Truckin'

Abbot-Kinney’s Food Truck Love Affair Hits A Bump in the Road

Neptima's owner claims truck patrons dented her car
Neptima’s owner claims truck patrons dented her car Photo: Ricardo Diaz via Flickr

The Sweets Truck, Umami Burger Truck, Grill ‘Em All, and Asian Soul Kitchen are the latest new-school food vendors-on-wheels to approach our streets this month, but they won’t necessarily get a warm welcome on Abbot-Kinney. Yo! Venice is representing neighborhood residents and store owners who are in a fit over food truck debris left at last week’s First Friday Art Walk. Yo! Venice accuses the trucks of not being local and taking advantage of the area’s appeal. “Many of these food trucks have chosen to be bad party guests that literally trash our home every time we allow them to come to our party,” writes the site.

While they make a good case that any local business should be cleaning up after itself, the solution seeks to penalize and possibly terminate the trucks for their frequent rallying on Abbot-Kinney. Since the only regulations these wheeled restaurants must fit are getting a local business to open their bathroom to patrons, it is suggested that they, “start charging these trucks VERY high dollar fees for the agreement to allow them to access their bathrooms.”

This is not the only time trucks have received opposition, but the first time we’ve seen a grassroots backlash from actual eaters, who initially embraced the trend and like The Brig, seemed their biggest supporters. A discussion forum has gone up on Yo! Venice, with most locals and owners complaining about various bad behavior coming from the trucks, their owners, and patrons. Are these rolling businesses behaving badly or merely taking the brunt for the actions of their clientele? We’d love to know your thoughts.

“Nouveau” Food Truck Regulations Needed in Venice [Yo! Venice via NBC L.A.]

Abbot-Kinney’s Food Truck Love Affair Hits A Bump in the Road