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Late Night Gotcha for Food Vendors

Posted by Foobooz on March 21st, 2011

On Saturday night Dapper Dog was doing what it has been doing for the better part of the year at 2nd and Poplar, feeding the masses. But this week shortly after midnight the hot dog cart was approached by police officers who told Dapper Dog they had to immediately stop vending as it is illegal to do so between midnight and 7am.

A quick scan of the Philadelphia code shows that late night vending is indeed prohibited.

(7) Prohibited Conduct. No vendor or person shall:
(l) engage in the business of vending between twelve midnight and seven A.M.

We contacted Dapper Dog’s Seth Russell today for more information. Russell says he has been vending across from the Standard Tap for close to the year without incident and “never heard any negative feedback from the community.” He sees that his success has brought other vendors to the area (most notably Jose Garces’ Guapos Tacos) and these vendors have raised community ire as they “simply showed up, even parking in no parking zones.” Russell says he’s working on a plan for this weekend but “sadly, our spot may have been ruined.”

We’ll be updating this latest chapter in Food Truck Woe as the week goes on.


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    This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

    • rob

      perhaps we can work towards changing that ordinance, but set up low impact areas where vendors could set up without stirring neighbor ire. more late night food options is never a bad thing, especially in this city, whose late night options leave much to be desired.

    • Deafmute

      Coming out of the Bedford ave L stop in Brooklyn this weekend at about 1 am I was impressed with both the gyro cart and the Mexican food truck parked across the street, not to mention the numerous restaurants – including a doner kebab place – and bodegas that were open. I was equally impressed to see them open at 6 am when on my way back to manhattan.

      It’s sad that so much here stops us from being a 21st century city. What are the chances of getting this law changed? Or are we stuck with something that kills basic urbanity – street food – like we’re stuck with our murderous alcohol laws?

    • http://www.phillyphoodie.com/ ThadS

      It’s sad that Dapper Dogs spot got blown up by the big timers. Bummer. The street food revival is one of the best things happening to the Philly food scene in years. I hope they get this worked out, maybe they can slip the cops a couple of dogs and call it even.

    • eldondre

      it got blown up by an overly restrictive law. these things exists the world over and the city simply wants to kill them…remember center city once had only one outdoor cafe because of these laws. heck its laws like these that made us a bad 20th c city.

    • http://www.mellodybrewing.com Sean

      We need to fix these ordinances, or set up vendor friendly areas like they do in say, Austin, TX.

    • Bloop

      Anyone want to start a petition to change the stupid ordinance? Graces must have some pull with city gov, or at least access.
      I agree that there is not enough late night food. Don’t agree that that makes an inferior city. It’s just a dumb foible, hopefully soon to be rectified.

    • Bloop

      Oops, that’s Garces, thanks autocorrect!

    • Sara

      Yes, a petition is the way to go!

      Also, authoring a public letter/op-ed to City Council and the Mayor never hurts. The city’s laws are stupidly draconian, and making some noise helps. I don’t think anyone would want to go on record standing in the way of small business development. With so much focus on our census numbers being up and making this city a better place to do business, making some noise won’t be hard.

    • Collin

      Heartbreaking news, as a friend and I were about to create an awesome late night food truck. Please let me know of any further action that can rectify this culture killing “law”

    • aimee

      Harry (one of the dappers) posted this on his facebook, please show your support!! I agree that the law itself needs to change too….

      “If you would like the Dapper Dog to be opne past 12am fri & Sat voice your opinion to Frank DiCiccio
      OFFICE: (215) 686-3458
      WORK EMAIL: frank.dicicco@phila.gov
      CAMPAIGN EMAIL: frank@diciccoforcitycouncil.com
      TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/FrankDiCicco“

    • http://www.thedapperdog.org Harry Stormes

      you can call and voice your opinion about dapper dog being open past 12am
      by contacting
      Frank DiCiccio
      OFFICE: (215) 686-3458
      WORK EMAIL: frank.dicicco@phila.gov
      also join us on twitter thedapperdog or face book
      Please support we love you no libs

    • http://www.thedapperdog.org Harry Stormes

      The dapper dog will be open from 6pm till 12am friday & sat and we will have a petition please come out and support us

      • Aimee

        See u then!!! Dapper dogs rule!!!!

    • rob

      Perhaps the vendors can organize and lobby together for better laws?

      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704461304576217021556228668.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter

    • jonz

      what does the city have to lose here? extended vending hours is a no brainer!

    • maruss

      While visiting Philly we went toNorthern Liberties and had the pleasurable experience of eating at The Dapper Dog food cart. Not onlywas the food fantastic, the owners delightful, and the servicefantastic; but the Dapper Dog added a vibe to the community that was positive and upbeat. The cart was recommended by the local merchants
      and patrons alike. They were all happy that the cart provided food during the late hours when bar goers could not find any.

      It is a shame that such a welcomed Northern Liberty site has been forced to close just when the community needs it’s services the most! In this difficult economic time it is unfortunate that a small business that is just trying to make it is shut down. They will be
      sorely missed.

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