One of the most popular stories on ALXnow this week has been a link to a Zebra article about a lobster food truck near the Bradlee Shopping Center.
While this is possibly more of a testament to this being a relatively slow news week in Alexandria, it raises the question: do Alexandrians yearn for a better food truck culture?
For a decade, Alexandria had a very restrictive food truck ordinance. There were only five approved food truck vendors in the city and they were only allowed in three public areas. Food trucks are allowed on private property, but had to adhere to an 8 p.m. curfew before the City Council extended it earlier this year.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said earlier this year that restrictive ordinance was approved with concerns of the restaurant community in mind.
“When that ordinance came about, I think one of the concerns was from our business community, the restaurants themselves, the brick and mortars having to deal with other more flexible businesses like food trucks,” Jackson said. “And trucks taking away the business of those that actually have brick and mortars, that have to pay the monthly mortgage or rent or lease on those restaurants.”
