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Philadelphia food trucks to remain at a standstill

The city wants a "more holistic review" of the shutdown order that pulled vendors off Philly streets.

Market Street on the Drexel University campus in University City, shown in a file photo, was a popular food truck zone before a move in late 2019 to ban them. Then came the pandemic, when trucks throughout the city were closed.
Market Street on the Drexel University campus in University City, shown in a file photo, was a popular food truck zone before a move in late 2019 to ban them. Then came the pandemic, when trucks throughout the city were closed.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

Food trucks probably will not return to Philadelphia soon, as the Kenney administration is not keen on an idea to allow a dozen vendors a day to set up in private lots with contactless takeout.

The city says it is committed to “a more holistic review” of the order that curbed food trucks a week after the March 16 shutdown of dining rooms and bars as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Philadelphia is the only jurisdiction in Pennsylvania to pull food trucks off the streets.

City officials met by Zoom on May 12 with Matt Rossi, president of the Philly Mobile Food Association, to discuss the group’s proposal to set up four trucks a day on each of three private lots. Customers would place and pay for orders in advance, then pick them up from tables next to the trucks in the lot — a process identical to that used legally by most takeout restaurants. The truck windows would remain closed. The meeting was positive, said city spokesperson Lauren Cox. A follow-up meeting on May 15 with Karen Fegely, deputy commerce director for neighborhood business services, was less promising, Rossi said.

Cox said a timeline for the review and potential changes was not determined but could come after the city’s lockdown status is moved from red to yellow.