John MacDonald: The anti-food truck argument doesn't make sense to me

I think the hospitality outfits trying to shut down the Arts Centre’s plans to have more food trucks on-site need to pull their heads in.  

Annabelle Turley from the Central City Business Association has made the bold demand that the council pull its funding from the Arts Centre if the food truck thing goes ahead. 

This all goes back to the city council not providing as much ratepayer funding in its 10-year budget as the Arts Centre had asked for. And so the Arts Centre accepted that and got on with the job of working out what it could do to generate more revenue itself.  

So it came up with a plan to get more food trucks on site. The idea being that it would bring more people into the arts centre and get people spending more.  

Which I think is a great approach. A great attitude. Because the Arts Centre could still be banging on about not getting adequate support from the council. But it’s not. Instead, it’s showing some entrepreneurial spirit and working out how to bring more money in the door itself by having more food trucks there. As many as 25, potentially operating up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.   

Which has upset the hospitality businesses in town no end. They say the Arts Centre is going to compete head-on with their businesses with all these extra food trucks.  

Which I think is nonsense. And here’s why.  

If I’m planning to have a nice meal at, King of Snake say, just by the Bridge of Remembrance, do you think the food trucks at the Arts Centre are going to put me off doing that? Of course they’re not.  

If I’m in the mood for King of Snake’s Natural Oysters with Nashi Pear and a Black Pepper Vinaigrette; or if I’m in the mood for their Wild Venison Carpaccio with Chilli Black Bean Dressing - do you really think I’m going to cancel at the last minute and go for a wiener sausage from the back of a truck at the Arts Centre instead?  

Of course I’m not. But tell that to the hospo operators in town.  

Annabelle Turley from the central city business association says —instead of dozens of food trucks— they’d be happy if the number of food trucks at the Arts Centre was more along the lines of Little High Food Court. Which, by the way, would have to be the coolest food court in the world.  

But, to be honest with you, I think Annabelle’s argument is a bit all over the place. She says that Little High is the model the Arts Centre should be using, with just eight food outlets.  

She says the Arts Centre is being hypocritical because it’s always banged on about how it’s an important heritage site but now wants to cheapen it with extra food trucks.  

She says, because central city businesses pay rates, they are effectively subsidising the Arts centre to set-up in competition with them.  

And this is the one that really sticks in my claw. Because, ever since the earthquakes, a truckload of ratepayer money has gone into supporting these central city businesses. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.  

I haven’t been able to put my hands on a figure, but millions and millions have been spent. The council and its agencies have done all sorts of things over the years to get people back into the central city so that these businesses that are complaining about the arts centre have a better chance of getting customers through the door and surviving.  

Then there’s all the ratepayer money that’s gone into things like central city security patrols to make the place more inviting.  

Yet these hospitality businesses and the central city business association have the gall to tell the council to pull its meagre funding for the Arts Centre, on the basis of some wishy-washy argument that a few dozen food trucks are going to put them out of business. 

See omnystudio.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
You know, I reckon the hospitality outfits that are trying
to shut down the Art Center's plans to have more
food trucks on site. I need I think they need
to pull their heads in. You might have heard Annibal
Turley from the Central City Business Association on with Heather earlier.
She also turned up at the City Council yesterday and
made this bold demand that the council pull its funding

(00:36):
from the Arts Center if the food truck thing goes ahead.
It was bold and it was completely unwarranted, and I'll
tell you why shortly. This all goes back just a
few months ago the City Council not providing as much
rate pay of funding at its tenure budget as the
Art Center had asked for, and so the Arts Center

(00:58):
thought shrugged its shoulders except that and then got on
with the job of working out what it could do
to generate more revenue itself. So it came up with
this plan to get more food trucks on site, and
the idea being that it would bring more people into
the Art Center and get people spending more. Oh, I
think it's a great approach. It's a great attitude because

(01:19):
you know, at the Arts Center, if it wanted to,
it could still be sitting there banging on about not
getting adequate support from the council. You know, poor us,
poor us. It's not doing that. Instead, it's showing some
entrepreneurial spirit and it's working out how to bring more
money in the door itself by having more food trucks
there Now. Reports today say could be up to thirty three,

(01:44):
but my recollection is that the Art Center wanted to
have thirty three but only got resource consent to have
twenty five. But either way, more food trucks than there
are at the Art Center now potentially operating up to
twelve hours a day, seven days a week, which has
upset the hospitality businesses in town.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
No end.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
They're saying the Art Center is going to compete on
with their businesses with all these food trucks, and I
think that is nonsense. And here's why I think that.
You know, if I'm planning to have a meal at
or Pig a restaurant, King of Snake, Beautiful Restaurant by
the Bridge of Remembrance, if I'm planning to have a

(02:25):
meal there. Do you think the food trucks at the
Art Center are going to put me off doing that?
Of course they're not. You know, if I'm in the
mood for King of Snakes natural oysters with marshy pear
and a black pepper vinegrete, or if I'm in the
mood for their wild venison capaccio with chili black being dressing,

(02:46):
do you really think that I'm going to cancel that
at the last minute and go for a weness sausage
from the back of a truck at the Art Center instead?

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Of course not.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
But tell that to the hospital operators in town. Annibalterally
from the Central City Business Association says, instead of dozens
of food trucks, well, they'd be happy if the number
of food trucks at the Art Center was more along
the lines of Little High Food Court, which by the way,
would have to be the coolest food court in the world,
wouldn't it. But here's a little bit of what Annabel
said about that to Heather this morning.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
You look at Little High, which is sort of modeled
off the more like food truck, lots of different options
under one roof. I've only got eight eight at Little High,
Little eye is quiet like that. I would have thought,
you know, they would have you know, eight, like eight
is probably fair for the Art Center to have, Yeah,

(03:36):
not twoty three.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Now, to be honest with you, I thought Annabel's argument
against the food trucks was a bit all over the
place this morning. One minute, as you heard there, she
was saying that little high as the model the Art
Center should be using with just eight food outlets. Then
she was saying the Art Center's being hypocritical because it's
always banged on about how it's an important heritage site
that now wants to cheapen up with extra food trucks.

(03:58):
Just agree with that. Then she started saying that because
Central City businesses paid rates, they're effectively subsidizing the Art
Center to set up in competition with them. And this
is where the big statement she'd made yesterday comes from.
That she made to counselors that if this expansion of
the food truck set up at the Art Center goes ahead,
then the council should pull its funding. And this is

(04:21):
the one, this is the one that really sticks in
my claw because ever since the earthquakes, are going to
talk about rate payer money and paying rates, ever since
the earthquakes, A truckload of rate payer money has gone
into supporting these Central Cities businesses who were winging today
about the Art Center. I mean talk about binding the
hand that feeds you. I haven't been able to put

(04:44):
my hand on a figure, but millions and millions have
been spent, millions and millions of rate payer money, also
taxpayer money as well. You see, the Council and its agencies,
they have done all sorts of things over the years
to get people back into the Central City so that
these businesses, the ones that are winging today the Arts Center,

(05:08):
so that they have a better chance of getting customers
through the door and surviving. And then there's all the
ratepayer money that's gone into things like Central City security
patrols to make the place more inviting. Yet these hospitality
businesses and the Central City Business Association, they have the
gall to tell the Council yesterday to pull its mega
funding for the Arts Center on the basis of some

(05:31):
wishy washy argument that a few dozen food trucks are
going to put them out of business. What absolute rot

Speaker 1 (05:39):
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