Eatery Owners in Food Truck Fight

Manhattan Beach restaurants never thought their biggest rivals would arrive on wheels.

The food truck craze has recently sunk its teeth into the city of Manhattan Beach, and a number of local restaurant owners and employees had their first official opportunity to speak out against the presence of food trucks at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting.

Food trucks have begun to make their mark across the country, but that mark has not been as positive for restaurant owners who compete with the mobile eateries for diners' dollars.

Harold Rothman, owner of Manhattan Beach Creamery in downtown Manhattan Beach, made his gripe known Wednesday evening, as he informed the planning commission of his recent experience with the increasingly popular food truck business.

“My experience with these food trucks was when they parked in front of the creamery,” Rothman said, lobbying for the commission to disallow food trucks to inhabit the downtown streets. “I was shocked that they would park right in front.”

Rothman said that he noticed a seemingly “tag-team” effort from the food trucks, as one would park next to another on the same street.

“They put me in the second row,” Rothman said, who encountered the trucks during this past summer. “I was really concerned. Three weeks later, a cupcake truck showed up around the corner. Next, it’ll be a Wahoo Fish Tacos truck, then it’ll be a Subway truck.”

The theme of the night centered on the effect that these food trucks would have on local small businesses, such as Manhattan Beach Creamery.

Jason Oliver, an employee of the Creamery, was on hand to back Rothman.

“I don’t think there’s enough time for us to explain how bad of an idea this is,” Oliver said at the podium.

Rothman and Oliver’s key point was that while food trucks have the ability to be mobile, seemingly a positive for consumers, their mobility allows them to avoid commitment.

Oliver explained that money earned over the summer helps the Creamery survive some of the slower winter months.

“These trucks make no commitment to the community during the winter,” Oliver said. “They only come during our busiest months. I don’t think it’s fair to share our supplements with them when they make no commitment.

“We’re not going to bail when sales get slower, we’re going to be here,” added Oliver, gesturing toward Robert Eskowitz, owner of Manhattan Pizzeria.

Eskowitz, whose local pizzeria will celebrate its tenth anniversary at the end of the year, said that the food trucks were in front of his business during the summer.

Eskowitz said that the trucks often take up several parking spaces on public streets and pointed out that since the trucks are not required to pay any rent fees, the tickets are essentially ineffective.

“They’re making so much money that I think they just take the ticket,” Eskowitz said.

Manhattan Pizzeria is one of the only local eateries open until the wee hours of the morning, remaining open for business until 2 a.m. on weekend nights. 

Eskowitz said that his business took a large dip during the summer when several food trucks made their presence felt on late nights in Manhattan Beach.

"It his us pretty hard," he said of the food trucks that parked downtown usually after clubs or bars had let out.

“The burden of trucks on the street is real,” said commissioner Sandra Seville-Jones. “And it’s not very fair for them to be leasing property at the price of a parking meter.”

“I don’t think they belong in residential areas,” she said. “There might be a long line right outside someone’s house because folks learned where a food truck would be off of Twitter. That’s not what our community needs.”

Director of Community Development Richard Thompson informed the commission that technically, they could not prevent the trucks from parking on public streets.

However, the city can impose certain regulations on the trucks based on issues such as traffic congestion.

 “The [city] staff thinks we should go with a temporary-use permit that the trucks can apply for that will allow them to be in certain locations at certain times,” Thompson said. 

Thompson and the planning commission will continue to look into how to handle food trucks in the Manhattan Beach community, specifically in downtown and on the North end.

But if pressure from local restaurants has any influence over that decision, it should be an easy one to make.

“It’s very disturbing what the future entails for us,” Rothman said of the food trucks. “It’s up to City Council to act as a landlord and protect us.

“I have faith you guys are going to do the right thing.”