Safety Harbor Debates Mobile Food Trucks vs. Stationary Vendors

Safety Harbor officials directed staff to investigate permitting breweries to install kitchens within their buildings. They won't pursue stationary food trailers. The commission also voted to extend mobile food truck hours — 3 to 11 p.m. during weekdays, and until closing time on weekends.

Should semi-permanent food trailers sit on concrete pads, or should breweries build interior kitchens instead? That question sparked heated discussion. Mayor Joe Ayoub instructed staff to abandon the stationary model and concentrate on brewery kitchens.

Staff outlined requirements. Stationary vendors would need permanent parking pads, architectural screening, water and sewer connections, plus site plan review. The proposal claimed that food trucks support local businesses while reducing barriers to culinary innovation.

Commissioner Andy Steingold fought against stationary vendors. He believes they would diminish standards that traditional businesses must meet. "I think that having a stationary vendor cheapens what the city of Safety Harbor is," Steingold said to Suncoast News. "I'm very against doing the stationary vendor. I think we have brick and mortar. To me, it just seems like a way around, getting approval for a kitchen."

Steingold mentioned parking troubles near Crooked Thumb Brewery. The industrial zone has transformed. "The parking is horrendous. There's not even close to being enough parking there," Steingold stated.

Vice Mayor Carlos Diaz countered that stationary units with electrical hookups would run quieter than mobile trucks with generators. "The distinction between a mobile and the stationary, the stationary is hooked up to electricity," Diaz said. "Would you rather have electric or a generator?"

Commissioner Jacob Burnett suggested food should be considered a standard accessory at breweries. "I think it's typical that other cities create a code that assumes food as an accessory use of a brewery," Burnett said. "When I go to a brewery, I typically expect them to have food."

Commissioner Nancy Besore voiced worries about how alterations would impact residents living near industrial zones. "I see the stationary, I hear restaurant two," Besore said. "And I find it hard to justify that to the residents who are my neighbors."

Ayoub proposed concentrating on indoor preparation. This would eliminate outdoor trailers. "Could we craft out a kitchen for breweries so they don't become a restaurant?" Ayoub asked.