Where can food trucks go in downtown Port Huron? Trunkline rule sparks debate

One food truck operator’s plan to debut at a business event in downtown Port Huron Saturday hit a snag this week after they learned they could no longer set up on Huron Avenue.

The Sandwich Scoop, owned by Taryn Strausser and her mother, and another food truck were originally slated to be outside Ruboo Boutique.

Strausser, of Croswell, said they’ve seen food trucks in front of downtown businesses before and didn’t anticipate a problem. But city officials said vendors can’t operate on Huron because it’s a state trunkline — a city rule that’s adding to the conversation about where food trucks are welcome as they continue to grow in popularity.

“Port Huron says they want to bring more (people) downtown. … I have a huge following,” said Strausser, whose family got started in the business with Top Dog in 2019. “They come for the food trucks. They spend money at Ruboo. They spend money in downtown going other places. I guess I just don’t understand what the issue is.”

Instead of downtown, Strausser said the Scoop will be outside Gordon Food Service in Fort Gratiot Saturday.

Demiree Fultz, owner of Ruboo, said they aren’t changing plans for a summer kick-off party Saturday without food trucks. But she said the change is frustrating as she thought the trucks would “create a really cool vibe for downtown.”

“It’s kind of a bummer because I know that they were going to be bringing a ton of people. It’s a little disappointing as a downtown business owner,” Fultz said. “We’ve done multiple events with (food trucks)…that have been an insane success.”

‘There’s a process’: Where can food trucks go?

After the recent change in plans, Strausser said, “The city manager, they do not want food trucks.”

But Port Huron City Manager James Freed said that isn’t quite the case, adding they’ve had issues with trucks taking up parking spaces. 

“We have politely warned them,” he said. “… We welcome food trucks, but there’s a process.”

Under city ordinances, the city manager or a designee can decide how and where vendors or peddlers/solicitors can operate. Those entities otherwise can’t obstruct public streets, alleys and sidewalks or conduct business on trunkline highways or county roads.

Freed said food trucks with a vendor’s license can generally operate on private property, and that state law also keeps them off the trunkline and public streets eligible for state funding.

In limited circumstances, he said they can operate in public spaces when they believe vendors serve as an amenity for guests and residents without competing with “brick and mortar business that pay taxes for the public services they use.”

Black River Burger Company owner Patrick Blakeley was also expecting to be outside Ruboo on Saturday. He said he’s been there before and elsewhere in downtown Port Huron.

Cynthia Cutright, the city’s Downtown Development Authority director, said when organizing an event, she’s “always open to a food truck if they wish to approach me” — something she agreed has happened recently.

“And actually, Black River Burger Company did for Art Hop,” she said. “What we did is we moved them off the main street on to Quay Street, which solved that state trunkline issue.”

Because of COVID and knowing that “everyone’s hurting,” Cutright said the city probably “didn’t keep an eye on things as closely as we normally would have” in the past year.

Now, however, she said, “We’re at a place where we do need to start enforcing these ordinances.”

Cutright said they want to continue to be open to food trucks, emphasizing existing opportunities on private property downtown.

“Like the Citadel parking lot. (The) Foundry, right now, has a few trucks out there quite often,” she said. “So, there are those options out there, as well, that they wouldn't have to wait for a special event for. They could approach those business owners and those building owners about that.”

‘It’s just a cool spot’: An ordinance change?

Blakely admitted the exchange does feel anti-food truck.

“If they were pro-food truck, they would say yes,” he said. “If they were pro-business, they would find a way. They’d say, ‘You know what? We don’t have an ordinance that supports this.”

Food trucks attract visitors downtown who may not otherwise be there, Blakeley said.

He said they also want to be able to support friends with businesses like Ruboo.

Cutright said she was open to discussing some ordinance adjustments if it “changes it in a way that gives them more options to join us.”

However, she wouldn’t expect to approach that conversation until the fall and ultimately it would go to the city council. 

For Strausser, not being downtown may mean not being in Port Huron — at least, so far. She said she hopes to find a way.

“I have so many messages every day from people that are in Port Huron that are asking, ‘When are you coming back to Port Huron?’” she said. “We’re not. Because we have nowhere to go in Port Huron.”

Blakely said not being able to set up downtown won't necessarily hurt their business — but it’d be nice.

“There’s lots of other places (where) people want us to come out. It’s just a cool spot. Downtown Port Huron is beautiful," he said. 

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.