June Food Cart News

June 9, 2010

Wow, I think we have crossed that point where it is passé to say "a new cart is opening every day." I think it's more like 2 carts a day now. So, here's the latest from Cartland!

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The biggest news of the past week has been that Yarp?! has closed and the cart has moved on from Cartopia. I know many of you have followed the ups and downs of Yarp?! over the years, it having been around to watch the growth of the scene. We got a comment from Jeremy, one of the partners in Yarp?! stating that he and his business partner Chad decided to go their separate ways which included the closing of the cart. I commend them for toughing out the hard times and always engaging their customers the way they did. A wonderful example of why we need carts in our neighborhoods - they bring people together. Good luck guys, know you will be missed.

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The Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade is Saturday and many carts downtown will be open and ready to serve you a tasty meal. Check out the carts at 3rd and Ash, 3rd and Stark and 10th and Alder. Tip well, they probably got there early to prep.

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POD news:
  • SE 20th and Morrison is officially a pod (well, in my definition.) A second cart has arrived - TreatMachine, a moped taco cart to join Wolf and Bear's.
  • There is a new pod just south of N Blandena on Albina about 1/2 mile north of Mississippi Marketplace. There are three carts there - Porridge, Slow and Low and Zenbu. Another cart to arrive soon.
  • Four carts have setup shop at SW 4th and Burnside in a lot that I understand can support 14 carts total. Watch for that pod to cater to an evening crowd.
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This Saturday, the 12th, is Cirque du Cycling
on North Mississippi. If you have never seen a group of bike racers wiz past the crowd on a closed street at speeds rivaling cars, here is your chance. The street will be shut down for the day, so head on up to enjoy cart love ranging from Flavour Spot down of Fremont to Moxie RX just north of Shaver and then Mississippi Marketplace. I understand PROST! will be expanding their deck to include the lot where the carts are as their beer garden. Mmmm, Garden State and beer!

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In food cart related new, Koi Fusion has expanded yet again. Truly an entrepreneur making the most out of a successful venture, Bo Kwon has opened his 4th Koi - a deli cart down on SW 2nd and Taylor. This spot, a former McDonalds or Burger King space has been transformed into an indoor food court for vendors. Named K'Fusion, they are serving up the same tasty vittles you can find at their carts. The Oregonian
wrote up an odd article about K'Fusion implying that there are few lunch options downtown. Can someone remind me where the Oregonian's offices are? Milwaukie? Estacada? Or are they 6 blocks from the Alder pod where there are 25 carts? Hmmm. Keep up the good work guys!

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By my count, 30 carts have opened in the past month or so and we have another 20 or so on the way. Crazy I tell ya! We'll do our best to keep you informed about the new carts, their locations, menu and hours. If you know of carts that we may not yet know about, please do email us at [email protected]

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From the news bin outside of Portland, our food cart friend Dan Delaney sent along news that there may be a law in the works that could shut down a good portion of New York's food trucks. The ordinance would give the Department of Health the ability to shut down a truck if they have more than two parking tickets in a twelve month period. NYC is very different than Portland where the roaming truck is king due to the lack of off street locations like we have in Portland. The trucks park on the street and pay the meter, but we all know, sometimes it expires. Just another example of why Portland is so awesome. Our lack of strict regulation is why we have such a thriving food cart scene. More information at VendrTV


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Finally, we have stickers! If you're a cart, we'll be coming by to give you one. If you are a cartivore or just a food cart fan who wants one for your wall, let us know and we'll get you one. Watch for a meetup soon and we'll pass them out. Thanks StickerGiant for supplying the stickers. Even Phoebe likes them.

Happy Cartin'
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