General opinion seems to be that this past weekend’s Hopscotch Music Festival was an overwhelming success. The only complaint I have seen centered around the lack of food trucks in downtown Raleigh’s walkable streets. Such eateries have become the hottest restaurant trend in America, but are not allowed in downtown Raleigh.

Nations Restaurant News today has an article reviewing the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s call to evaluate food trucks in the same way brick-and-mortar restaurants are evaluated. While the trucks are popular, there are serious health concerns associated with this model. I’ve asked friends if they know exactly in which bathtub that salsa was made, and it isn’t an esoteric question. The bacteria don’t care what delivery method is used, and they will aggregate in any condition right for them. This includes the perfectly legal restaurant-prepared sandwiches that sit in thermal coolers for longer than 2 hours at sporting events and concerts.

A second issue with the sanitation grade problem is ‘”fairness”. Why should brick and mortar restaurants to have to comply to government regulations that mobile competition can ignore? A slightly different bent on the fairness issue is also the focus of in an excellent article today by Carolina Journal’s Sarah Barrows. She interviewed Raleigh City Councilor Mary Ann Baldwin and asked why food trucks are not allowed downtown. The primary guiding principle for the ban has nothing to do with sanitation, but rather protectionism for brick-and-mortar restaurants. There are even regulations (outlined in the article) for pushcarts that are designed to protect restaurants.

Another article today , by the the John Locke Foundation, questions the government’s role in barring the entrepreneurial spirit of these mobile restaurants. It even cites agreement by Wellspring Grocery founder Lex Alexander. His intention is to revive an empty lot where a movie theater once sat by bringing in a collection of food trucks. The Chapel Hill Town Council, holding a similar stance to Raleigh, won’t allow such an ad hoc food court.

Food trucks have unlocked an apparent gap in the consumer market. Their flexibility and variety make them a huge draw, so much so that they have become a threat to the traditional restaurant model. A consumer can go to a big box store and eat a variety of foods now, and the vendors can adjust their schedules to the kinetic demands of the market. However government regulations so not seem to comply with the demands and needs of the consumer, and should be reviewed as the market for new food options evolves.