Update: It's been confirmed that The Tamiami Truckers Food Court has temporarily moved to their old spot at SW 127th Street and SW 137th Avenue (near Tamiami Airport), at least for this week. Code compliance issues forced the food trucks from their regular spot at Lexus of West Kendall and West Kendall Toyota. Caza Crepes owner and Food Court organizer Kevin Gleizes was trying to resolve the issue today, but he apparently failed to reach an agreement with code enforcement officials.
Short Order contacted the Miami-Dade County Building and Neighborhood Compliance Department regarding exactly what permits and licenses are required to have a food truck meetup on a private property and received an email back from Miriam Rossi, Public Information Officer stating, "Regarding your below inquiries received this afternoon with a short notice deadline, additional time is needed to fully research", which possibly means they don't even know what permits are needed.
No word yet whether the trucks at the SW 127th Street and SW 137th are there with permission, or if code enforcement had been made aware of this location, but we will share information as we receive it.
Tonight's Tamiami Truckers Food Court at Lexus of West Kendall may be nixed and other local food trucks face big problems with city and county officials.
Yesterday, the Thursdays on The Bay Food Truck Roundup at American Legion Post #29 was abruptly shut down due to City of Miami code compliance issues.
Jack Garabedian, owner of Jefe's Original Tacos and the organizer of the Thursdays on The Bay Food Truck Roundup and Tuesday's Biscayne Triangle Truck Roundup near Johnson & Wales University, told Short Order that City of Miami code enforcement showed up at American Legion Post #29 to make sure every food truck had a City of Miami tax receipt (allowing a business to operate). They issued the American Legion a citation and a seven-day warning, ordering them to pull an event permit.
Zoning issues may arise as well. Garabedian was told by Miami zoning officials the food trucks aren't "vendor carts," but commercial trucks, which are not permitted to be parked and operate on private property. This could present huge problems for the trucks, which currently try to partner with local businesses to secure space for their roundups.
And the Tamiami Truckers Food Court in West Kendall seems to be in jeopardy. Caza Crepes owner and Tamiami Trucker organizer, Kevin Gleizes told Short Order that he was told there are code compliance issues with the site. He's still working to resolve the issue for tonight. The backup location for tonight's Tamiami Truckers Food Court is their old location on 137th Avenue and 127th Street.
Mark Hoppe, General Manager of West Kendall Toyota and Lexus of West Kendall, told Short Order he was issued a Notice of Violation for "Operating a Fair Without a Permit" by code enforcement. No specific statutes of codes were cited. Hoppe said he spent two hours looking for the law, but couldn't find anything. He also said that last week Food Inspectors did a thorough inspection of the trucks and did not find any violations, He added, though, that the food inspectors wanted the Fire Department to test for levels of carbon monoxide in the air from the trucks' generators.
"I'm just trying to do something nice for the community", Hoppe said. I see four generations of families coming here to enjoy the evening. People seem really happy."
The only big gathering location that seems secure is Tuesday's Biscayne Triangle Truck Roundup near Johnson & Wales University. This location is under the jurisdiction of The City of North Miami, which has its own laws and rules. Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally Heyman (who could support a new county rule) is behind the food trucks, and this location has a city permit to be at this location.
As it stands right now, Tamiami Truckers Food Court organizer Kevin Gleizes is still working on trying to maneuver the county's maze of red tape for tonight's Food Court, Tuesday's BTTR in North Miami is safe and Thursday's on The Bay Roundup at American Legion Post #29 will be back next week. (We hope.) Short Order will share update information as it comes in.
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