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Columbus considers changing food trucks, cart hours
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus food cart and truck owners are unhappy about proposed legislation being considered by the city which, if approved, would change the hours mobile food vendors can operate.
Police and city leaders said the change was about safety, but food cart owners said they were not the problem.
“Because of a small population of people making poor choices and choosing to handle themselves poorly, the city has chosen to shift blame on parties that really do come in peace,” said Adam Wallace, owner of Adam’s Eden and Feed the Need LLC.
The proposed legislation would largely affect the food carts that operate in the Short North. On Tuesday, the city held its second public hearing on the topic, with at least one more planned.
“This is life-changing. The cost of the equipment, the whole business would be worthless if they approved this legislation to close at 2 am,” Wallace said.
Wallace owns two food trucks and four food carts. The carts can be found in the Short North on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Right now, mobile food vendors need to be closed by 3 am The proposed legislation being considered by the city would change that to 2 am
“I think there’s more to the discussion,” said Columbus Council member Emmanuel Remy, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee. “This isn’t the final hour we’re going to consider at this point. We need to look at other things, what the safety plan is for the area, certainly what type of limitations we put on where they can operate, those types of things beyond just what an hour is established at.”
City leaders say it’s a safety issue. According to Remy, one of the biggest problems is when bars close, large groups gather outside, sometimes leading to violence. Remy and Columbus Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir said the proposal would help cut down on the congregating.
“Food carts and violence do not go hand in hand and decades of peaceful operation cannot be overlooked or undone by the actions of a few,” Wallace said.
According to Wallace and other food cart owners, if they lose the hour, they’d lose 80 percent of their business, adding the proposed legislation unfairly targets them.
“We’re not trying to hurt people’s business, but we certainly want to make sure we’re creating a safety plan that works best for an area like the Short North,” Remy said.
Six community members spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing: three in favor of the legislation and three, including Wallace, against it.
Remy said the earliest a vote would take place on the proposed change is late January.
What To Eat And Drink At The Immersive LA Holiday Extravaganza That Celebrities Love
Holiday Road’s walking trail at King Gillette Ranch is fun for the whole family.
It’s holiday time, so things are getting lit in Calabasas again.
The immersive Holiday Road event, with a nearly 1-mile walking trail featuring thousands of lights and massive installations that are correctly billed as “larger than life,” is back for its third year at King Gillette Ranch. And this family-friendly, star-studded extravaganza, which has been visited by Billie Eilish, Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Dwayne Johnson, Jamie Foxx, Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, Hailey Bieber, Demi Lovato, Kylie Jenner and (of course) Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian among many others, is also a terrific place to eat and drink.
Popular food trucks on Holiday Road, many of which are often booked well in advance for the holidays, including Shark Tank alums Cousins Maine Lobster and Baby’s Badass Burgers. Hungry Holiday Road revelers can also grab dinner at the Vivace Pizza, Heritage LA, Salt N’ Pepper, Middle Feast, Flamin Hot Chicken and Wise Barbecue trucks. For dessert, there’s Beignet Box (cofounded by actress/singer Christina Milian) and Dreamy Creations (a two-time winner on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars).
Wise BBQ serves Texas-style smoked meats.
And because Holiday Road aims to be fun for the whole family, and families include moms and dads, the bar setup is similarly impressive. Don’t be surprised if you see Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston at Holiday Road one evening. the Breaking Bad actors have their own Dos Hombres mezcal brand, which is being poured in Holiday Road’s Merry, Merry, Mezcal Paloma. Other libations that will get grown into the holiday spirit include the spiked Ho Ho Ho Cocoa, Rudolph’s Margarita and Naughty Hot Cider. There’s a 100-person VIP bar that can be reserved for private parties.
Holiday Road cofounders Ben Biscotti and Tony Schubert are veterans of the entertainment and events industry who know that food-and-beverage shouldn’t be an afterthought when you bring in big crowds for a festive gathering. Biscotti’s father (Forbes contributor Louis Biscotti) works in food-and-beverage accounting. Biscotti has family members who manage and operate hotels. So he understands the value of hospitality at both Holiday Road and also his annual Halloween-themed Nights of the Jack event at King Gillette Ranch.
“Coming from this background, the F&B and the hospitality side of these events are so important,” Biscotti says. “People think of the F&B and hospitality side as ancillary, but they’re the main focal points for us. Having quality food and beverage your family can enjoy only adds to the quality of the overall experience. So we curated a group of top-tier food trucks in LA that were booked many months in advance. They came out for us because it’s such a great experience and because of the volume of people.”
Get your drink on in Calabasas.
Holiday Road, which takes up about 60 acres of King Gillette Ranch, is attended by about 2,500 to 4,500 people per night. (“It’s a lot of people that come through, especially in the peak of the season, but it doesn’t ever feel overly crowded because the grounds are so expansive,” Biscotti says.) The guests often include a slew of celebrities and influencers who are taking selfies and photographing the walking trail just like the rest of the crowd.
“Being out in Calabasas was really kind of fortuitous for us because a ton of celebrities and athletes and tastemakers live between Malibu and Calabasas,” Biscotti says. “And it kind of grew organically into this destination for them. The Kardashians live a few miles away. The Rams have their training facility nearby, and a lot of players live around there. Hidden Hills is very close. We also have personal relationships with many celebrities and athletes and people who are on social media and have a lot of influence. They help move the needle. They come out, they post and tag for us. It’s really a big part of our allure out there.”
Holiday Road runs through December 30.
New Flavorful Food For Big December Movies
Going to the movies and NOT getting a tasty and delectable snack makes for a very uncomfortable experience where you become more wrapped up in the growing sense of hunger and noise from your empty stomach than you do in the film playing on the silver screen. It’s just that movies and snacks go together like Abbott and Costello, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, and Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and it’s hard to imagine one without the other. And more times than not, you only have yourself to blame if you skip out on the concession line before being transported to some magical world on the silver screen.
AMC Theaters has long held it down in the movie snacks category, with incredible popcorn, an assortment of candy, all types of drinks, and some god-tier food options that are up there with a lot of restaurants. And with the glut of movies coming out as 2022 draws to a close, we are excited to offer all kinds of food options that are out of this world. In honor of those movies and tasty foods, we’ve come up with some flavorful fare that is perfect for the big December movies, no matter if you’re watching a long-awaited sequel years in the making, a family-friendly animated adventure , or a roaring and bopping story set in Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Supreme Flatbread and Avatar: The Way Of Water
A supreme sequel calls for an equally impressive movie snack, and AMC Theaters has you covered with the Supreme Flatbread that pairs up nicely with James Cameron’s massive AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. While you watch Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver return to the planet of Pandora for the first time in more than a decade, take your taste buds on an adventure with this hot, cheesy, and tasty flatbread.
The Supreme Flatbread, with its melty cheese, juicy peppers, and savory pepperoni, is substantial to say the very least, and it’s one of the few items on the AMC Theaters menu that can stand toe-to-toe, or toe-to- crust, with the wonders and dangers that await in the second AVATAR movie. All that food should be more than enough to hold you over for the film’s nearly three-hour runtime when it opens on the big screen on December 16th.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Everything Bagel Bavarian Pretzel and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, the 2022 animated comedy from DreamWorks Animation, has a little bit of everything for the whole family. And you know the perfect snack option to go with the latest adventure for Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckling feline? Well, how about something with a bit of a twist – AMC Theaters’ Everything Bagel Bavarian Pretzel. Whether it’s dipping it in a cup of cheese, mustard, or just eaten plain, this pretzel should be a hit with audiences of all ages and appetites.
So, while you’re watching Puss in Boots attempt to wish back his lost lives, enjoy this exquisite and giant-sized Bavarian pretzel that’s big enough for the whole family to share. But you could always play it safe and make it two pretzels just in case any unannounced guests, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, join you when watching PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH at your local AMC Theater starting December 21.
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
Hazelnut Churros and Babylon
There is a perfect dessert to enjoy if you want to try something that is sugary, sweet, and full of excitement, something that will fit right in with Damien Chazelle’s latest film, BABYLON. AMC Theaters’ fan-favorite churro is a bold and flashy dessert choice, but with that style comes the substance, which can also be found in the movie about Hollywood during the “Roaring Twenties.” And with all those bold characters, energetic party sequences, and stirring drama on the big screen, you’re going to need a tasty treat..
With warm and delicious icing poured on top of this amazing dessert, it becomes the perfect option at the concession stand if you’re looking for some dessert to eat on your own or share with that special someone at the movies come December 23rd.
BABYLON
On top of all these new items available for the first time, AMC Theaters continues to offer classic movie fare, including numerous candy options of all shapes and sizes, freshly-made popcorn, and a plethora of drink options ranging from sodas to frozen drinks and even alcoholic beverages at select locations. Be sure to try our new carefully crafted menu of Featured Fare treats and eats that put superior flavor at the center of your cravings.