patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Food Trucks

Friday, April 26, 2013

Food Trucks Given the OK until December 2014

The Board of Selectmen gave the green light for food trucks around Brookline.

The Board of Selectmen granted food trucks an eight-month extension and four new trucks in town. In October of 2012, Brookline Patch reported that the Board had extended the permits for r Baja Taco Truck, Compliments Food Truck, Paris Creperie, Pennypacker's Food Truck, and Renula's Greek Kitchen at their current dates and times.  At the Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, April 23, Health Department Director Alan Balsam said that he had observed the food sanitation aspects of the Food Trucks and was pleased with what he saw. Economic Development Planner Andy Martineau said that during the PILOT program and through the first extension, complaints about the trucks have been minimal from both residents and restaurants. “Overall, I think this …

In this Article:

Brookline Food Trucks: When and Where? [Updated]

MoonBeamWatcher

4:04 pm on Saturday, April 27, 2013

A few courses in critical thinking need to be provided our Towns department heads who supply advice on licensing issues. Also realistic and meaningful questions need to be asked by our Selectmen. Who provided advice to permit the introduction of these Food Trucks to start with? Who has provided counsel to our ELECTED LEADERS to continue this mistake? Have our Selectmen been provided and …   more ›

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Food Trucks Sticking Around Through April 2013

Selectmen vote to extend the food truck permits through April of 2013, hearing that there is some support for the program.

Clear the old leftovers out of your fridge, because you can pick up some fresh tood truck feasts through April. The Board voted to extend the town's food truck program through April of 2013, and to stop waiving the food vendor fee of $225 which were waived at the beginning of the food truck pilot. This vote also extended the permits for Baja Taco Truck, Compliments Food Truck, Paris Creperie, Pennypacker's Food Truck, and Renula's Greek Kitchen at their current dates and times.  Health Department Director Alan Balsam added that in April, they intend to extend it again for 18 months, so that the food truck permits can be renewed the following December, at the same time as the other food vendor licenses that come before the Selectmen.  …

In this Article:

Food Truck Pilot Program Gets Rolling in April, Food Truck Location Offends Some John Street Residents, Letter to the Editor: Food Trucks Build Community, and 3 more ›

Comment_arrow
Patch_comments_icon

Grahame Turner

10:30 am on Friday, October 19, 2012

I don't stand for myth and misinformation getting into the public dialog on a subject, which is why I attempted to clear up some of the misconceptions you appear to have. I would rather not have someone read your comments and assume that the Selectmen haven't considered the things you brought up--especially because they did. Fitting a 30-40 minute discussion into a few hundred words is a …   more ›

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Mobile Food Trucks or Mobile Food Labs

Kenwood Street resident and food writer Amy Traverso paints a different picture of the potential future of food trucks in Brookline.

  • BUSINESS
  • Thursday, April 19, 2012

Letter to the Editor:  I’m writing in response to Martin Yaseen’s letters to the editor protesting the food truck pilot program in Brookline. I share some of his concerns about the impact of food trucks on local restaurants, but I also wonder if Mr. Yaseen is operating from outdated assumptions about what food trucks are and the role they play in the current food landscape. These are not the so-called "roach coaches" that tour construction sites (not that I have any problem with them). They are rolling labs that allow entrepreneurs to test new ideas on consumers, often before committing to establishing bricks-and-mortar outlets themselves. Look at the success of Clover Food Lab, which began with a single food truck and has grown into a …

In this Article:

Letter to the Editor: Selectmen's Food Truck Decision "Ill-considered", Letter to the Editor: Clearing the Air about John Street Food Trucks, Paris Creperie, and 1 more ›

Nicole Fonsh

5:39 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012

As a resident of the community who is very excited to see food trucks come to the area, I want to thank you for your fantastic letter Amy.   more ›

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Selectmen's Food Truck Decision "Ill-considered"

John Street resident brings up some concerns about food trucks which he feels were ignored at the April 10 Selectmen's Meeting.

  • GOVERNMENT
  • Wednesday, April 18, 2012

As someone who spoke at the April 10 Selectmen's meeting against the introduction of food trucks into Brookline, ultimately I was more disturbed by the Selectmen's blithe disregard for the substantive questions raised not only by myself, but by two prominent town meeting members, restaurant owners, and other citizens, than I was by their ill-considered decision to proceed with this program. I was under the apparently erroneous assumption that the Selectmen, in their capacities as elected representatives of the community, had a civic responsibility not only to allow opponents of the food truck pilot program to speak, but, as well, to ADDRESS the significant issues that were raised. Among many issues raised were: 1) The fundamental …

In this Article:

First Five Food Trucks Licensed, Coming to Town [POLL], Letter to the Editor: Clearing the Air about John Street Food Trucks, and Five Reasons You Should Blog on Patch

Comment_arrow

MoonBeamWatcher

2:51 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012

I am very much aware of this Mr. Izeman. When I went to the DPW to ask if I was to believe my Water/Sewer meter was read on the FOURTH of JULY they so informed me . . . to wit I asked: "Then why when the NEW RATE was approved on June 23, did you people not read the meeter on the last day of June?" She said 'we' have been doing it this way for decades as she walked away from me. I then asked if a …   more ›

Friday, March 16, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Clearing the Air about John Street Food Trucks

John Street resident Martin Yaseen clears the air about some comments made at the Board of selectmen's meeting in early March.

  • GOVERNMENT
  • Friday, March 16, 2012

On Tuesday, March 5, I and a number of other Brookline residents and property owners spoke at the Selectman's meeting and registered our opposition to locating food trucks on John Street.   In the reporting of that meeting and the comments that followed it seems that the question of whether there should be food trucks in Brookline and whether there should be food trucks on John Street have been conflated as if the John Street question was simply representative of the general question.   Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth is that I have lived on John Street for 27 years and John Street has always been a RESIDENTIAL street. The issue for the residents of John Street is not whether there should be food trucks on John Street, …

In this Article:

Food Truck Location Offends Some John Street Residents

Friday, March 9, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Food Trucks Build Community

Green Street resident Nicole Fonsh writes in to share her views on food trucks, small businesses, and the community they build.

  • NEWS
  • Friday, March 9, 2012

To the Editor, I have been a proud Coolidge Corner resident for about three years.  Having attended both undergraduate and graduate school in the area, I’ve lived from Roxbury and the Back Bay to the North End and South Boston.  And I couldn’t be happier now living in Brookline. It is a wonderful area with lots to offer and residents that seem to take great pride in their community. I thought it couldn’t get better. And then I heard food trucks would be coming to Brookline--I think I actually yelped with joy. Having enjoyed the food trucks that have popped up in Boston, I was thrilled to hear Brookline was going to get a piece of the action. I think food trucks are what small and local business is all about--creative and delicious ways to …

In this Article:

Food Truck Pilot Program Gets Rolling in April, Support Your Favorite Small Business With a Patch Shout-Out, Food Truck Location Offends Some John Street Residents, and 2 more ›

Patch_comments_icon

Grahame Turner

10:49 pm on Monday, March 12, 2012

I appreciate the effort, but I'm afraid that the damage has been done. Once you say something, you can't really unsay it. To best avoid this situation in future, re-read what you're about to post before you post it--ideally, aloud--and if in doubt, rephrase it.   more ›

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Food Truck Location Offends Some John Street Residents

One resident crafting a warrant article to ban mobile food trucks from public ways in Brookline.

When the Selectmen approved the food truck locations in early February, there were two late additions to the program--it is to one street in particular that several residents took offense: Pleasant Street. The Board of Selectmen approved the regulations for a food truck pilot program, and a number of locations around Brookline. Nine food truck vendors have applied to the program. On April 10, the Selectmen will hold a public hearing on the individual licenses for food trucks. They will determine whether the program has been a success after the six-month pilot ends.  The method of this pilot program was criticized by Stanley Spiegel, Town Meeting Member for precinct 2, who said there was no criteria to judge whether or not it was successful…

In this Article:

Food Truck Pilot Program Gets Rolling in April, Selectmen Nail Down Food Truck Locations (POLL), 2012 Annual Town Meeting Schedule, and 4 more ›

Kevin

8:35 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

This entire dialog is riveted with discrimination! Caterers do hundreds of millions in business out of BOX TRUCKS. Roach Coaches go any where they want unregulated and subject to no specific mandates by any community. Tens of thousand restaurants deliver using ratty employee vehicles without any inspections of any kind. A food trucker is subject to ridiculous overbearing regulation at every turn…   more ›

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Selectmen Nail Down Food Truck Locations (POLL)

The Board of Selectmen voted last night to approve the proposed food truck locations, combining some, losing others and adding new ones.

Locations are now set for food trucks, which could roll in as soon as April. Last night, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the final list of locations for the mobile food truck pilot program (see map at right). The list now includes two locations where a couple of food trucks can "cluster" together, offering multiple dining options. The Boston Area Food Truck Association have commented on the importance of clustering, as did Selectman Jesse Mermell in a BostInno column. The program also has a number of timing options for vendors, giving them the ability to pick and choose times when they would set up in Brookline, each with parking fees payable to the Town of Brookline or the Recreation Department.   "Some vendors swear up-and-down …

In this Article:

Health Department, Food Truck Pilot Program Gets Rolling in April, and Jesse Mermell on Brookline's Mobile Food Truck Program

Comment_arrow
Patch_comments_icon

Grahame Turner

2:33 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

Ah! The Economic Development Officer for the Town. (My mistake. Thanks for subtly hinting).   more ›

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Food Truck Pilot Program Gets Rolling in April

Selectmen approve a 6-month pilot program to welcome food vendor trucks into Brookline, with location details still to be finalized.

In April, a few Brookline neighborhoods may see crowds gathering outside food trucks, thanks to a unanimous vote to approve the Brookline Mobile Food Truck Pilot Program at last night's Board of Selectmen meeting. That is, a vote on the program's regulations, as the locations are still being finalized.  "I'm excited that we’re able to move forward on this and have a true six-month pilot," said Selectman Jesse Mermell, "it will give an appropriate snapshot of the program." Mermell added that she hopes Brookline will become "a food truck destination."  With the regulations approved, Public Health Director Dr. Alan Balsam reports that he applications will go out this week, and that the Health Department expects to have applicants selected and…

In this Article:

Mobile Food Vendors May Truck Into Brookline [POLL], Stop & Shop Florist, Beacon Inn, and 5 more ›

Comment_arrow
Patch_comments_icon

Grahame Turner

9:59 am on Monday, January 30, 2012

That's one of the concerns of the Selectmen with this program. It's currently a pilot program--it will continue, if it goes off without significantly affecting the brick-and-mortar businesses (I believe it was Selectman Goldstein who, at the early Jan. meeting called them "the goose that laid the golden egg"). Not to mention Paris Creperie's representatives, who commented that, as long as it's …   more ›

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Mobile Food Vendors May Truck Into Brookline [POLL]

Brookline's Selectmen looking over a pilot program to allow food trucks into the town, for a limited time at first.

Certain areas of Brookline could start to see food trucks pulling up during the spring and summer, under a proposed pilot program the Selectmen are currently considering.  “Anyone who doesn’t live in a cave knows that mobile food trucks are a phenomenon," began the presentation by Dr. Alan Balsam, director of the Public Health Department.  The pilot program welcomes food trucks into town for a six-month trial period, but only to select areas. Select trucks will be licensed — based on criteria which the Board is still developing — with the goal of variety without damaging existing businesses. Currently being considered: on-street at Auburn and Harvard Streets (opposite Stop and Shop), space on St. Mary's Street near Boston University, and …

In this Article:

Stop & Shop Florist, Beacon Inn, Skyline Park, and 3 more ›

MoonBeamWatcher

6:06 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I voted NO, because of the impact these trucks can and will have on our HIGH rent stores! No Christmas spirit (Holiday decorations) now to undercut our COMMERCIAL TAX PAYING STORES. Certainly unfair to my way of thinking! Open or import a diner car to provide 'late breakfast fare' would be great. Let it operate from 12midnight to 5am!   more ›

Got a Hot Tip?
 
 

Videos

 

Most Popular Articles

  1. Three Arrested on Drug Charges in T.J. Maxx Parking Lot
  2. Home of the Week: 98 Saint Paul #5
  3. Police: Rash of Bike Thefts in Brookline
  4. Severe Thunderstorms Predicted Monday in Brookline
  5. New Homes for Sale in Brookline

PSST! Want to Contribute?

  • Got a hot tip on news you think everyone should know? Tell us.
  • Just married? New baby? Make honor roll? Add an Announcement
  • Organizing that big block party or poetry reading? Put it on the calendar!
  • Have a great photo of your community?
    Add it to Your Neighborhood Gallery.