The city of Portland allowed more food trucks into its pilot program on the Eastern Promenade on Thursday afternoon, hours after food truck operators and employees protested outside City Hall and called for the city either to delay the start of the program or find room for all the trucks that had applied to be part of it.

Food truck operators were upset after a lottery was held Wednesday to select 10 trucks for the program, leaving four applicants out. Some of those who didn’t get picked said their businesses and ability to retain employees were at stake without access to sales on the prom.

The city then arranged a meeting with the vendors whose trucks had not been chosen, and the interim city manager said she would look into whether the dimensions of the trucks would allow for additional operators to fit into the Cutter Street parking lot where they will be located in the pilot program.

By Thursday afternoon, the city said it had found a way for all 14 applicants to fit in the lot. (One application was for two trucks that plan to share one spot.)

“I want to thank the food truck operators who were able to meet so quickly with me yesterday following the lottery so we could explore a solution,” said Interim City Manager Danielle West in a statement. “I appreciate hearing their thoughts and feedback regarding our plans for the food truck pilot program on the Eastern Promenade this season.”

West said she realizes how important it is for food truck operators to know in advance where they can locate and operate. “Given we are very close to the start of this pilot program, I wanted to make every effort to see if we could accommodate all of the food trucks that applied,” she said.

‘THE RIGHT THING’

The change in policy was welcome news for Jordan Rubin, co-owner and chef at Mr. Tuna, a mobile sushi bar that has been operating on the prom regularly since 2020. The Mr. Tuna truck was among the four applicants that weren’t selected Wednesday.

“I think it’s great and I think they’re doing the right thing,” Rubin said. “I think it’s amazing they changed their minds and listened to the people of Portland and the small businesses.”

Rubin said he sent a group message to his staff at Mr. Tuna on Thursday afternoon to let them know what the city had done, and everyone was relieved. “I’ve gotten a lot of very happy responses from the staff,” he said.

Dylan Gardner, co-owner of the Falafel Mafia food truck, which did win a spot in Wednesday’s lottery, said, “We’re happy they’re including everyone.”

But he said food truck operators still have questions about how the pilot program will work, specifically about traffic flow and pedestrian safety. “We’re hopeful they’re willing to listen, and open to listening, to our many years of experience around how this should function and what trucks should and shouldn’t be able to do,” Gardner said. “We want it to be organized.”

PROTEST PRECEDED CHANGE

On Thursday morning, half a dozen food trucks lined Congress Street in front of City Hall and about 30 people turned out to protest the lottery and the pilot program. They held signs that read “The prom is for the people” and “Pilot program not the answer,” and received honks of support from passing motorists.

The pilot program has been in development since last fall and was created in response to concerns about trash, pedestrian safety, noise and environmental impacts stemming from the growing presence of food trucks on the Eastern Prom roadway in recent years.

It is scheduled to run from June 15 to Nov. 15, and the city is not charging a fee for trucks to operate in the lot during the pilot season. Under the new rules, food trucks can no longer set up for business on the prom roadway and all trucks must be located in the middle-level Cutter Street lot.

PROM IS PLACE TO BE

Some food truck operators at the protest said that while there are other locations around the city where they can operate, business is the best on the promenade.

“None of them even remotely compare to business on the promenade,” said Mr. Tuna co-owner Marisa Lewiecki. “You have the beautiful lawn, the overlook of the water, people passing by constantly. We’ve worked really hard and put in a lot of days to make it what it is and to make it a spot where people know to come see the food trucks.”

Before announcing the change in the pilot program Thursday afternoon, West said that the morning protest surprised her. She had thought her meeting with the food truck operators had been productive. She thought she’d made it clear that the city was looking for solutions.

She said the pilot program has been all about balancing the competing needs of the trucks, residents and park users, and that staff put considerable time and energy into its development.

“We’ll be evaluating as we move forward how to make it better and what that final program will look like,” West said.

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