Newton, MA: Aldermen Looking at Bringing Food Trucks into Newton

While neighboring communities like Brookline, Needham and Boston have already OK’d food trucks to the delight of diners on-the-go, Newton doesn’t have regulations in place for mobile eateries. When the aldermanic Programs and Services Committee took up the topic at their Oct. 14 meeting, city officials discovered they still have a lot of prep work to do before they can let food trucks roll into Newton.

The city is forming a task force that will include at least one alderman and other stakeholders like restaurant owners to look into the issue.

“Everyone has a different perspective on what the problems and benefits are,” said Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan, who requested that the board look into the issue.

Dave Andelman, president of the Restaurant and Business Alliance, a trade association and lobbyist for the restaurant industry, told the Newton TAB that allowing food trucks to operate in a municipality negatively impacts local brick and mortar restaurants.

“You are absolutely sending a negative message to [local restaurant owners] if you are just going to let any truck pull up near their restaurant,” said Andelman, who is also CEO of the Phantom Gourmet. “You have to ask yourselves, given that restaurants don’t want this, ‘What is Newton getting from this?’”

Seanna Gahrein, owner of Dunn Gaherin’s Food and Spirits on Elliot Street, told the committee that allowing food trucks would negatively impact her business.

But supporters point out that Newton-based restaurants like Blue Ribbon Barbeque already operate food trucks just outside of the city boundaries in places more friendly to mobile eateries like Needham. Needham has been allowing food trucks to operate for more than two years. Brookline’s Board of Selectmen recently approved extending its pilot food truck program until at least April 13, 2013.

“We can’t pretend that these food trucks don’t exist,” said Alderman Greer Tan Swiston in a phone interview.

Swiston said she is open to exploring the possibility of allowing food trucks in areas like office parks and near parks and fields during sports games – places that she said wouldn’t negatively impact Newton’s brick and mortar businesses.

Meanwhile, Phantom Gourmet’s Andelman has worked with Mayor Setti Warren and city officials to organize Newton’s first ever Restaurant Appreciation Week this week. From Oct. 21-25 21 eateries in the city are offering a variety of special deals to diners including a three or four course meals for a flat rate or free appetizers with the purchase of two meals. The city has also allowing free parking at metered spaces after 5 p.m.