The first chapter of Ottawa's street food experiment is coming to an end as we approach the holidays. The success of many of the trucks and carts, coupled with massive crowds at the Food Truck Rally in September, seems to indicate that street food is here to stay.
Meanwhile, the warmer months were tough for foodies in Vanier. Not only did our farmers' market fail to surface, but we were also left out of the street food frenzy. And so, in some respects, Vanier residents were forced to leave the neighbourhood to take part in some of the foodie fun.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. City of Ottawa officials selected locations for street food vendors by lottery. In late-2012, before the lottery took place, prospective locations were made public and many neighbourhood residents were pleased to see that a spot in Vanier was included. The corner of Olmstead Street and Montreal Road, near the LCBO, would be home to a new truck or cart (see March 3 post: Coming Soon to Vanier).
As summer 2013 approached, results of the lottery were released to great excitement. We discovered that Vanier would be receiving a truck by the name of Epicurean Munchie Truck, or EMT for short. The truck would be run by a group of local restaurant pros, and would focus on tasty, but healthy, options.
The city as a whole hit a bump in the road when many of the vendors had a difficult time meeting their launch dates in early-July. Some vendors complained that the timelines were too tight. Vendors received their permits shortly before the weather started to turn warm and, as a result, many were still putting the finishing touches on their trucks long into the summer. EMT was one of these, with the following message popping up on their website:
"Due to circumstances beyond their control EMT's launch will be delayed! We certainly haven't thrown in the towel..so keep an eye out for us in the future! Great things are coming......." (We haven’t edited this message in any way.)
Despite the optimism of the message, which is still live on their website at the time of this writing, EMT was dead-on-arrival. Though it never did see the light of day, questions remain as to why. EMT’s would-be proprietors didn’t go public with the details of their failure to launch and, naturally, some started to wonder whether Vanier was the problem. Had the folks behind EMT balked at the location they drew in the lottery?
In August, this very question was put to a City official by a local journalist. His response was that, to the City's knowledge, Vanier was not the problem. Rather, the proprietors had had some undisclosed problems in making their truck ready for business. The excuse sounded business-like, leading some to believe that it was a stock reply.
We may never know why EMT didn't make it to the streets of Vanier, but it is a shame that the neighbourhood didn't get to take part in Ottawa’s first large-scale street food experiment. I think that Vanier is a great place for street food, particularly at the corner of Montreal and Olmstead. The area is something of a desert for food options, lacking restaurants or food vendors within a block, yet having a built-in group of lunch-seekers in an adjacent office building. Additionally, beyond area residents, the location is also within walking distance of several large government buildings filled with workers, some of whom would most likely travel for a food truck.
Here's hoping that Vanier will get to take part in the food truck scene in 2014. It's the only way we'll ever know if the neighbourhood can support such a venture.
(Image credit: 123RF Stock Photo)