Horry County leaders talking food trucks again

Five months after slamming the brakes on a food truck policy, Horry County Council slowly eased onto the accelerator Tuesday.

Council members agreed to again consider an ordinance that would allow the popular lunch wagons to roll through unincorporated Horry.

“I’m just still kind of dumbfounded as to why it didn’t work out the first time,” said councilman Bob Grabowski. “We need to move forward with this. I think it’s pretty clear that the people want it. It’s pro-business, pro-growth in Horry County.”

The idea of allowing food trucks was first floated in November 2013 by a truck owner who wanted to expand his business into the county. Horry policy does permit mobile food vending, but it’s limited to push carts. Nothing with a motor is allowed except during special events.

Once the food truck concept was proposed, a special committee and county staff spent nearly a year surveying the public, developing fee rates and regulations, and crafting a plan for a one-year pilot program that would test the viability of food trucks in the county.

But in October, county council voted 9-3 against the pilot program. In its place, county leaders suggested the trucks be limited to serving prepackaged food on job sites far from brick-and-mortar restaurants. Some council members worried about the food trucks siphoning business from traditional eating places. There are more than 1,800 dining establishments along the Grand Strand.

Others didn’t like the idea of entrepreneurs investing thousands of dollars in a business model that might disappear in a year.

But during Tuesday’s workshop, the council seemed open to reconsidering the issue.

“We had a committee that worked hard on this thing and sure looked into it a lot closer than we have,” said councilman Gary Loftus. “I don’t see any reason not to go along with the committee’s recommendations. ... I have no problem really with any of it. I did in the beginning, but I’ve had most of my questions answered.”

Some council members did ask staff to research the policies of area municipalities that allow food trucks, including Conway, North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach. They don’t want the county’s ordinance to differ much from others in the area. One councilman also asked about the need for restrooms near the trucks.

“I could be swayed in favor of this,” said councilman Marion Foxworth, who initially voted against the pilot program. “I’m not absolutely opposed to it, but I think there are legal issues concerning bathrooms.”

Several food truck supporters encouraged council members to allow the rolling restaurants, which they said attract a different crowd than sit-down diners.

“A trucker at a truck stop doesn’t want to drive to a Wendy’s or sit down at an Outback,” said Vincent Bianculli, who lives in Loris but once ran a business in New York City supplying food trucks and hot dog carts. “He wants to jump out, get a hot dog, get a sandwich and go on his way.”

Bianculli said consumers should determine whether the food truck craze thrives in the county.

“That’s basically the bottom line,” he said. “If people don’t want it, they won’t stay in business.”

Jim McCormley agreed. He lives in West Virginia for most of the year but has a second home in Carolina Forest. In his home state, he’s sold soft serve ice cream from food trucks for more than 25 years. He was disappointed when the county struck down the pilot program last fall because he’d like to move his business here.

McCormley dismissed concerns about the trucks’ impact on traditional restaurants

“This is a concern that is greatly overblown,” he said. “If a person is going to go out with his family to eat, he’s not going to stop at a food truck and say, ‘Let’s stand out in the heat and get all sloppy.’ They’re impulse items.”

Not all council members are sold on the idea. Although county officials said no additional staff would be hired to regulate the food trucks, councilman Paul Prince remains skeptical.

“One of my big concerns is growing government,” he said. “I heard you say earlier that we didn’t have to hire anybody else to oversee this ordinance, and I’ve been sitting here a long time and I’ve heard that before.”

Ultimately, the council instructed county staff to address some of their concerns and bring back a policy for the council’s Infrastructure and Regulation Committee to review. The ordinance would then go to full council for a vote.

Council members didn’t seem supportive of a year-long pilot program — they said they could change an ordinance at any time — but they seemed amenable to allowing the businesses to operate.

“We’re here to promote new businesses,” councilman Jody Prince said. “If you can find a niche and someone can make some dollars, that’s what we’re here for.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Horry County leaders talking food trucks again."