Food trucks top concerns expressed by local restaurants

By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor

First it was the pandemic. Then Snowmageddon. And then the Line Fire.

The current concern for local restaurants is the proliferation of food trucks on the mountain.

To address those concerns, the Lake Arrowhead Communities Chamber of Commerce called a meeting of restaurant owners and county representatives to discuss the issue.

The owners of the 17 restaurants represented at the meeting were surprised to learn from Jonathan Lara, an environmental health specialist with the San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services, that there is no county ordinance dictating a distance food trucks must be located from a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

“We have heard that other counties have something in place,” Lara said. “There’s nothing for us to enforce.”

The food trucks, he explained, do have to obtain permits from his department. They display a decal indicating such permits are in place. They also have to have a restroom agreement with a nearby store; their truck must be located no more than 200 feet from the restroom, which is for the use of their staff.

If the food trucks have the permit and the restroom agreement, Lara said, and they are operating as they should within the scope of their permit, “there’s nothing we can do.”

Lara added that the food trucks are required to return to their commissary every night. At the commissary they dump their wastewater, clean the truck and refill their supplies.

“Staying overnight is against the code,” Lara noted. If residents see food trucks that are not leaving at the end of the day, they can notify the Public Health department.

Lara said his staff inspects the food trucks in the same way they inspect restaurants. Those inspections are unannounced.

One owner commented that they have notified Public Health about a truck not returning to the commissary. “You come up, they comply for a while and then don’t,” the owner said. 

“When we get recurring complaints, that’s when we call them in,” Lara said. “If there are recurring problems, their permit can be revoked. My staff comes up to address those complaints. But,” he added, “if they come up and the truck isn’t there that day, they can’t do anything.”

Lewis Murray, representing Supervisor Dawn Rowe at the meeting, told the owners that any changes to what Public Health is doing would have to go through the board of supervisors. “I will share this meeting with the supervisor,” he said, adding the chances of a change being made improve if she sees the restaurants presenting a united front.

“Keep in mind,” Murray said, “that it takes three of the five supervisors to change an ordinance.” He suggested the owners send their concerns to all five supervisors.

A couple of the owners raised concerns about where some of the food trucks are parking, especially on Lake Drive by Goodwin’s where there is a bus stop. Murray noted that the board of supervisors had approved a “no parking” zone for that area at that day’s meeting. “It will probably take Public Works a couple of weeks to paint the curb,” he said. “There was concern over the safety of the bus passengers.”

Help from the Small Business Development Centers

Sara Green, representing the Small Business Development Centers, shared information with the restaurant owners on resources that are available to them.

“We will visit your restaurant for assistance,” Green said. “We can give you advice on equipment and help you redo your menu. Everything we do is free.”

She also told the owners about two grants that are available to them.

The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is available once a year. Ten restaurants in San Bernardino County received a grant, including two on the mountain for $5,000 each.

The other grant is the Hello Alice Doordash grant, which has four application periods a year. Green told the owners they can apply as many times as they want in the 12-month period from the date of the disaster. “Even if you are not picked in one round, you can apply in the next round. Keep applying until you are approved.” The next due date is Dec. 2, followed by dates in March, June and September.

To be eligible for the Doordash grant, a restaurant owner must be in a disaster area recognized in the last 12 months. The funds can be used for mortgage, rent payment, utilities, maintenance, supplies, food, beverages, any expenses essential to maintaining operations. For more information, visit https://helloalice.com/grants/doordash. 

Robin Bull, executive director of the chamber, and Arali West, the chamber’s social media manager, explained how they help the restaurants promote their businesses. “To help you, we need to know what’s going on,” Bull said. “Send us the information so we can blast it for you.”

As for the next step, the owners agreed they should meet again, most likely in January after the holidays.

“It would be smart if all the restaurants did something together once a quarter,” Green said.