9-7-23 ZnD Nick Komives on Downtown Toledo Food Truck Ordinance

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
J H. Demetrius, Good morning, you're in my tailor on Motor Family
find Cars Northwest, Ohio's largest cardealership Catalat Hundae, Genesis and Kia Vehicles
a lot with quality used cars.Top important domestic auto makers. Stopped into
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I mean Rasine de Metris, DickAdemus, Kelly Letts, the Princess of
Property from Howard Hannah Realty K two, the Baroness in the house, Alma

(00:25):
Tea, your ear on the streetis here, and uh, of course
Sugar Vermont, Toledo's drag Queen Abernaare a good time gal from the east
side. Whoo woo. And uhwe got a special guest in the studio.
It is uh Toledo City Councilman atLarge Nick Comi's good friend of the
show. Hi, Nick, howare you? Man? Good morning?

(00:46):
I'm good. You got me outof bed real early. It's always the
happiest thing, you know, soso it's always good to hear our public
officials complain about being up early.Always always a good play, you know,
Oh my god, I usually outside. I don't usually do anything.
That's when the poor people start reallycalling. All right, Nick, so

(01:11):
you've you've stirred up a little bitof controversy. Toledo City Council meeting on
Tuesday. On the agenda was theproposal for an ordinance of the City of
Toledo considering banning or not. Idon't want to use word banning, but
not having not letting food trucks setup within one hundred feet of a brick
and mortar restaurant. And so,Nick, you introduced that legislation. And

(01:37):
if you look on line, becausepeople kill me, you look on line,
it's like you want to ban foodtrucks and you're an anti food truck
And even though you're the dude thatorchestrated tacle Wars to make sure it can
happen downtown, what's it? What'sit? How does it feel the organize
a riot? Man? First time? What say you about all this?

(01:57):
So you know, I'm intered toan amendment to an existing ordinance? Right,
So to give a little history,food trucks and Sluto haven't permitted.
I think for I, Sugar,you'd probably know about it than I do.
But I think the first time thatI voted on legislation on this was
in twenty eighteen, and that waswhen we came up with the Food Truck
Ordinance of regulating where they could be, how they operate, who gets permits,

(02:19):
all that kind of good stuff,right And at the time, what
was on the table was a similarproposal to many cities that wouldn't allow food
trucks to be on public streets atall, that they had to be on
private property and that's it. Soif you know, somebody owns a strip
mall, they could invite you tobe on their strip mall or whatever the
case may be. And that's wheremany food trucks do operate right now.
And that was on the table.But then we said, no, let's

(02:40):
let's let them be on the street, right like, that's where you know,
if you're if you're coming out ofa bar late at night, you
might want to get some street meetand so you walk out. That's got
a different meaning for other people.And one more time, everyone's castling all

(03:02):
over the place. Sorry, sorry, so that's my bad, bad.
So so you know, we allwant to be able to walk out and
do that, of course, sowe said let's just put them out.
You know, in any legal streetanymore, banning street after bar food and
then then you ruined it with justtwo words. Wasn't that the nickname of
your last girlfriend, street street Meat? Yes, yes, yes, actually

(03:27):
she was a street Delhi. Shetook in all types of meat. That
was the problem. Yea artisanal butcher. Okay, for them to be in
any legal parking space anyway you canpark a car. So then you know,

(03:51):
this summer and past summer, aswe've as city council, as city
administration, people calling in so GAGELDOheard a number of complaints that food trucks
might be part directly in front ofa restaurantstore. Sometimes there'd be a taco
truck in front of Poco Loco,or there might be you know, so
they're parking literally right in front ofthe door of a restaurant, right to
where some some restaurant tours were sayingthat you couldn't even see their sign.

(04:14):
Yeah yeah, I mean that's that'sbull. That's brass. It's pretty brass.
Yeah. So so you know,the proposal came back on the table.
Let's just ban food trucks in downtown. Okay, okay, slow down,
everybody, slow down. We're notgonna do that, right, So
we came to a compromise and said, how about one hundred feet from your
door. That ensures that there's noway they're parked directly in front of your
door. That's the equivalent of aboutfive parking spaces, right, So just

(04:38):
park down the street. Now,most food truck owners I've talked to have
said, oh gosh, I don'teven do that. I won't even park
in front of a door, rightright, And so that's how the majority
of them feel. Saying five parkingspaces down is I think a pretty reasonable
request to folks. It just breedssome common courtesy. I would say to
your fellow neighbors. We're all onecommunity. We all need to ge it

(05:00):
along. So this is I thinka good compromise. It did cross some
controversy because you know, me justhas hand up already because it has a
food truck, so he's really investedhere ahead. I don't know. I
just had a question, right right, okay, So and and this is
god, how do you say this? All? Right? So say I
have a brick and mortar restaurant,right, and I've had my location for

(05:23):
like seven eight years, seven eightyears I've been doing my best to market
and build up clientele, and andI have now established a really like a
pretty good anchor restaurant, and andmy clientele I have built up over seven
years. Now, is it fairthat a food truck is to roll up

(05:47):
and then park and then eat thatclientele that I have built. I don't.
Well, yeah, there's a coupleof things here. I'm just that's
my that's my question. I thinkthat that's what that's what the restaurants are
saying. I like, is thatnot a valid argument? I No,
I'm not. I'm not against this. I'm I think it's a very valid

(06:09):
argument because you know, you shouldn'tpark right next right next to the to
the restaurant. You down a littlebit, didn't you have a choice?
That's okay, but I get it. I mean, I'm not against this
ordinance, even though I'm a foodtruck owner and sugar, I don't know
your stance yet, but I'm notagainst it because it's it's you said,
Nick that the restaurants wanted to banit all all the way one hundred percent

(06:31):
banned food trucks downtown, and thefood trucks want to be able to go
anywhere. So I think a compromise, a reasonable compromise, one hundred feet
five parking spaces away, let themdo their business, You do your business,
and everyone's happy. I think it'sa great compromise. Now, of
course, food truck owners don't wantto give any any inch, and neither
do restaurant owners, so they're bothcrying. But I think you're playing referee

(06:53):
here, and people are like,well, why did this come up?
What came up? Because there wasactual complaints, you're playing referee and when
both sides are bitching about it,probably a pretty good compromise. Yeah,
I appreciate I appreciate that because it'syou know, this is not the sexy
part of my job that I getto do always, you know, like
I don't want to make people upsetif I don't have to. What is
the sexy part of your job.I would like to know what days those

(07:15):
are, so so we don't showup to listen to those debates Thursty thursdays
in council chambers. It gets turnedup today. I'd like to bring up
street meat. No, not onsexy Thursday. Go ahead and don't think
like five parking spots is still close. We like you have very big So

(07:38):
my people are still I mean,you know, hundred feet is it?
I think that's I think so.And when you think of a downtown center,
like one hundred feet five parking spaces, that's can be like two and
a half stores. So okay,so down So yeah, okay, you're
thinking like a downtown center. Thisis this is where it really applies.
I was thinking party like us.Yeah, really the whole, really the

(08:01):
whole, and you could speak tothis, Nick, but the whole ordinance
is basically basically focused on downtown becauseeverything is so compacted downtown to where there's
not there's not this issue any Sothere's plenty of property, but people are
on top of each other downtown becausethere's a lot of people restaurant central.
So here's where I have some hesitance, you guys, and I don't.
I don't think anything that's being saidis unreasonable. I think that a compromise

(08:24):
should be reached, and maybe thisis the compromise. But I'm a little
bit hesitant, number one, becauseI don't think it's the government's job to
step in and protect a business ifif if their business is threatened by another
business. That's competition, that's thefree market, that's how we work in
capitalism. So for example, youcould have a restaurant, say I have

(08:45):
established this taco restaurant. I've beenhere for seven or eight years, but
and you know what, another tacorestaurant moved into cross the street to eat
my customers. First of all,they're not your customers. People have people
have agency and nick go wherever theywant to, and competition improves everything for
everybody. So but with that said, I'm still not anti this ordinance.

(09:07):
I want to look at what onehundred feet looks like, because it turns
out I have no spatial awareness.Imagine yourself standing on top of yourself like
probably five times. That's about it. I would have fallen over like at
half of one of me. Butthe issue with that comparison is I then
have the ability to compete against anotherbrick and mortar. You, on the

(09:31):
other hand, as a food truckowner, have the ability to pick up
and go anywhere you want. It'snot but look, and that's fine,
but understand this, that doesn't youhave what is and and business is business,
and I know you have to adaptand you have to overcome, but
it is an unfair advantage when somebodycan just pick up and go to a

(09:56):
bigger, more populated area after they'vecannibalized the area that they've already been at.
I understand, I understands, andnow you're pro understand understand. I
understand one hundred percent what you're saying. What you're saying is if I'm a
restaurant, I have to be openfrom eleven AM to eleven PM, I've
got twelve hours. If you're afood truck, you know, the only

(10:18):
peak time at a restaurant is dinnertime from four to seven, and you're
going to sit out there from fourto seven. I've had to sit here
all day long, and you pullup right in front of my door at
four o'clock to cannibalize my rest myrestaurant customers, then I'm gonna be a
little pissed. Is a restaurant,I mean, doesn't makes sense? It's
fair. I totally get that,but I also want to but I'm also
pro competition. So if if ifa taco truck pulling up in front of

(10:41):
your restaurant means that nobody wants toeat at your restaurant, is your food
not as good as there feld moreexpensive. What is the reason, Well,
it's it's not like a food truckpulls up and automatically ruin someone's business.
And again I'm I'm not against thisthis regulation. I'm not, but
I just want to keep it inperspective because they're well, I'm saying,
point, we live in capitalism,well, and competition is good. Competition

(11:05):
breeds innovation and the government truck right. Hell, what I'm saying is it's
not like you, as a foodtruck have have picked a location and then
you stay there and then you makepeople come to you. Well, and
that may be different with you becauseyou have television exposure and that kind of

(11:26):
thing. It is not that.What it is is now you get to
pick high target, rich environments andthen you get to park your business there.
Yeah, well you have to business, you have to Nick comimes this
here Polio City councilmant Large talking aboutthis legislation talking about being introduced where you
can't be a food truck can bewithin one hundred feet of a restaurant four

(11:48):
one nine three four five three threeseven five. You want to text in
four one nine three four five threethree seven five, Nick, what about
what Sugar said, where should governmentbegin? Is this what government does is
get involved with To me, itmakes sense like if you've if you have
a tax paying restaurant and a taxpaying food truck and they both have issues,

(12:09):
Why I think that the council wouldstep in? Or is that not
what government's supposed to do? Imean, I let this off by saying
that, like a lot of municipalitiesdon't even allow them to park on the
street at all, Right, Sothat's yes, it is common for us
to regulate. That is what wedo. I would also argue that while
it is easy to say that welive in a capitalist society, there are

(12:31):
an awful lot of ways that wearen't capitalists. Ends well, we could
get into a much a large argumentabout All I'm trying to say is that
there's regulation all around, right atall times, and it is to create
an environment or an attempt to createan environment that is workable for all people
that are having to play in thein the environment. There are a lot

(12:52):
of restaurants and bars that welcome andinvite food trucks. Yeah, they will
still be allowed to do that.That's not going to be impermissible of this.
You know, if you put ifTin Cann says, hey, we
want you to be across the streetfrom us, then awesome. They're they're
probably still going to do that,and I hope that they do well.
And the other thing that you saidthat was interesting a part of this which
even makes me more in favor ofit, and that was that you said

(13:16):
that after restaurant hours, if therestaurant stops serving at eight or nine or
whatever, then this legislation is notin effect. And that's the important things.
Yeah, and this is I wantto highlight, like I'm not against
this, and I just I'm tryingto look at all of the angles like
this just popped up, so we'retalking through it. But the other thing
that we talked about, like kindof during like the break or when you

(13:37):
first got here, is that asa teeny tiny small business, like I
have one employee or two employees.So we're talking about how small businesses are
like the backbone of the economy andhow we're trying to be pro business and
make small businesses workable and achievable.There's already so many regulations. It was
so hard starting this business and Ialmost failed fifteen times, and it was

(14:01):
always figuring out the regulation, figuringout what to do, and just my
gut reaction is like one more regulation, no, thank you, I don't
want it. But again, butI'm saying that's my gut reaction, and
we're talking through it. But it'sso hard. Let me say this if
food. Look, I've started restaurants, I've started other businesses. I mean
the regulation, there's too much ofit. I mean there's too much regulation
in general. Don't you don't youagree that you work with small businesses,

(14:22):
there's a lot of bs regulations.It can be quite cumbersome to achieve the
things. I think a lot oftimes it comes down to timing for most
businesses, right because the health departmentmight take a long time to do the
inspection. My friend Alexia is startingfancy Fries, a food truck, and
I'm excited. I have not hada chance to try it yet because she's

(14:43):
waiting on the health department to comeand do the inspection on her truck.
So the reality is for many people, I think time is really what is
of the essence here. We allwant Sugar to have to have a hands
a sink that she can wash herhands in better. You hope that she
washed her hands. Force you makesyour food, right, they're very large
hands, and we hope that everybodyis sanitary and clean. Right. That's

(15:07):
why regulations are important, because wedon't want to get sick and we want
to protect public health. But Ithink it comes on to the timeliness of
things often, and I do.I totally hear you when you say this
feels like another attack on food trucks, right, But this is also about
creating an environment that is healthy fromthe standpoint of trying to avoid conflicts,

(15:28):
trying to avoid but but like,but people have to hear both sides.
And the other side is would yourather not have food trucks downtown at all?
And that's what the restaurants wanted.They wanted to ban the competition.
So you try to come up withsomething that was good for both sides,
which I mean it's a it's ano win situation, you know, where
you're in the middle half of therestaurant's gonna be mad. The food restaurants

(15:48):
aren't going to be happy with thisone hundred foot necessarily, and food trucks
aren't going to be happy with it. Compromise, That's what I mean by
the non sexy part of my job. You gotta understand, I mean,
especially in the restaurant industry. Andyou guys talk about like you guys have
one or two employees in a foodtruck, in a food truck environment,

(16:11):
that's great, but understand this andmost of these restaurants they're dealing with the
same staffing. They have one ortwo employees, and so now it's super
hard because now what what their servicesucks with what they can put out Now,

(16:32):
Well, I appreciate, I appreciateyou bring that up because I think
there's a perception that only food truckowners can be small businesses and that restaurants
aren't small businesses as well. Andmany of them are small businesses too,
which is smaller a closet and thentiny, And I get it, but
and I think too, like demit. She also made a good point earlier
that like, there's an awful lotabout having a restaurant that is about being

(16:56):
a part of the neighborhood, right, Like it's an investment into that neighborhood
specifically, rather than sort of justcoming in. And but to be fair,
I think food trucks are a partof that ecosystem, is well agree.
But one of the other complaints thatI get, and we haven't even
addressed this yet. I want tobring it up as if I'm about to
introduce a new law or something.But you know, there's a lot of
restaurant owners that are upset because theyfeel like the food trucks come, they

(17:18):
park in front or nearby, andthey don't clean up their trash, and
that people just throw their trash onthe ground and now they have to go
out here, or that food truckswill take their trash and throw it in
the dumpster that's owned by paid forby the restaurant, right And so that
is a legitimate issue. There's there'sa lot of that that's happening, and
I'm not even trying to address that. But my point is that this is

(17:40):
about courtesy and how do we liveamong each other, to operate with each
other, because I think that restaurantsand food trucks, food trucks can thrive
together in an environment where they're weren'tcooperating together well. And I think food
trucks should no no more legislation,but I think food trucks, I think
food trucks need to supply a trashcan for outside, for the customers when

(18:00):
they park, and the same legislation. You might find those words already really
okay we should okay when we should, and a lot of them don't,
and then you see it gets alland then it gets you know, all
over whatever, go ahead, Kelly. Honestly, it just sounds to me
like common courtesy. And each ofyou have your own obstacles, and you

(18:21):
book, and each the restaurant andthe food truck they chose this particular business.
I think all you're doing is tryingto make them live together happily and
and just respect each other. Imean, I think that's just common courtesy.
Yeah, no, I agree,I think nik a job. I
know, like I said, you'regetting heat on both sides, but I

(18:41):
think I think it's probably makes themost sense. Yeah, my phone was
blowing up on Tuesday. Oh mygosh, you would have thought that I
liked stole their puppies. Well,but because that's but that's how dumb people
are nowadays. You only read headlines. You see legislation and food trucks,
and all of a sudden, youknow, you go, everyone goes to
their corner and instead of looking atwhat the issue was how it came up,

(19:02):
why it came up, and whatthe solution is, and what the
alternative was, which no food trucksdown town at all, and you'd be
okay with it. So it's justpeople don't people don't shame on you.
Local news they do this on purpose. They gets and then they get mad
because people aren't informed, and andthey write these headlines and these article headlines

(19:23):
that are just designed to get youenraged to click on them. And what
they don't understand is people just readthe headline. They don't get they don't
click on it. They just getmad and then they run hundred percent click.
The clickbait headlines are such a like, I don't need to read anymore
now I'm gonna just go straight toFacebook and complain. I read three sentences,

(19:48):
that's all words. My head's somebitch. I'm fancy I can read
all right, Well, thank youNick, Nick comis hanging out. And
by the way, I'm sure ifpeople want more information they can. I
don't know, good follow you.You know. One of the great things,
honestly, if just ten seconds,one of the great things. Honestly,

(20:11):
sorry, I'm a politician. Oneof the great things honestly, is
that I put on a lot ofthe comments like please contact me. I've
had a lot of people right tome and say, like, you know,
it would really help us if wecould find a kitchen space that we
could all prep our food, ifwe could do this, and we just
I love that what has come outof this is a lot of people saying
to me, here are some thingsthat could help, and that's what I
want to do. And I don'twant to toot your horn, but I
mean, because that'd be weird andpointless on the radio. No one would

(20:34):
see it. We would have toput that on some kind of internet.
But but you've been hearing team,you proactive, You're you make yourself available,
You comment on when things are are, when there's wrong information, you
don't mind engaging with the with yourconstituents, and you you're available, You're
not hiding, you're not doing itmeans you're you're all out there, which

(20:56):
I love. I mean, andI'm sure it's harder that way because you
have to take a lot of slingsand arrows and do a lot of explaining
and talk to a lot of people. But I mean, you're doing your
job well. Yes, City Councillarge Thank you, brother appreciated, Thanks for