THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150233
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: IDA KAY'S PORTSMOUTH
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Street-vending was a big-city phenomenon slow to catch on in the South, where sidewalk food has been a rarity.
I don't know whether that's because, in the past, we didn't have many big cities or because the heat and flies were too much of a hassle.
Most of us remember a childhood fascination with the sidewalk carts selling hot dogs and hot pretzels on big city streets. And who does not either personally remember or remember hearing about vendors who sold steamed crabs at the Elizabeth River ferry docks back when the boat was the only way to go and come from Norfolk?
A few years ago, a vendor selling hot dogs from a cart on High Street was doing very well until the city stepped in and shut her down. People somehow enjoyed the novelty of having lunch on the curbside.
But Portsmouth's resistance to street vendors has abated. If anything, the city is going the other way to encourage business carts downtown. Six vendors have been approved and, by next year, there'll be even more trying to pick up the business expected to be generated by the TCC art school and the new Children's Museum, among other things.
But the trend really goes beyond what's happening right here in Portsmouth.
Woody Faulk of Atlanta, the man in charge of corporate development for Chick-fil-A, was in Portsmouth recently to check out Brian Burnette's new vending cart on the plaza behind City Hall.
``We are going to take Chick-fil-A where the customers are,'' Faulk said. ``We want to get in the nooks and crannies of the community.''
The Portsmouth cart is a prototype, he said, and it's working.
Why does it work?
``People want convenience,'' Faulk said. ``They have a limited time for lunch or they want to get home faster in the evening, so they are looking for grab-and-go food.''
Chick-fil-A was one of the first fast-food chains to turn up in shopping malls. Portsmouth's Tower Mall store still puts Brian Burnette among the top-sellers in the United States.
But, Faulk said, a national trend away from malls has caused the company to think of alternatives such as the Portsmouth outdoor vending cart at City Hall and to catering services.
Of course, a trend by the chains to street-vending will put the independents in direct competition with the big boys. But perhaps that will mean better quality all the way around.
I was interested in Faulk's comments on their national research about public habits.
Basically, it seems, people are turning away from a steady diet of mall shopping, a trend that's tough on the smaller malls. However, the trend bodes well for places like downtown.
Downtown workers and residents who jump in their cars and dash to a mall might be declining in numbers. Instead, they will make less frequent trips to the malls and, when they go, they go to the very large centers in anticipation of buying whatever they need with one stop.
That gives them more lunchtime downtown. Obviously, some always will want quick food and some always will want to go to a sit-down restaurant. Many still will get in their cars and head for nearby fast food.
I think most of them will opt for a combination.
The appearance of vending carts on the streets probably will encourage them to avoid leaving on wheels. If we had six or eight vending carts and another half-a-dozen places offering food al fresco plus Portside, I bet we could expect to see workers as well as tourists all over downtown.
In fact, the vending carts also might help the sit-down restaurants by drawing people to the streets. A person who eats a hot dog on the street today might well be ready to buy a full meal the next day.
Faulk said his company also is putting some ``lunch rooms'' in downtown areas to capture some of the growing market that stays close to work in the middle of the day.
The vending carts are good attractions downtown. They fill a need for residents and they sort of add a little character to the city for visitors.
I think the carts also will encourage other shopping downtown. by CNB