15 votes

What happened to Washington, DC food trucks?

14 comments

  1. [9]
    Astronauty
    Link
    This article seems to not be about food trucks and instead is more of one of those thinly veiled “work from home is bad” type pieces.

    This article seems to not be about food trucks and instead is more of one of those thinly veiled “work from home is bad” type pieces.

    11 votes
    1. [8]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Really? I didn't get that vibe at all. I mean, sure, the increased prevalence of work-from-home is clearly a factor affecting their businesses, but it wasn't even mentioned anywhere in the...

      Really? I didn't get that vibe at all. I mean, sure, the increased prevalence of work-from-home is clearly a factor affecting their businesses, but it wasn't even mentioned anywhere in the article. Most of the complaints from the truck owners were about the excessive permit/license fees and requirements, and the parking spot lottery system.

      14 votes
      1. [6]
        vord
        Link Parent
        From the one owner. Pretty unambiguous "work from home bad" vibe there.

        Gordon’s main advice isn’t for D.C. officials; it’s for President Biden and his Cabinet: “As soon as the federal government forces everybody back, then everything else will come.”

        From the one owner. Pretty unambiguous "work from home bad" vibe there.

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          NaraVara
          Link Parent
          That is the opinion of one of the food truck proprietors, and it's a pretty common opinion among basically anyone who runs a business catering to commuters. It would be bad journalism for a piece...

          That is the opinion of one of the food truck proprietors, and it's a pretty common opinion among basically anyone who runs a business catering to commuters. It would be bad journalism for a piece about what food truck owners think to not mention it.

          15 votes
          1. [2]
            vord
            Link Parent
            It's true. But it's one of those pieces that further contribute to the "damn the wants and needs of remote workers, we need their butts in cities" vibe that's gonna result in remote work's...

            It's true. But it's one of those pieces that further contribute to the "damn the wants and needs of remote workers, we need their butts in cities" vibe that's gonna result in remote work's collapse after some time.

            Its almost like most people commuting in to cities didn't want to be in cities, but needed to go there for the work. But so much of the city design for the last 50 years relied on the economics related to commuters. Without them, the excessive demand for things like skyscrapers collapses, and the math that justified building them no longer holds.

            I like how most of them have worked out how to branch into the suburbs. Frankly, having seen what DC commuter traffic looks like, even now, it would be irresponsible to kill remote work without figuring out better infrastructure like regional rail.

            1 vote
            1. babypuncher
              Link Parent
              Merely acknowledging this opinion among food truck owners does not make this a pro-RTO piece.

              But it's one of those pieces that further contribute to the "damn the wants and needs of remote workers, we need their butts in cities" vibe that's gonna result in remote work's collapse after some time.

              Merely acknowledging this opinion among food truck owners does not make this a pro-RTO piece.

              8 votes
        2. [2]
          babypuncher
          Link Parent
          I wonder how he expects that to happen. I seriously doubt the federal government has the power to ban WFH. These food truck owners may just need to make peace with the fact that WFH has been...

          “As soon as the federal government forces everybody back, then everything else will come.”

          I wonder how he expects that to happen. I seriously doubt the federal government has the power to ban WFH. These food truck owners may just need to make peace with the fact that WFH has been normalized and isn't going away.

          3 votes
          1. BeanBurrito
            Link Parent
            I see a headline every few weeks that the Biden administration wants more government workers back on site. I've also seen articles about congressional republicans raising a stink over all of the...

            I see a headline every few weeks that the Biden administration wants more government workers back on site.

            I've also seen articles about congressional republicans raising a stink over all of the unused office space the government is paying for.

            WFH for federal workers in the Washington D.C. metro area is far from completely safe.

            2 votes
      2. Astronauty
        Link Parent
        No I’m not talking about the truck owners, I mean the author of the article.

        No I’m not talking about the truck owners, I mean the author of the article.

  2. [2]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Mirror for those hit by the paywall: https://archive.ph/mhqsn

    Mirror for those hit by the paywall:
    https://archive.ph/mhqsn

    5 votes
    1. vord
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Anybody else get a captcha loop on this link? Edit: Found the problem. Archive.today (and the aliases like ph) poisons 1.1.1.1. Switching to another DNS provider solves the problem. Also disabling...

      Anybody else get a captcha loop on this link?

      Edit: Found the problem. Archive.today (and the aliases like ph) poisons 1.1.1.1. Switching to another DNS provider solves the problem. Also disabling Firefox DoH (which I hadn't realized they made default).

  3. [3]
    skybrian
    Link
    From the article:

    From the article:

    Then the pandemic wiped out this beloved sector. Today, trucks are back on the National Mall serving hot dogs for tourists. But the gourmet operations dishing up barbecue, Thai, Indonesian, Salvadoran and soul food are still missing downtown.

    There is perhaps no better vital sign of how D.C.’s recovery is going than the story of specialty food trucks. They follow the people. And they adapt fast. Many are operating again — in the suburbs. Instead of serving office workers lunch, many have found lucrative gigs dishing out dinner at weddings, block parties and other events. Instead of parking downtown, they’re hanging out at housing developments in Arlington, Alexandria and Bethesda, according to an analysis of Roaming Hunger data on where trucks are located.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      BeanBurrito
      Link Parent
      I wold have thought that the pandemic would favor food trucks with them being outside, making it safer to stand near the truck while your order is filled.

      I wold have thought that the pandemic would favor food trucks with them being outside, making it safer to stand near the truck while your order is filled.

      1. smiles134
        Link Parent
        True, but part of the issue is finding customers. If there aren't big crowds, the trucks don't have any business. That's why they've migrated into the surrounding areas, where the workers actually...

        True, but part of the issue is finding customers. If there aren't big crowds, the trucks don't have any business. That's why they've migrated into the surrounding areas, where the workers actually are.

        3 votes