Street food has become a vibrant and integral part of cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Portland, but it’s not something that has carved out a place in Atlanta. Several ambitious vendors, however, are working hard to create, in a variety of forms, a street food culture right here in our city.
“I’ve lived here over 30 years now and I see the potential [for food trucks] all around the city,” said Christiane Lauterbach, an Atlanta-based food writer who began a blog called Atlanta Food Carts (atlantafoodcarts.com) this spring. “Downtown and in all those empty parking lots, that could be so brilliant.”
Lauterbach is not alone in her thinking. Since January, there’s been an entire organization -- the Atlanta Street Food Coalition -- dedicated solely to promoting the spread of this particular food culture in Atlanta.
Which prompts this question: With so much buzz and support behind this mobile business model, why haven’t Atlanta residents seen more food trucks popping up across their city?
The main issue is there exists no standard for street cart regulation in Atlanta since it’s still a relatively new concept here. In addition to laws that dictate what types of food can be prepared on a truck (virtually nothing can be cooked, aside from hot dogs), there are rules tied to how long a truck can stay parked in a temporary location (30 minutes) and how many areas they’re legally able to vend (just two). Although some of the city’s restrictions seem arbitrary, many are logical.
“Fulton County is not against street food,” said Greg Smith, Atlanta Street Food Coalition president. “They just have budget constraints that keep them from keeping track of carts zipping around the city.”
Despite the stringent regulations, a handful of cart owners have managed to build a business around their portable restaurants, among them:
Orleagian Snowballs
Owner: Kenneth Woodfin
Location: corner of Ponce de Leon and Moreland (at Exxon gas station)
Web site: orleagiansnowballs.com
Sells: New Orleans-style shaved ice “snowballs” topped with flavored syrups and sweet cream
Specialty: The Hurricane Katrina (a mix of all berry flavors)
Hours of operation: 1 p.m.-8 p.m., Monday through Friday (April through September)
Price range: $1.75-$3.50 (cash only)
Why street food? “I was starting a new product and being an entrepreneur,” Woodfin said. “My mistakes would be easier to overcome with a cart. If I got a storefront with an expensive rent, my errors could be detrimental and I would fail faster.”
Ultimate goal: to have a storefront
The Good Food Truck
Owners: Jessamine Starr and George Long
Location: varies (they cater events around town)
Phone number: 678-481-8182
Sells: familiar Southern food with a flair
Specialty: The Poodle (French-toasted bun with hot dog, topped with apple maple slaw)
Price range: $2-$6 per item
Why street food? “My husband and I are artists and we’d talked about starting a food truck for a few years,” Starr said. “We gave up on the idea and then one day drove by a local garage and saw our truck and bought it, and then realized we were in the food truck business!”
Ultimate goal: to be a roaming food truck, provided city regulations change
Souper Jenny
Owner: Jenny Levison
Location: “We’ve just been trying it out, doing private things that don’t involve permitting,” Levison said.
Web site: souperjennyatl.com
Sells: homemade soups and salads
Specialty: chilled lobster salad (summertime special)
Price range: $4-$12
Why street food? “Originally we had just a brick and mortar restaurant, and everyone was asking us to open different locations,” Levison explained. “It takes a lot of capital and employees to open new locations, though, and I like the idea of a mobile option because one person can run it. It’s our way of taking our brand and spreading it around the city.”
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