Mikey Wheeler-Johnson, owner of Eats Amore, said the program’s June start was too late for him. (KTW file photo)
Don’t bother looking for lunch at Gaglardi Square this summer — the food trucks won’t be there.
City of Kamloops planner Stephen Bentley said no one has signed up to be part of the city’s on-street food truck program, which closed to applications on May 15.
The program would have allowed up to two trucks to park next to the square at Seymour Street and Second Avenue for $15 a day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
It would have run from June into October.
“We’re a little bit at a loss,” Bentley said. “Potentially, we could open it up again if we received any interest, but we haven’t’ received any interest.”
This would have been the second year for the program, which ran as a pilot project in 2014 with spaces at Gaglardi Square and in front of the Kamloops Art Gallery at Victoria Street and Fifth Avenue.
The city got rid of the latter spot for 2015 because it was too close to restaurants and less profitable for trucks.
Bellringer Espresso Bus owner David Burgess, who participated in last year’s program, said he opted out because the operating hours — though earlier than last year’s — still don’t help much for his bus.
“I’m kind of a breakfast guy and the hours just weren’t right,” he said, adding the Gaglardi Square spot had been “marginal” compared to Bellringer’s other locations, which include the Saturday Kamloops Farmers’ Market at Stuart Wood elementary.
Mikey Wheeler-Johnson, owner of Eats Amore, said the program’s June start was too late for him.
In order to get his truck on the street a month earlier, he rented space on private land (which has led to its own ongoing dispute with city staff and Riverside Park through the city’s yoga in the park program.
“Our dance card was full,” Wheeler-Johnson said.
Samidges owner Miles Carrier said he wasn’t that excited about the hours allowed and the single location on offer. For the year, he’ll be taking his truck to music festivals rather than operating in the city.
“I’m trying to wait it out and hope the city changes its approach,” Carrier said. “I do want to vend in the city of Kamloops.”
Bentley said the city will likely reassess its on-street program’s timing and setup for 2016, but noted it’s too early to determine what changes might come.
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