Exceedingly stupid. Almost the entire common is within one thousand feet of restaurants. Andleman undercuts his own argument.

If food trucks would advertise on the Phantom Gourmet show, this problem would disappear overnight...

If customers want cheaper food served from a truck that they have to stand on the side of the road to eat, the sit down restaurants are simply out of luck. You can't just make a law and deny consumers the things they want to spend their money on because you'd prefer they spend it somewhere else. This is a free country and that's a preposterous suggestion. I'm personally not into food trucks, but if a sit down place wants to meet the demand they can expand into food trucks, like redbones is doing.

Phantom Gourmet supports the Upper Crust pizza chain, a notorious violator of labor laws. This forfeits the Phantom Gourmet's right to be taken seriously in any political argument.

That asshat wants to stifle businesses that don't need to buy advertisement to get good reviews on his sham of a show.

The editorial borders on absurd in some areas like "truck sends a certified letter to every restaurant in the designated area, and the majority of the restaurants then approve issuing the permit to operate"

I think that everyone agrees that food trucks have a place in Somerville. The part that is up for debate is where and when.

Great places for them would be up by Trum field when there are games and sporting events going on, after 10 in union or davis sq., around Sullivan Sq for commuters going to and coming from work. Bad combinations are lunch or dinner in union or davis sq. Food trucks offer an opportunity to expand access to good food and bring more people to the central business districts in our city. We just need to be smart about it.

One of the key problems is a lack of research on the impact of food trucks. While I can clearly see the concerns, I've yet to find hard data on negative effects on brick and mortar businesses. There's at least one study in the works: http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2012/07/food-trucks-as-business-model-innovation.html. I'm concerned that brick and mortar businesses, instead of thinking how they too can innovate using the tools of mobile food sales -- building their own following on social media, renting their kitchens off hours to these vendors, becoming vendors themselves, seeing what they can learn about the marketplace based on the successes and failures of these vendors.

bizarre = bazaar*

What's funny is that most of the brick & mortar business owners I have spoken to (and heard speak at public meetings) aren't completely opposed to food trucks. They would like to see an oridinance in place that opens business districts up to cuisine that compliments existing restaurants. For example, a Thai choice for Teele Square or an Ice Cream truck for Magoun.

Assuming that Andelman isn't just shilling on behalf of his advertisers (ha!, I know, that's pretty much the Phantom's entire business model), I have some questions:

1) Why isn't Dave advocating protectionism against the big national chains that have moved into the Seaport, sucking business away from independent brick-and-mortar restaurants in other neighborhoods of the city? Don't they have an unfair competitive advantage, with their deep pockets to sign long-term Waterfront leases and buy $400K full-liquor licenses, their sourcing economies of scale, their national advertising budgets, and their access to abundant, cheap parking?

2) Who will protect the food trucks from the unfair advantages that brick-and-mortar establishments have, like the ability to seat customers, let them use a bathroom, serve alcohol, operate in a blizzard, have a fixed location where their customers always know to find them, have running water and gas cooktops?

3) Where was Dave when Amazon and Apple were turning the bookstores and the CD shops into empty storefronts? Doesn't protecting legacy businesses demand that we put the brakes on any innovative new business model or technology advancements? Won't someone think of the buggy whips?

Anyway, Andelman's position seems like an odd, anti-capitalistic, protectionist stance for such an allegedly pro-business, anti-regulation Republican. Or maybe we should apply Occam's Razor, and conclude he's just whoring for his sponsors after all.

David Andelman is just like his father; he will say whatever he gets paid to say.

Sowa - a weekly "bizarre??" Hahahahahahaha.... Is it the editor or the writer to blame here! Hahahahahahahaha...

Unfortunate that an enterprise that used to be a legit source of food info and reviews has become a shill festival for its sponsors. Tough to be taken seriously when that's what you're known for.

Isn't this capitalism at its finest? Someone has figured out how to build a better mousetrap - evolve and do better. Also, there doesn't seem to be a fact in this opinion piece but it is portrayed that. I agree with Matt C - there is a place for food trucks in Somerville so let's figure it out otherwise that business will go to Cambridge.

I own a cafe and I think this piece is one of the silliest things I've ever read about the restaurant business.

Sure, I'd be momentarily annoyed if Somerville established a designated food truck area right across the street from our cafe ... but eventually, I'd be happy because such a thing would attract customers who might not otherwise come to our neighborhood.

The restaurant business is about complementary competition. Almost nobody eats in the same restaurant every single day. Rather, especially if you're talking about convenience, you want to have a cluster of decent places in one neighborhood so that customers would be happy to come there frequently and still get variety.

My take on food trucks specifically is that they're a gateway drug: a restaurant fix without paying a restaurant price. If you're in the restaurant business in Boston, you want everyone who can afford it to eat out three times a day. Food trucks help make that happen.

And if you have a brick and mortar restaurant, having a food truck is a great way to get your product in front of more people and expand the brand.

Finally, the bureaucratic nonsense espoused in this editorial is just dumb. I can't believe that anyone involved in the business world would ever advocate for such a silly, cumbersome system.

Holland, MI has a similar policy: http://www.thehotdogtruck.com/2012/08/boy-whose-hot-dog-cart-was-shut-down-by.html

This op-ed is total brain snot. The Phantom Gourmet is irrelevant to independent business and thankfully his opinions and suggestions are treated like the malaise they are.
A food truck requires no less investment of blood sweat and tears and financially it is an investment of scale, so many truck operators wouldn't be able to actually open a brick and mortar, but are nonetheless indebted to someone who coughed up 15k-60k to get that rig road ready. Perhaps in five years time there will be a food truck graveyard because one bad egg sickens a patron and sentiment will blow in the wind. It is an uncertain business on the best of days.
I would like to thank the CEO OF Phantom Gourmet for publicly exposing himself as a narrow minded shill hacking down innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, congratulations.

It's almost as though if you express even one iota of sympathy for the brick-and-mortar defenders, you get ridiculed personally. Agree with MC Slim that having Dave Andelman as the face of your activism doesn't help, but I also get the sense that no matter how articulate Dave's (admittedly hole-ridden) argument had been, an anti-Andelman venom would permeate every response to it. Like most people don't give a sh*t about the issue at hand; it's simply a mob mentality, gleefully cheering on the hecklers. "Kill Andelman! I can't believe he takes money from advertisers! His audience likes crappy chicken parm! Waaaaaanh!"

Just for fun, I'd like to ask, say, the owners of Angela's Cafe (or any other scruffy, Chowhound-coronated mecca) to espouse some of the same protectionist views in a public forum. I think the dangerously cliquish local foodiverse would, quite literally, implode.

Andelman, a guy connected to the restaurant biz (in however a pay-for-play connection), didn't spend time and effort plumping for mom-and-pop bookstores, and THAT undermines his point? Interesting indictment.

I thought my (obviously satirically-couched) point about Apple/Amazon was clear, and it wasn't that I actually thought it was Dave Andelman's business to defend Newbury Comics and the Brattle Book Shop. Rather, it's that defenders of old business models against newer ones run the risk of seeming like Luddites at best, and crony capitalists at worst. (Also, Andelman needs another example besides Al's sub shops, a longtime sponsor and frequent guest of his show.) The brick-and-mortars should be wary of appearing to try to use their lobbying pals to get government to level a playing field that has been reconfigured by an innovative new entrant. It might also help if brick-and-mortars acknowledged that they have many inherent advantages against food trucks, and considered the notion that if consumers are abandoning them, it may be for a better product, not necessarily a cheaper one. And yes, having a spokesman like Andelman probably doesn't help: he has all the credibility of a stripper telling you how fascinating you are as she strokes your wallet.

Jolyon, while I see where you're coming from. Given this particular Op Ed and the comments that follow it, one might think that this is a Andleman heckleing that is taking place.

However, this conversation, this situation, this problem isn't a new one. These same types of comments and opposite opinons were stated when some of the Aldermen of Somerville made arguments against food trucks that were equally as hole-ridden as Dave Andleman's argument.

And one reason that you are pretty unlikely to hear owners of places such as Angela's Cafe or any of the other smaller food nerd mecca's spouting the same protectionist views is because many of them are similar in position and nature to food trucks. They are hard working people who put their everything into their business, they don't have deep pocketed backers, so they forced to put out delicious food and be innovative in their business strategies. They are more likely to feel a connection to those who put their everything into food trucks, who are forced to put out high quality products in innovative ways in order to stay in business.

You should take note of the restaurants that are complaining about food trucks. Many of them are part of chains (albeit, mostly local chains) or bigger restaurant groups. While yes, I am sure they built themselves up from the ground, but I think they're a little out of touch with the smaller, new-comers who are just trying to make it in the growing Boston food scene.

Dave Andelman, It's not your job to protect restaurants from having to compete with legitimate businesses that offer better value. Have you forgotten that the dining public likes food trucks? Don't we get a say? I know the restaurant business is tough, but if diners prefer food trucks, then let some restaurants go out of business.

Why not just debunk Andelman's arguments, such as they are? They are quite clearly not aimed at ensuring "that the food truck industry can be successful," as he claims, or striking a fair balance between food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants.

First, food trucks are part of the restaurant industry, not some separate industry. It's all selling prepared meals. Food trucks also have start-up costs, even if they may be lower in most cases. They have to buy or lease a truck, like a restaurant has to buy/lease a location. They have to hire workers. They pay taxes. Just like a brick-and-mortar restaurant, it's a risky proposition. The recession and increasing food and other costs have also impacted food trucks. And I'm pretty sure Andelman could figure out which town Redbones pays the meals tax to for the food truck sales in Boston if he wanted (I'd guess Boston).

Most of the places food trucks park were not legal parking spots for cars, so no customers are losing those spots (i.e. I know that's true in Gov't Ctr, Dewey Sq. by S. Station, Liberty Sq. in the Financial Dist.), and in Boston, I would assume many users of public transportation are patrons anyway.

Finally, what's stopping the restaurants from opening their own food trucks, if it's such a better business model? That's what Redbones did. Maybe Al's (which I like and patronize) should join them.

It's "a wonderful weekly BAZAR" not a "bizarre." Seriously.

U SHODNT hv a 7-11 so CLose to other food places CAUSE IT RUINS HOW EXPENSIVE FOOD IS!!!

In case you missed it, Galen Moore over at Boston Business Journal weighed in with another very nice, fact-enriched rebuttal to the above: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bottom_line/2012/08/food-truck-regulations.html?page=all

Free enterprise should rule the day here. If you can't compete with new business models then no one owe's you a living.