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Food-truck hub in Barrie’s downtown would be ‘gastrosuicide,’ says business owner

Patios Everywhere Program was approved by city council on Monday
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When downtown-business owner Randy Aylwin saw city council had approved the Patios Everywhere Program during Monday night’s meeting, there was one part of the program that caused him concern.

Aylwin, owner of the Grilled Cheese Social Eatery on Dunlop Street and board member of Barrie’s Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA), noticed part of the program includes waiving fees for food trucks until Oct. 15, allowing them to use a dedicated location in the Chase McEachern Way parking lot.

But to Aylwin and other brick-and-mortar business owners in Barrie’s downtown, the Chase McEachern lot is too close. Should a food-truck hub be allowed so close by, he worries they’ll be taking a bite out of downtown business revenues during an already-tumultuous time.

“It was a surprise to me. I had heard rumblings of the extended patio program, which made sense to me. A lot of my business when I re-open will be take-out, so I need places for people to go and sit,” he said.

“We are 'all in' on extending the patio program but to set up a food (truck) court in our backyard, well, that's gastrosuicide,” he said.

The Patios Everywhere Program would see fees for restaurant patios waived until Oct. 15, and would allow patios to expand into parking lots.

City staff are hoping the move will make it easier for local eateries hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic to bounce back once they’re allowed to re-open their doors, while still creating a safe, socially distanced space for their patrons.

“Food is a huge draw for us as a downtown. If you create a food-truck court, so to speak, to me it seems counter-productive to that walkable, sharable vibe that’s downtown,” he said.

With the Dunlop Streetscape Project moving along, Aylwin said it doesn’t make sense to him to have people park in front of his business to then walk to the parking lot to visit food trucks.

“It seems it should be the other way around. We want to encourage everyone to get to our part of the city to see it, feel it and understand it. Especially this year, when we need people so desperately,” he said.

Michelle Banfield, director of development services with the City of Barrie, prepared the original report to council on the program. She said that while the report included mention of the Chase McEachern lot, the intention was for it to be considered as a hypothetical and not necessarily a final determination.

“There’s no decision that has been made,” said Banfield. “Staff is exploring using similar locations. The emphasis there is ‘exploring.’”

“We’re trying to be nimble, but of course we’re going to work through any sort of pinch points that come up through this,” she said.

The intention, says Banfield, is to give restaurants who don’t have the option to expand their patios a food truck option to expand their revenue opportunities.

“We were really just using Chase McEachern as an example,” she said.

Banfield says city staff has been hearing feedback from many business owners and will be taking all feedback into consideration when choosing a location for food trucks to congregate. She also said that when city staff closes in on a location decision, neighbours will be notified for consultation.

If you have questions about the program or would like to provide the city with feedback, email [email protected].


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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