Posted on 07/24/2013 6:50:54 PM PDT by grundle
Current vending laws state that it is illegal, even for licensed vendors, to sell on both public and private property in the most populated areas of Detroit, including Midtown, the central business district and near the stadiums.
Even more surprising than the rules regarding where vendors can sell is the extremely narrow list of approved items they are allowed to sell.
The ordinance governing stationary vendors, foot peddlers and street vendors states they "shall be allowed to sell only the following items from an approved location: coffee, beverages and frankfurters as approved by the department of health and wellness promotion, as well as confections and snack foods that are not potentially hazardous.
Why not celebrate Detroit's ethnic diversity and allow street vendors to serve ethnic fare?
In cities like Los Angeles, it's not uncommon for food trucks to sell everything from Vietnamese noodle soups to gourmet tacos.
In Detroit, what few food trucks we have can sell only, ahem, hot dogs, pop, coffee and ice cream.
(Excerpt) Read more at crainsdetroit.com ...
Rick Snyder was on twitter bragging up the opening of the new Meijer in Detroit today.
I told him “That’s great but how bout somebody tackling those Detroit regulations and taxes so the little guys can get a piece?”
The rules were no doubt created to carve out exclusive zones for vendors who crossed the right palms with silver.
The casinos have been especially bad about buying influence. They lobbied heavily for the smoking ban in Michigan bars but got an exclusion for themselves.
Detroit would be better off if the casinos burned to the ground with the city council inside.
Any reason with this attitude that Debtrot is bankrupt?
You nailed it, my friend. That’s how it works today and anyone who thinks the system works otherwise is naive.
The big guys do just fine in Detroit. You see some major league names downtown but the little guys can’t afford to pay the protection money. The Hard Rock Cafe has a prime spot with no competition from this filthy street vendors.
Since there are no police, they probably don’t obey any laws.
The “Coney Island” was invented there. Thet taste great, especially if you wash them down with a real Vernor’s or a Faygo (any flavor).
Coney Island used to be top notch in Jackson too.
Big deal - they’d need to take food stamps anyway.
Meijer had been trying to get into Detroit for the past 15 years that I know of and the city council blocked them to the point that a couple of years ago they pretty much threw in the towel.
That they have managed to finally open a store there is a very good sign that the place is opening up a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island_hot_dog
Nice to see a mention of Todoroff’s in Jackson. (Still there)
I personally prefer Meijer to Walmart but I do have a Sam’s club membership. Competition with Walmart has been good for both here in the midwest.
Here in Jackson there are two Meijer stores, a Walmart, Sam’s club, Target, Kmart, and others.
And I agree about the competition. Meijer was getting just a bit complacent before Wally World arrived.
I ended up a lot of evenings at the diner on W. Lafayette, wolfing those babies down.
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