HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-14-16, Brown, Food Trucks, Public CommentI am offering my thoughts about the presence of the food trucks, boutique trucks and others
likely to surface in Bozeman.
My wife and I have operated a retail business in Downtown Bozeman for close to 30 years and welcome competition on an equal playing field. Fair competition causes an awareness of service
and quality and usually creates advantages for consumers.
The above mentioned business types, however, are not fair in that they appear in the prime sales
seasons and disappear in the time periods when the permanent businesses struggle to make ends meet until the return of the busy seasons.
In my opinion, if they are allowed at all to operate in the city limits, they should be confined to
private property and not be allowed to practice commerce on public areas.
Parking issues continue to be problematic for conducting business in the downtown area, in
particular. Every parking space has a retail value of somewhere around $250-$400 per day and
each of the trucks occupy two spaces. This represents a huge loss of revenue for permanent
businesses which pay the bills year around.
In addition to the unfair competition, they operate generators which add to the background noise
and air pollution of the downtown.
Thanks for your consideration.
Jim Brown, former co-owner and current co-manager.
Old Main Gallery & Framing
129 East Main