Photo by ep_jhu

The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington went full bore last week in its defense of the current draft of the D.C. government’s proposed regulations on the food truck industry. Its counterparts in the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington, RAMW argued, were “misleading” the public on the potential impact of the suggested regulations.

But the food trucks have a few restaurateurs on their side. A group of about 50 advisory neighborhood commissioners, breweries and liquor stores, events companies, and just plain brick-and-mortar eateries have put their names on a statement released today by the Food Truck Association.

The food trucks are most opposed to a proposed regulation that would create about two dozen lottery-ordained mobile vending zones in the city’s busiest parts. Any food truck that does not win a spot in a monthly would be relegated to operate elsewhere, but at a distance of at least 500 feet from the designated zones. The Food Truck Association argues such a system could kill or at least alienate from D.C. many of its more than 100 member companies.

The signatories of today’s letter agree. “There are better, more flexible ways to manage these areas,” they write. “But this proposal seeks to impose a one-size-fits-all approach that so severely restricts where food trucks can operate it threatens the existence of the food truck industry as we know it.”

Among the people signing the statement are Jamie Leeds, the chef and owner of Hank’s Oyster Bar; and Joe Englert, who owns several bars and restaurants along the H Street NE corridor. It also includes Andrew Zimmern, who hosts Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods series and also owns a food truck in Minnesota, and Warren Brown, the founder of the CakeLove bakery and a Food Network personality. The businesses backing the food trucks include DC Brau, 1905 Restaurant, and Kushi Izakaya & Sushi.

Some of the signatories, like Kushi, have their tendrils in both mobile and brick-and-mortar dining.