Mixed emotions

COEUR d'ALENE - Reactions from restaurateurs to a Coeur d'Alene City Council decision granting space for mobile eateries downtown are as diverse as the cuisine they sell.

Last week, the council passed a motion to allow a small number of food trucks to use the lower parking lot at City Hall on April 12. If the trial is a success, the council could then approve a larger-scale gathering in the lot during Car d'Lane in June.

Tom Robb, who owns the Iron Horse Bar and Grill, told The Press Tuesday that he is a "private enterprise kind of guy" and that people thrive on competition. He recalled a time in the restaurant's 42-year history when a food cart was on the sidewalk in front of Iron Horse and that it wasn't a concern.

"I certainly don't have any problems with the trucks being down there in city park or anywhere else for that matter," Robb said. "The thing that I'm concerned about is that I want them to be treated the same way we're treated. If you're going to run a 100-yard dash, you don't want the person you're running against to only have to run 90 yards."

Robb pointed to the fact that restaurants such as his have to pay a fee in order to have outdoor seating at their establishments, which he estimated to be around $1,100 a year. A mobile food truck parked in the lower lot would pay substantially less for similar exposure, he added.

"The city council has stacked all kinds of rules and regulations on us for the sidewalk there - it looks like the NCAA compliance book," Robb said. "Yet the trucks come along and it seems like the whole thing just hasn't been thought through."

At Crafted Tap House + Kitchen, owner Rob Berger applauded the decision by the city council and told The Press that any additions to the food scene in downtown Coeur d'Alene are a positive thing for everyone involved in the industry.

"Everybody should support growth down here," Berger said. "I'm not concerned about them hurting our business at all."

Jason Rex, owner of Scratch Coeur d'Alene, told The Press that having food trucks in the city hall parking lot would only affect his business if they were there permanently.

"I think that anything that brings more synergy to the downtown area is a good thing," Rex said. "Heck, I'd go down there and get a grilled cheese."

However for the owners of two restaurants at The Parkside, which overlooks the lot where the mobile eateries will be parked, the decision by the council is tough to swallow.

Andrew Pigott, manager and co-owner of Bakery by the Lake, said they already pay a premium price for the location and he is concerned that having the food trucks across the street during the summer months could hurt the business.

"They're getting to be down here at a subsidized rate," Pigott said. "If it was private property I would have no issue with it, but this is government property. The city is thinking, which is a good thing. But I didn't get anyone asking us how we felt about it."

Pigott added that Bakery by the Lake has to pay an annual fee to the city for each seat it places outside because of the additional strain it puts on the sewage system.

"And that's something that the food trucks won't have to worry about," he said.

Adriano de Souza, who owns the Grille from Ipanema, was unaware of the decision made by the city council. When informed of the April 12 trial run, and the potential for a larger event during Car d'Lane, he told The Press it didn't make any sense.

"We are here 365 days a year, we employ people throughout the winter months when there isn't much going on," de Souza said. "We do pay a lot of money to be where we are at and it seems very convenient for the food trucks to just come in here during the peak season."