Comments on: Leonard to crack down on Portland food carts

By: D Cameron

D Cameron — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:25:46 +0000

Food carts should be inspected just like restaurants. Building codes? How does this apply? Are they gonna be offered “protection” next? Sounds like a racket to me. Just another way to justify taking more money from us. Whats next, OSHA imposing fines for our shoelaces being untied?

By: Brian Libby

Brian Libby — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:44:26 +0000

What a bummer. Forget “rein”. It’s raining on the parade.

By: Cranky Designer

Cranky Designer — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:06:35 +0000

The reason for the rise in Food Carts in the first place is the high restaurant failure rate. These carts are providing good and diverse options for both Vender and Customer. In this portion of our economic morass, I think ‘Slack’ is called for, not stringent enforcement of building code issues.
This is BS! And a mis-aplication of City resources.

By: Ebogan63

Ebogan63 — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:15:04 +0000

“Restaurant owners simply do not like competition, especially from people who provide the same thing but cheaper and more convenient for many.”

Most restauranteurs I know welcome competition, and the assertion that food carts provide ‘the same thing but cheaper’ does not reside in my world. I can’t afford to drop
6-7 dollars for lunch, especially for many items I can make myself for alot cheaper than the average prices these food carts are charging.

By: Food Cart Lover

Food Cart Lover — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:25:43 +0000

Cooter – ” regular resturants have to follow code, so why don’t these carts have to as well?”
Hmm… let’s just follow that logic. Semi-truck drivers have to have special licenses, so why shouldn’t car drivers have the same ones? Because they’re DIFFERENT things, that’s why.

Food carts in Portland are already inspected more often and more thoroughly than restaurants. Of course, those are safety inspections to make sure food is safe, etc, not BS “building code” inspections. Restaurant owners simply do not like competition, especially from people who provide the same thing but cheaper and more convenient for many.

Do some research into Mr. Leonard’s previous actions especially regarding the building that formerly housed the Greek Cuchina. Golly, looks like they’re trying to give that building to a developer “acquaintance” of Randy’s! What a coincidence!

If you think this latest is anything but a new way for Leonard to help out some business buddies, you’re head isn’t in the sand, its in the mud.

By: Cooter Southernington

Cooter Southernington — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:27:20 +0000

To “Daniel Lerch”

You are nuts, Mayor Scam Creepy Adams is the most business unfriendly mayor ever in Portland! This crackdown is a good thing, regular resturants have to follow code, so why don’t these carts have to as well? Get your head out of the sand!

By: bojack

bojack — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:25:12 +0000

Rein. Free rein. No “g.”

By: Terrence Butler

Terrence Butler — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:58:43 +0000

Someone built an unsafe addition to my sandwich.

By: Daniel Lerch

Daniel Lerch — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:30:58 +0000

Property owners have been told they must bring food carts (and presumably also any attendant structures) up to code *before* the "building code made specifically for food carts" has been developed? That sounds like a recipe for confusion. Safety complaints must be investigated, absolutely, but hopefully this ends up being a general warning shot with targeted enforcement, and not a full-fledged bureaucratic attack on Portland's successful food cart mini-economy. Commissioner Leonard should follow the business-smart path that Mayor Adams has charted, which has been for the -- specifically, that the City has "worked really hard to stay the hell out of the way" (http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/08/31/10683596-sun.html).