(WXYZ) — Taking a stand against the rapid rise in food trucks in downtown Detroit, some brick-and-mortar restaurants say they're struggling to survive.
They claim more must be done to enforce limits on a summer food truck program, as they compete with restaurants for businesses and owners who say it's unfair.
“It’s becoming a little bit too much. 80 trucks. Food costs are up. Everything is up. Rents are up. People aren’t coming to the office every day. Even the volume is down," George Antonopulos, the owner of Athens Souvlaki, said.
Antonopulos tells me the rise in the number of food trucks allowed here is unfairly cutting into his business and others who pay property taxes and more.
We also spoke to LaShante Fitch from Mr. Creole's food truck, where jerk chicken and pasta are favorites.
“I don’t think it’s a problem. Certain restaurants down here, people might not want that food," Fitch said.
Customers who frequent both food trucks and downtown restaurants like Fresh Mex Grille spoke to me.
“The local businesses are great, but food trucks help increase that," Blair Murawksi said.
“If you don’t support businesses, they won’t be here anymore. You’ll just have food trucks and nowhere downtown to eat," Loy Cohen said.
“Now, they’re rotating five to six different food trucks, in one area. They only come 11 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, our lunch special," Danny Bally from Fresh Mex said.
“How much of a concern is this from the business owners?" I asked Detroit City Councilman Fred Durhal III.
"It’s a tremendous concern. You want them to make revenue and continue to stay open," he said.
Durhall agreed to talk about the issue I brought to him after hearing from stakeholders. He also said he plans to address it.
“My team and I are currently working on an ordinance. Our ordinances now have no regulations on how food trucks operate on private property," he said.
I also questioned Eric Larsen, the CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, which oversees parts of the food truck program.s
He said while they pay a fee for the summer, further review of how many are allowed is needed.
“It’s a balance, Simon. We spend a lot of time with our small businesses listening to what their concerns are," Larsen said.
“We’re probably down 25-30%. We have some worries of course. We’ve had some worries of course. We’ve been here through thick and thin. Through COVID," Bally said.
Places like Athens say they’d be glad to serve the community for years to come, but they hope the city considers what a good balance would be.
