Vancouver Street Food Vendors

Comments 11 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Yesterday the Sun reported that City Hall is poised to expand Vancouver’s street food menu by launching a pilot project this summer that will allow mobile kitchens on wheels to operate alongside our existing hotdog and chestnut carts.


Photo credit: stevelyon on Flickr

The move will likely expand the menu available on city sidewalks from pre-cooked packaged foods such as hotdogs to more freshly prepared fare. The city soon will issue a call for expressions of interest seeking vendors who want to offer streetside food service, according to the acting manager of streets administration…

…Vending trucks are governed by national standards, the same standards that apply to mobile catering, according to health protection manager Angelo Kouris of Vancouver Coastal Health. [Vancouver Sun]

I posted this link on Twitter and received the following responses from my readers:

  • From @Vancouver: What do u want to see? Minidonuts? Tacos?
  • From @doublePinc: Bring on the street tacos!
  • From @TravizBonez: Can’t wait, bring on the food! Yum!
  • From @jpiwowar: This should be awesome
  • From @Hez: Foot-dragging suits should buy us all lunch 4 makin us wait
  • From @ littlemisskelli: That’s fantastic news! I’m always jealous when I read about other cities’ mobile treats. There’s even a dim sum truck in LA!
  • Having spent this past week in New York I can say that there sure is no shortage of roadside munchies here; from falafel and warm pretzels to the flame-grilled shish kabob and soft-serve ice cream trucks.

    In downtown Vancouver we have lineups out the door at two types of places: Babylon Cafe (with shawarma, gyros, falafel etc.) and anywhere that serves ramen.


    Photo credit: Barnaby (left) / anitasarkeesian (right)

    I’m expecting to see those types of foods take to the streets or anything fusion given the success of Japadog. The pilot project will launch in July.

    Update August 2010 With the project now launched, the following is a map of the 17 vendor locations around Vancouver.

    New street food vendor locations

    East Side of 200 Howe St – 100 metres North of W Cordova St
    Wong, To Choi – Chinese Dim Sum

    South Side of 400 W Georgia St – 12 metres East of Richards St
    Lee, Yong Sook – Korean food with meat and vegetarian options

    North Side of 700 W Cordova St – 14 metres East of Howe St
    Revuelta Cue, Arturo – Burritos, whole wheat, rice, beans, sauces, fillings

    East Side of 700 Homer St – 20 metres South of W Georgia St
    Yong, Ming Cheak – chicken salad with lettuce, tomato. Fruit cup with melon, kiwi and mixed fruit.

    East Side of 700 Hornby St – 22 metres South of W Georgia St
    Kaisaris, Michael – Southern BBQ, Rice, Veggies

    South Side of 700 W Georgia St – 20 metres West of Granville St
    Li, Hongyu – Traditional Chinese and Japanese Cuisine

    South Side of 900 W Hastings St – 24 metres East of Burrard St
    Fang, Emily – Skewers of beef and pork

    West Side of 1100 Burrard St – 28 metres South of Helmcken St
    Samaei Motlag, Babak – Greek Donair

    West Side of 1100 Burrard St – 25 metres North of Davie St
    Yeo, Allan – Modern Satay Barbeque

    South Side of 2000 Beach Av – 30 metres West of Chilco St
    Zhao, Mei Liing – Fresh squeezed Lemonade

    East Side of 600 Granville St – 50 metres North of W Georgia St
    Ip, Derek – Fresh Bakery

    West Side of 600 Granville St – 95 metres North of W Georgia St
    Rodgers, Katie – Healthy meals & snacks, roll ups, sandwiches

    East Side of 6400 Cambie St – 20 metres North of W 49th Ave
    Yien, Alan – speciality noodles

    East Side of 1300 Main St – 12 metres North of Terminal Ave
    St. Denis, Jean Francois – Falafel

    West Side of 1100 Station St, or West Side of 400 Burrard St
    Morra, Giorgio – Authentic Italian stone ground pizza

    West Side of 1200-1300 Arbutus St, or North Side of 1000 W Georgia St
    Duprey, David – Fresh & frozen fruits, chocolate dipped fruits

    West Side of 1400 NW Marine Dr, or East Side of 800 Hornby St
    Kosmowski, Roman – Central European foods from Poland, Russia, using local organic products, borscht, schnitzel, kosher

    I’ve been reading some mixed reviews of the street vendor pilot program as Scout Magazine provides plenty of food for thought.

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    11 Comments  —  Comments Are Closed

    1. Steve Woodall – Vancouver Tour GuyThursday, May 27th, 2010 — 10:03am PDT

      We need a good street soup vendor! While you’re in NYC you have to try some, they’re fantastic! (insert Soup Nazi joke here)

      Enjoy the big apple!

    2. MatthewThursday, May 27th, 2010 — 10:10am PDT

      Vancouver should really look at the extremely costly mistakes made in Toronto during the initial launch of its street vendor program. Toronto vendors really got screwed. It’d be a shame to see Vancouver make the same mistakes.

    3. JamesThursday, May 27th, 2010 — 11:24am PDT

      Awesome! I’ve been waiting for this to happen! Lets see what this city can produce!

    4. JonThursday, May 27th, 2010 — 4:05pm PDT

      That’s fantastic news! I’ve been enjoying this show on the web about street food, hopefully we’ll see some of the same kind of variety on our streets soon. It seems Portland is quite a hotbed for different kinds of mobile vendors.

      http://vendr.tv/

    5. michelleFriday, May 28th, 2010 — 12:30am PDT

      BURRITO BUSSES PLEASE!

    6. HenryFriday, June 4th, 2010 — 7:12pm PDT

      Great stuff.. Keep it up.

    7. Rodolfo Rodriguez VazquezFriday, June 18th, 2010 — 12:49am PDT

      I will love to participate in this pilot.
      I’m from Mexico and planning to sell authentic mexican tacos.
      Can somebody tell me where I have to go or who i have to talk to to get in to this pilot???
      please!!
      Your taste buds will be happy to meet me!!I mean my food:)
      this is my slogan:
      YOU ARE GOING TO LICK YOUR FINGERS!!!
      Thanks in ADVANCE!!

    8. Rodolfo Rodriguez VazquezMonday, June 28th, 2010 — 2:07pm PDT

      Writing a comment about the street vendors pilot program..
      Honestly.
      I think this city is crazy..
      out of their mind,
      they are charging 2,400 per meter per month is some street locations????
      I wonder what is the base for charging that much money..
      Besides that..
      In order to sell your product on the street, the city has some regulations that you have to follow..
      permits and your cart station, right there is already a lot of money involved.
      The locations are by lottery…If you spend all that money to apply, and you don’t get the lottery????
      from where are you going to get back your money that you invest in the process???
      It is a pilot..flat rate will be ideal..but more like $300.00 per moth for the space .
      2,400 per meter, is a lot of money, that will be 5000 a month right there…
      Considering that you don have running water or electricity and roof and a place to sit..
      I will prefer to rent a space where I can have all this included and sell my product!!
      Thanks

    9. JamesTuesday, August 3rd, 2010 — 1:47pm PDT

      Update, It is July 3rd and only two vendors are open for business! Two!
      It will be interesting to see if these business people will be able to negotiate the hurdles city council has put before them.

    10. JohnSaturday, August 21st, 2010 — 8:53pm PDT

      How much do they pay the city for the location?
      I have searched all over the map but there is only $1,000 + HST for the license?? Where could we find Rodolfo’s information such as $2,400 per meter per month?

      Please let me know. @johnhahn_td

      Thanks!

    11. HeatherWednesday, January 4th, 2012 — 11:05am PST

      I love that we can get amazing street food downtown now, but poor people (like me) who don’t actually live downtown. When are they going to approve trucks in other cities?

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