To the editor:

For a community that has branded itself as decidedly different, food trucks are a no-brainer.

At Monday’s village board meeting the topic of food trucks was on the agenda and briefly addressed.

Most locals have experienced being unable to get a table at a restaurant on a Friday evening between the months of June and August. There is a supply issue here not a demand issue. The pie is bigger than people think, and if we collaboratively start to deeply embrace our branding we can continue to grow that pie to benefit our existing restaurants and perhaps even fill some of those empty storefronts (many successful food truck businesses turn into brick and mortar restaurants). When people think Saranac Lake, they should think great food and trust that they can show up and have a great food experience — even if the restaurants are packed and the wait time is over an hour.

When a food truck friendly community is established, it can be done in a way that:

¯ Supports and enhances our existing brick and mortar restaurants

¯ Establishes a food truck permitting and approval system that is fair and regulated

¯ Establishes Saranac Lake as a foodie destination

¯ Encourages food entrepreneurs

¯ Brings more foot traffic to the downtown corridor

¯ Supports our local food system, producers, and farmers

Why not consider establishing a “Food Truck Friday” during the summer months when brick and mortar restaurants are packed? It could be held at a specific place in the downtown corridor, perhaps the police parking lot. Folks could enjoy their food on the river walk, visit Beaver Park, or sit at the picnic tables in Riverside Park.

Many have been talking about how food trucks could benefit our community and existing restaurants for a number of years, but have always run into walls at the village government level. It is fantastic and a breath of fresh air to see a true consideration given to this topic and many others over the past few months by the mayor and the new village board. This is in contrast to the previous village government that, as one candidate stated during the Adirondack Daily Enterprise debate … “no is the answer… what is the question?” I think it is time we all dust off all those ideas we have been sitting on or afraid to bring forward previously and bring them to this new village government. They are ready to listen and help us all make good things happen.

Jacob Vennie-Vollrath

Saranac Lake