paizis isn't really affected by Fort Smith's current mobile vendor rules. Still, he remains interested in seeing what comes of recent discussions that might loosen restrictions and make the city, particularly downtown, more food truck friendly.

"Fort Smith does need some additional culture in the downtown area," Paizis said. "Every other city of this size and bigger allows food trucks. Fayetteville does. Little Rock does. So why not Fort Smith? I think this is an opportunity to improve downtown, whether I move there or not. This is for the benefit of the city."

A 2012 National League of Cities study estimated that mobile vending generates about $650 million a year in the United States. That number, the organization said, is poised to quadruple by 2018.

Figuring out a way to better tap into that market will be discussed at the Fort Smith Planning Commission's study session on Tuesday. This follows a recent meeting in which the topic was broached.

Planning Director Wally Bailey said the topic has been "percolating for a few months now," two decades after it was last taken up by Fort Smith. Regulations prohibiting food trucks from serving downtown were put into place in 1993.

Some locals might remember the "Burger Wars" that led to the existing rules. Food trucks set up downtown and the brick-and-mortar restaurants were not happy. Something called the Downtown Merchants Association -- an organization that no longer exists -- banded together to fight off the food truck invasion.

Time may have softened the anti-food truck attitude.

About 77 percent of people who responded to a Planning Commission survey of downtown property owners said they would support mobile vendors. There seems to be particular interest in providing food options for folks who gather downtown to enjoy the entertainment scene after many restaurants have closed.

It is worth noting downtown restaurateurs have yet to weigh in publicly on how they feel. Surveys were mailed out to the restaurants, and the commission is awaiting responses. Bailey says there has been little opposition behind the scenes.

As part of the discussion, Fort Smith has reached out to Little Rock, Fayetteville, Lee Summit, Mo., and College Station, Texas, to see how they handle mobile vendors.

Fayetteville, which has had several of its mobile vendors transition into brick-and mortar-establishments, set up a food court for food trucks on Dickson Street last spring. Instead of vendors being scattered throughout downtown, the city provides one specific location.

Fort Smith is considering that approach. And while much of the discussion so far has centered on downtown, possibilities exist elsewhere in the city. Major thoroughfares like North O Street, Grand and Townsend avenues and Midland Boulevard also figure to be potential hot spots for mobile vendors, Bailey said.

Paizis, who will open his truck in Fort Smith this month, said he is happy with his current location. Rogers Avenue suits Paizis just fine, but he's glad to know there might be another option down the road. That the city is even having the discussion makes him happy, even if it might be months before anything changes.

"It sounds like the city is open to the idea," Paizis said. "There are a lot of parameters and criteria to consider: electricity, parking, water, waste removal, generator noise. This won't happen overnight, but it's good that we're having the conversation."

SundayMonday Business on 03/01/2015

Upcoming Events