Council to consider allowing more food carts this summer 

A need to “feed the hordes…”

[ By Mark Reaman ] 

The number of food carts allowed in Crested Butte will likely be increased from four to seven in an attempt to provide food and sustenance to people looking for quick places to grab a bite this summer. But the chances of seeing the increase materialize quickly is anticipated to be somewhat slim. The Crested Butte town council will hold a public hearing on the matter July 6.

As we enter the busy summer season there is an expectation that we will host more visitors than ever. One worry is that because at least one (and possibly more) restaurant that was open last summer will not open this summer, the volume may be too much for the town to handle comfortably. Throw in the fact that restaurants are having a difficult time finding staff to be open seven days a week and may have to close a couple days and you can see the coming tsunami.

“It may be a good idea this year to have more food carts since there could be three restaurants that were open last summer that will be closed,” said mayor Jim Schmidt at the June 7 council meeting, referring to the Forest Queen not opening and the potential of having no Elk Avenue Prime until later in the summer and possibly no Lil’s.

“Most restaurant owners are expecting to see about 20 percent more people this summer with fewer restaurants open,” added Crested Butte councilperson Jasmine Whelan. Whelan is a manager at the Dogwood. “Owners are shaking in their boots. The demand is here now and will be incredible in July. It’s not just the tourists that are impacted. Local workers can’t find a place to have lunch during their break. The line at Teo feels like it can sometimes be two hours.”

“The push now is to feed the hordes we assume are coming,” said councilwoman Mallika Magner.

Local jerky producer Jamie Watt asked the council during the public comment portion of the June 7 meeting to allow more than four food cart permits. He has had a booth in the past but is now on the waiting list. The four permits currently approved are for the hot dog cart, a new burrito cart, a coffee cart and a food booth or cart for Scout’s General Store.

“I think the original reason there are only four is because brick-and-mortar restaurants objected,” noted Magner. “Is that still a concern?”

Town clerk Lynelle Stanford explained there were several categories of mobile business permits. Food trucks are considered different than food carts/booths. Food trucks are extremely limited in where and when they can operate and there are no permits issued for food trucks at this time. Merchandise trucks are allowed and there is one permit issued. Produce booths are also a separate category that take in things like Doug Mattice’s long-time fresh fruit and vegetable stand located at the Four-way Stop.

During the June 21 meeting the council had a lengthy debate about how many additional carts to allow. “I imagine it would be difficult to take back a license once it is issued given the investment made by the owner,” said councilman Jason MacMillan.

Town manager Dara MacDonald said that in conversations with the state health department, there is a backlog to get food carts inspected, “so if they don’t have an approval already it will likely not happen this coming summer.”

“I was hoping we would have them for this summer,” said councilman Chris Haver. “That was the purpose of the original conversation but now it sounds like that might not happen. I’m of the feeling of leaving the number at four if there won’t be a summer solution.”

Council had pondered the idea of revisiting all the categories to bring them more in line with the current situation. MacDonald said that would take an enormous amount of time that the staff didn’t have at the moment given other council priorities. “Redoing the whole mobile business scenario is a great conversation to have but now is not the time,” she said. “Addressing food trucks will be a much larger community conversation.”

“The idea of food trucks becomes a very sensitive conversation,” agreed community development director Troy Russ who dealt with the issue in Louisville. “The capacity of a food truck is about 10 times that of a cart and that is when brick-and-mortar restaurants feel threatened.”

Wooden Nickel manager Lawson Yow was at the June 17 meeting for a liquor license transfer but chimed in that brick-and-mortar businesses did not feel that food carts were competition for established restaurants. “We’re not struggling to get people in the door,” he said. “Having some other options is a good thing for the visitor experience.”

Council agreed a major overhaul could be a future discussion but in the meantime they will consider allowing more food carts.

After several numbers were thrown out to consider for the increase in licenses, the council settled on allowing a total of seven food cart/booth licenses. A public hearing on the matter is set for the July 6 council meeting.