A plea by restaurant owners to impose restrictions on downtown food vendors met with a storm of opposition at Wednesday’s Ordinance Committee meeting.
John Rudnick, a resident, said there is widespread support for the vendors in the community.
Rudnick said the hard-working, blue collar people of the city — “the heart of Bristol” — like to get a hot dog from an outdoor cart when they’re dirty, sweaty and don’t want to go to a sit-down restaurant.
About 100 people packed the City Council chambers to lend support to the vendors. A petition handed in by a vendor’s wife contained nearly 2,300 signatures backing the embattled food sellers who line North Main Street. CLICK HERE FOR STORY
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
14 comments:
"the hard-working, blue collar people of the city — “the heart of Bristol” — like to get a hot dog from an outdoor cart when they’re dirty, sweaty..."
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Ah yes, nothing tempts retail investors more than a bunch of dirty, sweaty guys standing around a hot dog cart...get real people.
Not everyone has time to sit down and have lunch or dinner. These people are just letting you know that they are given very little time for breaks. So I guess you would prefer they not eat, because then everyone would see how sweaty and dirty they are! How sad to see that even those who are barely getting by and working their fingers to the bone can't even grab a quick bite to eat before they go back to working hard again. I don't see these restaurants complaining about McDonald's. They sell the same type of food, don't they? Come on, people! Perhaps the city can impose a tax on the vendors. Maybe a use tax on the property they are "leasing" while running their businesses.
If the city would enforce the parking regulations, the issue would go away.
But then, the city doesn't enforce much of anything, they just continue to make new laws.
another example of why Bristol is going to be the next Waterbury!
I believe that this issue is more about fundamental fairness and "leveling the playing field" for downtown businesses than about whether or not the food vendors are nice people, have great food, are clean, etc. After reading the discussions in the paper and on the blog, it is obvious to me that if the city is ever going to attract restaurants downtown and have a vibrant developed downtown, some sort of regulations need to be put in place at least limiting where they can go, how long they can be there, etc. To level the playing field, I would recommend substantially increasing the vendors fees per year, disallowing temporary businesses downtown, taxing their profits at a local level, subjecting them to all applicable planning and zoning laws that brick and mortor businesses are subjected to and only allow them on private property. It is extremely unfair to the struggling busineses owners when someone who pays $250.00 per year can park outside his back door and turn a profit.
Bristol has no heart!!!!
And people wonder why Bristol can't be the next Blue Back???
12:27, Heart is nice, but brain is better. We've started to clean up our downtown and make it more attractive. Lets, keep the ball rolling...the hot dog carts gotta to go!
Can anyone explain why this is before the Ordinance Committee?
Is there an existing Ordinance being violated? I didn't know thatthe Ordinance Committee had enforcement powers.
Has an Ordinance been proposed?
Why is this not a City Council agenda item? Who would then refer it to the Ordinace Committee for action.
Where is the leadership?
And the council complains that they have too many committee asignments.
It is entirely their own doin!
What? Are you too good to rub elbows with people that get their hands dirty for a living? Jerk! Get out of Bristol if you snobs don't like living with people that tune up your cars, sweep your floors, fix your plumbing or pull you butts out of a car wreck.
3:51 - do you practice being an idiot or does it come naturally? you are very good at it.
9:59: No one said anything about being "too good," Jerk! We're saying that the hot dog carts are an eyesore. We're working so hard to improve our downtown so that it'll be attractive to new business, shops and RESTAURANTS. Why shoot ourselves in the foot by ruining the new streetscape with hot dog carts? The carts have to go!
Time to clean up Bristol. This looks like hell during the day
Steve,
Does Councilman Fuller still own his hot dog truck? If so, will he abstain from voting if the ordinance goes to council for approval?
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