Thread: Taco Trucks ( Raleigh Update)

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New Regulations For Taco Trucks

August 16, 2006

LODI -- The city of Lodi is forcing vendors, especially taco trucks, to comply with laws that were never required until now. Taco truck customers and employees alike are feeling the heat.

Joseph Wood, an employee with the city of Lodi said, "It's a pretty strict prohibition against them operating on private property."

These regulations mean vendors must operate one hundred feet from stop lights and signs and three hundred feet from schools, meaning many taco stands could be pushed out of business. Maria Lopez has owned a popular Taco truck for almost three years. "I don't understand why they're doing this now. We get people from the city, from everywhere, theres people from stockton, valley springs." And now theres a list of those supporting of her business.

Eddy Abujen of Stockton said, "To see this taco truck leave it would be sorry or depressing." Regulations also require trucks to be self-contained with approved restroom facilities. Wood said, "We have caught folks up against the side of building or up against a trailer and it turns out it's the person handling the food."

Stockton resident Willy Davis said he agrees with the regulations, but thinks there should be exceptions, "Not all taco trucks are the same, thats why this one's busy."

Lopez said, "We live off of these trucks we work everyday, work sometimes over 12 hours a day. It's gonna affect a lot of people."
Copyright © 2006, KTXL

Taco vendors at center of city ordinance debate
Neighbors' complaints about noise, crime spur city to ponder changes
By Suzannah Gonzales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, August 16, 2006

For Dawn Cizmar, a good weekend would be sleeping through the nights.

Her windows rattle from the boom of car stereos. People have jumped the fence into her backyard at 3 a.m., she says. She has heard men talking outside her bedroom window. Some have left behind human waste.

Cizmar's house on Sunny Vale Street is within a couple of blocks of El Taquito, a taco truck that keeps late hours on a small site on Old East Riverside Drive, close to East Riverside Drive, where sirens, whizzing cars and the glow of strip-mall signs are common.

For years, residents have asked the city to address their concerns. Recently, the Austin Planning Commission has worked on fine-tuning an ordinance regulating mobile food vendors — trying to accommodate neighbors while allowing vendors to legally operate in the city.

Before the Austin City Council approved a version of the temporary ordinance in June, mobile food vending on private property had been largely illegal under the city's zoning rules.

The new ordinance made it legal for vendors to operate in commercial and industrial districts — with certain restrictions and requirements.

A subcommittee of the Planning Commission recommended Tuesday that mobile food vendors not be allowed to operate within 100 feet of residences, including single-family homes and apartments. The panel also recommended that their hours be restricted to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. if they are between 100 and 200 feet of residences; from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. if they are between 200 and 300 feet; and until 3 a.m. if they are more than 300 feet away, according to Greg Guernsey, director of neighborhood planning and zoning.

The commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday to decide on its recommendation to the council, which is expected to consider the issue again Aug. 31.

This is an old issue for some residents in the East Riverside Drive area. In October 2002, Cizmar and others joined the South River City Citizens neighborhood association to sue the city and Eloy Saenz, claiming that Saenz illegally operated El Taquito and promoted loitering and loud music from car stereos. The residents' lawyer said the lawsuit is still pending, while a city code enforcement official said the two sides agreed that El Taquito may continue operating while a permanent restaurant is being constructed on the site.

Saenz could not be reached for comment.

Austin police Lt. Phil Crochet said crowds congregate at taco trucks after bars close and have been breeding grounds for violent and nuisance crimes — noise, loitering, littering, fights and even shootings. The area roughly bordered by Elmont Drive, Pleasant Valley Road, East Riverside Drive and Arena Drive is "one of our hot spot areas," Crochet said.

The ordinance that was passed in June says vendors must be licensed by health officials and limits their noise and exterior lighting as well as where and when they can operate. They can't be within 20 feet of a restaurant or operate between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., for example.

Matthew Christianson, who manages city code enforcement south of the Colorado River, said that the city has not had the staff to enforce rules for vendors unless it has received a complaint but that it began taking a proactive approach in December after discussions with Austin police.

Twenty-four mobile food vendors along East Riverside Drive and Oltorf Street received warnings that they were violating city regulations and had to leave, Christianson said. Those who did not respond — a dozen vendors — were issued criminal citations with fines up to $2,000 per violation per day.

Apolinar "Polo" Cadena, who said he has operated his taco stand, Taquería el Rey Polo, just north of the H-E-B on East Riverside Drive for more than three years, said he was fined more than $3,000. Afterward, he helped create a group known as AVATACO, which has 73 members, mostly Mexican-food vendors. Cadena, AVATACO's president, said he was fine with the new regulations — as they stood before Tuesday night's meeting — and that the primary goal of the group is to explain the city regulations to other mobile food vendors.

Cadena and other vendors do not think their businesses help generate noise and delinquent behavior in the neighborhood. And regular customers of El Taquito say that even when they come late at night, they have never witnessed trouble.

"There isn't loud music. We don't sell drugs. We don't sell alcohol," AVATACO's vice president, Ismael Lozano, said in Spanish.

But Crochet thinks every business has a responsibility to neighbors and says there are steps that business owners can take to help, such as calling the police when someone is drunk and unruly or limiting the time customers loiter and wait for their food.

"We're not blaming this problem on taco stands," Crochet said. "We want there to be businesses in that area, but we need their cooperation and their help.

"We're asking them to be good neighbors."









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Mucho Munchies
Taco truck vendors fill cravings of Hispanic community in New Orleans
by Kelly Brown
07/17/2006



Jorge Sanchez, left, and his cousin, Joni Sanchez, manage Taqueria Sanchez El Sabrosito, a Houston-based taco truck company operating two trucks in New Orleans to help feed a growing Hispanic community. (Photo by Tommy Santora)
Jorge Sanchez and his Hispanic friends from Houston, now working and living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, were tired of eating fast food every day.
“They tell me all they eat is hamburgers, chicken, chicken and more chicken. They missed their tacos, burritos and the food they’re used to eating where they’re from,” Sanchez said.

So, six months ago, Sanchez began offering a cure for the cravings.

He and his father, Fidel Sanchez, run Taqueria Sanchez el Sabrosito, a family owned taco truck business in Houston. They decided to bring two trucks to Metairie — one on the corner of Veterans Boulevard and David Drive and the other near Lowe’s on Veterans.

They resemble ice cream trucks but serve tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas and gorditas designed to feed workers and residents cheaply.

Sanchez does not drive the only taco truck business in New Orleans these days. Companies like Chaparral Patio, a trailer on Claiborne Avenue, have popped up on to feed Hispanic workers and also give locals another lunch and dinner option.

“We saw an opportunity in New Orleans and people are glad we are here. We serve Hispanics, blacks, whites, everybody. They want food wherever they can get it and we stay open til 11 while most places close early,” Jorge Sanchez said.

Sanchez said they make between $300 and $400 a day, seven days a week, selling tacos at $1.50 each. Sanchez said they will keep the business in Metairie five to seven years.


Inspector approval

Louis Savoye, Jefferson Parish director of inspection and code enforcement, said vendors can legally sell food on the streets with written approval from the property owner, a parish vendor permit, state board of health approval and a Sheriff Occupational License Division/Tax Identification.

“We have been endeavoring to look out for these vendors but our inspector work load has been focused on unrepaired, vacant, blighted buildings, high weeds, trash/debris and other quality of life enforcement issues as a priority, along with a boom in building repair permits that require inspections,” Savoye said. “We are alerting our inspectors who see these types of vendors to check them for the proper requirements.”

Fidel Sanchez said they have all necessary permits.

Bambi Hall, a New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman, said the taco trucks have generated no complaints.

Claiborne is the most reliable place to find the trucks. On a recent weekday, four were stationed between the Orleans-Jefferson Parish line and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Sanchez’s El Sabrosito, which has steak fajitas to tongue tacos on the menu, is always outside Lowe’s and Daiquiris & Creams on Veterans. For $35 per day, the property owners guarantee the Sanchez truck exclusive rights to the spot.

“They use the electricity, and people that come out here use so many parking spaces and leave trash,” said Nicole Solano, a bartender at the daiquiri shop. “But they always pick it up,” she said, gesturing to three cooks manning the small truck.

She said the food stand had a slight but noticeable impact on the number of customers in the bar.

“People come in here after they get their food and get a beer,” she said. “It’s not a dramatic impact but it helps, sure.”

Some taco truck owners waited to open until reconstruction brought a large Hispanic population.

María Martine cleaned houses in New Orleans for 10 years before the storm but now offers tamales, tacos and dinner plates to workers who line up around her Chevy on Claiborne.

Antonio de María, a construction worker, said he comes five or six times a week. He said Martine’s appeal crosses racial lines.

“Everyone loves Mexican food,” he said. “Rice, barbacoa, chicken. ... No one likes hamburgers.”

At Chaparral Patio across the street, Alberto Ríos was busy serving pork tacos and chatting with customers. He came from Texas after the storm and said he expects business to be good long after reconstruction.

“If Katrina’s sister doesn’t come through,” said one of his cooks, Maya Nin.


‘Business is good’

Ríos’ business is good — “between $500 and $700 per day, sometimes more. But he’s struggled with the NOPD.

Rios said city regulations require mobile food vendors — even those parked on private property — to move every 45 minutes. After one warning, the NOPD issued him a $275 ticket.

“But let me tell you what — this is private property, and I told the officer, ‘I pay rent for parking right here,’” he said. “The officer said, ‘I don’t care, you’re in city limits,’ and they wrote me a ticket.”

Ríos is looking for a permanent trailer to be located between two abandoned gas pumps. Although he has all necessary permits, Rios hopes to move into a location soon.

The taco trucks appeal to New Orleans residents, too.

“We used to go to Mexico all the time, and it’s kind of like eating off the street in Mexico,” said New Orleans resident Tracy Tully. “The pork tacos are killer.”

Tully and her husband, Richard Tschurn, said the food at the taco trucks is more authentic than any Mexican restaurants in the city, a thought echoed by many customers.

“Hopefully they’ll stick around,” said Courtney Patterson. “We need some good Mexican food in this city.”•

Glad I don't own a Taco Bell franchise - the taco and burrito competition is heating up.

I wonder if they regulate the meat they use? Better keep those pets locked up or they may be tomorrow's lunch.

Brian,
The pets are safe. They are probably just using road kill for the meat. Its free, and isn't as much of a risk to get as someone's pet.

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News: August 11, 2006

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... d%3A394219


The Taco Kings, Besieged
Street vendors straddle the line between street life and neighborhoods
By Michael May

The four members of AVATACO, a newly formed association of Austin taco stand owners, spill out of a van on the corner of Cesar Chavez and Pleasant Valley and approach the Piedras Negras taco stand. It's part of a weeklong effort to contact every taco trailer in the city, and it's clear they mean business. They're all wearing pressed white button-down shirts with a photo ID dangling from the lapel, a taco insignia on the back and, above that, in large block letters "AVATACO." That's not quite an acronym for the organization's full name, Associacion de Vendores Ambulantes en Trailers de Comida en la Cuidad de Austin: the Austin Association of Mobile Trailer Food Vendors. President Apolinar "Polo" Cadena approaches Piedras Negras with a clipboard and a smile and introduces himself in Spanish. Another member, Salud Perez, begins to snap pictures. The owners of Piedras Negras are less than welcoming.

"First, I don't speak Spanish," a young Hispanic woman says, ready for a fight. "And stop taking pictures. This is private property. You think you can just come up here and start taking pictures? Just like that?!"

When Cadena senses resistance, he just opens his mouth. The words are hesitant at first, but then flow with a torrential force that allows little room for dissent. His limited English does not slow him down. "What we're doing is very good," he began, picking up steam. "It's very nice. We're together with you. I'm fighting the city to make life good for us. We're doing a census of all the taco vendors. We need names and phone numbers for every trailer in the city. The city made new laws for taco trailers this month. Here are the rules. We show you what's fine and not so good with your trailer. The menu is very nice. But that sign is not so good. The city says you can't have that sign there. The electricity is not good also." He points to an extension cord snaking across the lot. "You need a meter from the city. We show you. We help. Sorry you are angry like that, I don't mean to ..." He continues talking and begins to pull an official-looking AVATACO census form out of his clipboard.

A squat Hispanic woman approaches. She's clearly in the owner's posse. She looks sideways at Cadena and whispers loudly, "Why don't he talk right?"


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Flavors of Mexico
In the five months since Cadena founded AVATACO, he's learned that bringing the hundreds of taco stands under one organizational umbrella is about as easy as teaching possums to dance the Cucaracha. In the first place, many vendors are undocumented immigrants who naturally fear getting involved with city politics. Also, most taco stand vendors have gone into the business, which is not especially lucrative, because they crave independence, not solidarity. As anyone who drives around town can see, the field has also gotten both crowded and competitive in recent years, and some are suspicious of Cadena's motives. He's a taco stand owner who appears to be enforcing city rules. And then there's the fact that taco stand vendors tend to work 12 to 15 hours a day and don't really have much leftover time or energy for association meetings.

Cadena presses on. Thanks in a large part to his work, the City Council has just enacted a new ordinance that, for the first time, regulates the operation of mobile food vendors in Austin (see below). Cadena hopes to bring every AVATACO member into compliance with the new rules, so the police and zoning officials will see the organization's colorful taco-insignia sticker on trailers and leave the members alone. But AVATACO is about more than quality control. Cadena hopes to unify taco vendors into some kind of collective movement that can, perhaps, help taco stand vendors control their own destiny. The irony is that Cadena's having a tough time organizing AVATACO and keeping his own life together.

The AVATACO team gets a better reception later in the day, when they stop at Austin's taco stand dynasty, Especialidad Tacos al Pastor, on Riverside and Royal Crest. There are three taco stands in the parking lot, one covered with custom neon signs, but Raul Rodriguez, whose family owns the stands, invites them into their restaurant (also named Al Pastor) to talk. Rodriguez says that when his mother opened the stand in 1982, it was the first in Austin. "We needed a job," he says. "And we thought it's time to bring a little flavor to Austin, a little bit of Mexico." The first trailer cost $20,000 to make from scratch, and it was stolen years later in the middle of the night. But the initial investment has paid off. Over the years, the family saved enough to open several other stands and a restaurant, and now Al Pastor employs dozens of members of the family. Rodriguez and his family are living the dream of every taco stand entrepreneur.

Rodriguez and Cadena discuss the new ordinance in the cool interior of the Al Pastor restaurant. AVATACO still has one major battle to fight with the city. The council has yet to vote on how close a taco stand can be to a residence. Rodriguez and Cadena worry it will be 200 feet, as in the original draft. "Are they going to use a helicopter to check on us?" jokes Rodriguez. His stand is in the midst of a sea of parking lots, but an apartment building down the block could be within 200 feet. If that proposal becomes official policy, hundreds of trailers will have to move or go out of business.

Yet for the most part, Rodriguez embraces the new regulations. In the two decades since he opened his first trailer, he's watched taco stands crop up wherever there are hungry Austinites and an open slab of pavement, sometimes only a neglected patch of grass. The reason for the boom is obvious. Immigrants are flooding into Austin, increasing the demand for quick and inexpensive (and Mexican) food, and there are few businesses that you can start with such a small investment. "There are people in Austin now that can make you a trailer for $6,000," he says. Indeed, Rodriguez, perhaps because of his own position in the market, hopes the ordinance will thin the competition. "There's too many taco stands," he says. "And not all of them have high standards. Some them have gone into residential neighborhoods to set up, and that causes problems for everyone. We're not in Mexico any more. This is the U.S."


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Tacos and the Neighborhood
Cadena did not found AVATACO in pursuit of some lofty civic goal. He's fighting for survival, and the ordinance that he fought to pass is not intended to put his competition out of business. In fact, it should allow them to continue to exist. Despite the fact that they've been the center of a late-night cultural and culinary experience in Austin for decades, until the City Council passed its ordinance on June 8, taco stands were actually illegal.

Cadena learned that fact the hard way. For more than three years, he operated his lucrative, hand-painted taco trailer, Taqueria el Rey Polo, in the Gran Mercado on Riverside. Unlike some other taco stands, he had a sticker from the Health Department, and he paid his taxes. So, needless to say, he was shocked when the police showed up in February, told him he was operating an illegal business, and issued him a $1,500 ticket for operating without a site plan from the city's planning department. Cadena did not keep his cool. "I said, '**** you! That's my job! I don't do anything wrong. I pay rent here, why don't you give my landlord the ticket if there's a problem!'" Cadena recalls that the policeman told him that he better move his business soon. "I'm not going to get tired of writing tickets." And he didn't. For weeks, the stalemate continued. Cadena refused to move his trailer. The police continued issuing tickets.

Cadena figured there had to be some mistake. He took his tickets and went to talk with city officials in charge of zoning and planning, and he found himself embarking on a dark and murky journey into the bowels of city government. Official after official told him the same story: Yes, it is unfair that Cadena was busted despite the fact that he paid taxes and bought permits, but the city's zoning ordinance does not have a provision for mobile vending units – and that makes the stands illegal. Cadena remembers finding himself in the office of one official, literally begging for his livelihood. "I told him, 'I've been paying taxes to the city for three years. Please help me. I need to work. I must pay for my house. I must pay for my workers. Who can help me?' He looked at me and said, 'I don't know. Not me.'"

It turns out Cadena was caught up in a bigger struggle. Greg Guernsey, head of Austin's Planning and Zoning Department, readily admits that taco stands had existed in legal limbo for decades without any enforcement action by the city. As he explains: "We operate our enforcement on a complaint-driven basis." And not everyone was pleased with the homegrown street culture that brings Riverside to life in the wee hours of the morning. The complaints emanated primarily from a small, single-family neighborhood that lies buried between the student housing, bars, pawnshops, and parking lots that dominate the near-southeast landscape. Toni House, co-vice-president of the South River City Citizens neighborhood association, says that the explosion of taco stands encroaches on what little tranquility the neighborhood had left. "The busiest time for the mobile vendors is from 10 at night to three in the morning," she says. "We have a real problem with them contributing to the crime rate of our neighborhood, which is the highest in the city. The police spend an inordinate amount of time breaking up fights outside the stands. Drug dealers set up shop among the vendors. And the patrons are largely inebriated, which makes them easy prey for criminals." (Actually, the Austin Police Department says that East Riverside does not top the city's crime stats.)

House and her neighbors began a campaign to rein in the taco stands, and they started with the Planning and Zoning Commission. House says that the taco stands provide a service and should be able to operate – just not so late at night and so close to the neighborhood. "If the taco stands weren't operating so late," she says, "there wouldn't be any reason for anybody to be on the streets. Some of these stands are right next to single-family homes. It makes it hard to sleep." The homeowners advocated for creating an ordinance like the one in San Antonio, which keeps taco stands from operating past dark most of the year. Yet because much of the Riverside-area taco business comes late at night from the nearby apartments and clubs, it would put most of the Riverside stands out of business.

The SRCC sees the taco stands as one of the obstacles in a plan to transform Riverside into a scenic roadway or, as House puts it, "the gateway to the city." The SRCC would like Riverside redeveloped with wide sidewalks, green space, and a mix of new retail and office developments. (It's going to take a while, especially because neighborhood advocates have opposed three proposed developments on Riverside, either because they were too tall or included apartments. Austin Planning Commission Chair Dave Sullivan believes these developments would actually bring more tranquility to the neighborhood, partly because if the area is redeveloped, the taco stands would find another niche. "They're filling a void of unused urban space," says Sullivan. "And developers are attracted for the same reason. But it's difficult to convince them to build if they can't increase the density there or build a mixed-use complex with apartments.")


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Riverside Taco War
Cadena wasn't the only vendor caught up in the battle over the future of East Riverside. The police began to issue tickets to a number of taco vendors, and some stands ended up with thousands of dollars in fines. Cadena and other vendors believe they were being targeted for one reason. "Maybe it's because they don't like Hispanic people," says Cadena. As the crisis grew, Cadena managed to land a meeting with then Council Member Raul Alvarez, who lent a sympathetic ear. Alvarez told Cadena that there was only one way to get rid of the tickets and the police – change city law to make mobile vendors legal.

Alvarez agreed to help, but he told Cadena that he must find other vendors willing to testify. That night Cadena took his fight public. "I'd never organized anything like this before, but the city was going to stop me from making money." He printed a flyer and began distributing it to hundreds of taco stands. It read: "To all taco vendors. This is an initiation to a big controversy that affects us. We have to win this case and change the law. If we lose this case, they won't allow us to work at our trailers. And for many of us, it's our only way to live."

It turned out that getting vendors to engage the city was going to take more than a flyer. "The other vendors were scared to fight with the city," he remembers, shaking his head. "One after another told me they wouldn't help. Some of them accused me of being a liar. They said that it was my problem. They accused me of not having a license to operate. I was very insulted." At the next meeting with Alvarez, only eight vendors showed up. Alvarez told him it wasn't enough. The council wasn't going to agree to change city law for only eight people. Cadena was going to need at least 20.

Cadena hit the streets again and started building the AVATACO organization, one member at a time. It now has about 70 members. Cadena says the eventual growth of the organization had little to do with his skills as an organizer or an outpouring of civic concern by the taco vendors. "After a while," he says, "many other vendors got tickets. So they decided they better join AVATACO." At the next meeting with Alvarez, they began to negotiate an ordinance that would regulate taco stands more strictly than in the past but would allow them to operate legally.

The final version of the ordinance was presented to the City Council in early June. It proposed allowing mobile vendors to operate with a temporary use permit. It also attempted to alleviate the concerns of neighbors by keeping vendors out of residential areas, preventing them from operating past 3am, and regulating the amount of noise and light they generated. The ordinance will affect all mobile vending stands, including those that sell pizza and hot dogs around town.

Around 35 mobile vendors, many with small children, crowded the City Council chambers on June 8, although few of them spoke. The Riverside neighbors were there as well. Cadena presented a petition signed by several hundred neighbors who didn't object to the taco trailers. Others approached the dais and simply asked the council members in Spanish to allow them to continue working. The representatives from the South River City Citizens argued that the ordinance wasn't tough enough and repeated their argument that the vendors were making the streets unsafe. But the council was clearly sympathetic to the vendors; Mayor Will Wynn actually joked that maybe the city should partner with taco stands to keep drunk people eating tacos instead of just getting in their cars and driving home. The ordinance passed unanimously, but with one major provision omitted – a requirement that the taco stands locate at least 200 feet from residential zones. The Planning Commission was charged with determining a distance that would ease neighborhood noise without forcing the trailers out of business.


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Taco Politics
The 20 or so core members of AVATACO gather each Thursday under the arches of Plaza Saltillo to discuss strategy. On July 13, Cadena and Vice-President Esmael Lozano presented the results of the citywide census, which showed that a 200-foot buffer would force the vast majority of the taco stands in Southeast Austin to move or close. Lozano pulled out a photo of a simple white trailer and displayed it to the group. "This is the only trailer that is currently meeting all the regulations in the ordinance," he said. "The majority is in decent shape, more or less. But we have promised that all the trailers with the AVATACO sticker will not have any problems with the inspectors. If we don't get this right and prove to the city that we mean well, we're going to end up with a 100- or 200-foot buffer zone."

For more than an hour, Lozano and Cadena passed around photos of 70 taco stands in Austin, with a lesson for the members about each one. But the two were clearly frustrated with the response by the vendors. "Most people gave us phone numbers that don't work, or no one answers," said Lozano. "People need to understand that we've got to start working together."

Lozano owns a trailer as well, but his vision for AVATACO goes far beyond self-interest. He's been in the U.S. for almost 20 years, and he's an orthodox assimilationist. He's one of the leaders of Crisol ("crucible" or "melting pot"), a local organization that educates recent immigrants about U.S. laws. He believes that AVATACO should foster personal growth and reflection among its members. "I believe in this country and the opportunities here," he says. "It's not all about work and money. Many of our people don't think ahead and prepare for the future. They bring children to work with them in the taco stands, but it's not safe. And as soon as they get $5,000 saved, they go and buy a big truck with a giant stereo system. It's not that I'm a big man with all the answers. I believe if we come together and identify problems, we can come up with solutions."

Cadena and Lozano both have a vision for AVATACO that extends beyond the new ordinance. They'd like the association to raise money by providing services at city events. They hope it will hold its own festivals with music and food. Cadena wants the vendors to ultimately pool their money and buy some land, so they won't be dependent on renting from other businesses.

The next week, Cadena brought the photos and figures from the census to a meeting of the Planning Commission subcommittee on codes and ordinances. He proposed a 70-foot buffer, which he said would force the stands closest to the neighborhood to move but allow most AVATACO members to stay in business. An SRCC neighborhood activist, Dawn Cizmar, was also at the meeting, to advocate for a 200-foot buffer. "I'd like to say that these vendors have never come to the neighbors to try and work things out," she said. "It seems like they'd rather take a political approach." Cizmar and her neighbors don't understand or believe that AVATACO would also like to see the most rowdy stands go out of business, so they can return to operating in peace. The meeting ended without a decision.

The next meeting was even less productive. Although the subject up for discussion was the distance of the buffer, the residents who showed up spent a long time arguing that the fixed taco stands should not qualify for a "mobile" designation since they often stay put and still more time blaming the stands for a host of neighborhood social ills. "It seems like you want to get rid of taco stands," said Chairman David Sullivan. "And we're not going to do that." Cadena and Lozano brought a translator, UT student Raul Ramirez, who accused the residents of "having a problem with Hispanic culture." The subcommittee members struggled to keep the conversation civil and on track, proposing solutions such as limiting the hours of operation for the taco stands closest to homes and requiring security guards. It's clear that the main problem lies with a few stands in large parking lots, where their patrons have room to do drunk, stupid things like drive doughnuts around the lot. After the meeting, Cadena and Lozano had a heated conversation about how to confront the owners of these stands, whom they blame for bringing down the law on all taco stands. Meanwhile, the subcommittee continues to consider the ordinance and plans to have a proposal ready for the full Planning Commission on Aug. 22.


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Hard Times
Cadena founded AVATACO out of self-interest, but, despite his partial victory at City Hall, he himself is in desperate financial shape. Just a year ago, he truly was the king of the Gran Mercado, employing several workers at the Taqueria el Rey Polo. Raul Ramirez caught his reign on film for the documentary project East Austin Stories. In the film, Cadena chops mountains of fresh tomatoes and onions in preparation for the early morning rush. He swaggers around his trailer, greeting customers and talking about his plans to open a real restaurant. "Other people go back to Mexico and say, 'The United States wasn't any good,'" he says in the film. "That's because they're asses that don't know how to adapt and progress. Thank God, I've managed to advance a lot. A whole lot. And I owe it all to this country."

But once the city tickets began accumulating, everything fell apart. Cadena got in a serious disagreement with the owner of the Gran Mercado, who Cadena says allowed vendors without proper permits to sell food there. Cadena has now moved Taqueria el Rey Polo to a lot just north of the Riverside HEB, in front of a dilapidated and abandoned strip mall that once housed the Champion store. His regular customers don't know where to find him. His earnings, once as much as $3,000 a week, have dropped to around $500. He can't pay the mortgage on his home, nor the rent for his trailer, and bill collectors are threatening to cut off his water and electricity. "My trailer's no good for me any more," he says sadly. He's created another flyer and posted it along Riverside. It's a humble plea to his old customers. It reminds them of the good food and good times and asks them to please come find him.



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Posted on Mon, Aug. 14, 2006



Officials: Mobile food vendors violate rules

CARRIE LEVINE
clevine@charlotteobserver.com

Mecklenburg health officials have been spending more time on a troubling problem: how to stop mobile vendors who sell food without following the rules that make sure the food is safe.

Health officials say some mobile vendors use out-of-date permits, or leave their carts overnight without cleaning them. They've found that others don't store food at proper temperatures, which can cause it to spoil.

Lynn Lathan, a supervisor with the county's Health Department, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Scott Del Duca say they made twice-a-week visits from November to May to follow up on complaints about carts along South Boulevard.

Lathan and Del Duca said they would sometimes force the cart owners to shut down at one location, explain they could get a new permit if they followed the rules, and find out the owner had reopened somewhere else and nothing had changed. Lathan said it's harder to make sure food is handled properly and everything is kept clean if carts operate without a permit.

The most common problem inspectors have found is operators who don't clean the carts at night. Other common problems include food being kept at the wrong temperature; food stored without proper refrigeration equipment; and carts not having a hot water source.

The county now has 98 licensed mobile food units and 110 pushcarts, almost triple the number from five years ago. So far this year, the Health Department has revoked 14 permits and suspended 20 others. The department revoked 26 in 2005.

The Health Department has no power to fine vendors operating improperly. Instead, they must ask a magistrate to charge the operator with a misdemeanor, something officials said they rarely do.

Lathan said complaints used to center around weekend fish fries but now often are about taco trucks.

Lathan carries notices in Spanish and English whenever possible to make sure the vendor understands the rules.

Denise Coleman, executive development manager for the Latin American Coalition, said most of the potential vendors who come to see her for help really want to meet regulations.

"I'm sure there are some out there that are not complying, but why would they come see me?" she asked.

Enforcing the rules

Late last spring, roughly eight carts had set up shop within a two-mile stretch of South Boulevard, most in shopping centers or gas stations.Del Duca, the community coordinator for his division, said he received complaints about traffic and parking problems tied to the carts, and crowds drinking near the carts late into the night.

"There should be limited hours of operation," Del Duca said. "I can't see how they stay open until 3 o'clock in the morning, and clean it."

There are two across the street from each other at the intersection of South Boulevard and Emerywood Drive, both selling tacos, burritos and snacks. Both have current permits. Del Duca said he asks officers to monitor whether carts stay out all night.

The Health Department's Lathan said investigating the stands and carts can be difficult. Legally, they are supposed to be inspected quarterly, like restaurants. But the county's Health Department has been behind on inspections, and is about to hire more people to conduct them.

For now, the department decides how often to inspect restaurants based on risk. Lathan said the carts and mobile units are generally inspected annually.

Lathan said the department investigates in response to complaints. But many complaints are anonymous, she said, alleging that a neighbor is selling food from home, but not leaving an address. Others say a truck sells tacos without a permit -- but doesn't say when the truck comes.

"They are hard to track down," she said. "I've been on stakeouts with the police at night trying to find people doing stuff."

What to Look For

• A sticker from the Mecklenburg County Health Department bearing a valid expiration date and the county seal. This year, the stickers are orange; they change color annually.

• The inspections don't have scores, just a list of requirements with checkboxes for "yes" and "no." The inspection should be posted somewhere visible.

• Observe how workers are handling the food, and whether the unit looks clean.

To report complaints or problems in Mecklenburg, call the Health Department at 704-336-5100.






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© 2006 Charlotte Observer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.charlotte.com
harlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15268469.htm

Originally Posted by sippy

Brian,
The pets are safe. They are probably just using road kill for the meat. Its free, and isn't as much of a risk to get as someone's pet.

I wouldn't be so sure. About 6 to 8 years ago I was walking my 130 lb. Rottweiler, who is now deceased, past a public school. As I was walking a Mexican man who was working at the school started talking to me in Spanish. I didn't understand anything he said until he started pointing and smiling at my dog, and said "mucho tacos."

At first I thought he was joking, but he kept pointing and talking about the dog. I almost had the feeling he was dead serious. I quickly walked away, and fortunately never ran into this person again.

I always heard you should avoid the taco vendors in Mexico because you never knew what they were using for meat and they were not very sanitary.

Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles
Characters Cheap Eats Live Music Party Pics Street Art Tacos Watering Holes « My Favorite Taco ~ Benicio Del ToroLACMA garage ~ Miracle Mile »
Taco Crime Blotter, Volume 1


It’s 2:30 in the afternoon on a sunny Tuesday in May. You’ve just settled in at an outdoor table at the Los Palomitos Taco Shop on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in the fine San Diego suburb of Clairemont.

You pay little heed to the 16-year-old boy who pulls up in front of the popular taqueria on a bicycle. He leans his bike against the wall.


Just as you are about to plow into your chorizo and potato burrito you hear a voice from the nearby bus stop say, “Put that away, there are children here.” That’s when you notice that the 16-year-old has approached the bus top and is brandishing a gun. Unbelievably, he complies with the old woman’s orders and promptly sheathes the handgun in his waistband, shooting himself in the leg in the process. Dumb shit, you think.

The small crowd at the bus stop begins to disperse; quickly, except for one man, the obvious focus of the now-injured boy’s rage. You have since given up on the idea of finishing that burrito, by the way, what with the little rivulets of blood streaming down the kid’s leg.

The kid takes the gun out of his waistband and fires at one of the fleeing pedestrians, shooting and killing him immediately and then, despite the wounded leg, forgoes his bike and beats feet out of there. The last you see of him is when he jumps the fence but you’ll later learn from the TV news that he ran to a car that was parked about a mile and a half from the crime scene, which was where the cops nabbed him.

The taco shop shooting, as it comes to be called, marks the 29th homicide in San Diego this year, nearly double the number of incidents from this same time last year.

People are on edge all over the place these days, you think.

—–
Taco’s crime blotter is written by the esteemed Rodger Jacobs of 8763 Wonderland

This entry was written by Rodger Jacobs and posted on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 at 3:43 PM and filed under Crime.
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