I’m a little surprised by the dust-up that has occurred because of Carrboro’s taco wagons.
They haven’t come from out of nowhere. These sorts of food stands have been around forever. I don’t know the specifics of Carrboro’s licensing laws, but I feel certain that these people are paying payroll and sales taxes and that they have had to buy some sorts of business permits. As a chef in Orange County (I’m just across your eastern border), I have every confidence that our health department is as strict on them as they are on everyone else. True, they don’t have hood fans and bathrooms, but they don’t need them.
They are take-out places, with tiny cooking appliances. The wagons themselves are clearly not as expensive as a building; but just as clearly, they are not cheap.
When you go to a taco wagon, you probably had no intention of going to a sit-down restaurant to begin with. You are in a hurry, you have a carful of children, you just realized that you’d better eat something quick after a night on the town. Ditto, if you are trying to economize, you don’t go where you’ll have to tip twenty percent and pay for a markup on drinks. You stop at the taco wagon and pick up a six pack on the way home. If people occasionally decide to patronize one of these wagons because of their novelty, fine. This area, in the last ten or so years, has become known as a serious food destination. We’re always in some food or travel magazine. It seems to me that another interesting dining choice can only enhance this reputation to the advantage of us all.
Bill Smith,
Chapel Hill