Ice-cream truck risks delivering treats
Mobile food businesses operate in grey area, not cited in reopening plan
It’s a rainy Thursday afternoon and Peter Berbatiotis is in his Toronto Softee ice-cream truck, dropping off frozen treats at the homes of 10 or 15 would-be attendees for a child’s birthday party.
“It’s a COVID birthday party, so basically the parents send me the addresses and we drive to everyone’s houses, where they come out and pick up their ice cream,” says Berbatiotis, who has been in the ice cream business for six years.
With big festivals cancelled and pools staying closed, Berbatiotis’ ice cream truck is one of the few strongholds of summer carrying on. But Berbatiotis says he’s been operating in a grey area.
Neither the City of Toronto, nor the province, is able to say if ice-cream and food trucks are allowed to operate during the pandemic.
A City spokesperson told the Star to check back next week.
Despite the lack of clarity, Berbatiotis has already been ticketed, told by an enforcement officer he’s not considered an essential service.
He’s heard from others who are also facing fines.
“In theory, we’re takeout. People are paying online and I’m doing delivery to people’s front lawns,” he says. “We wear masks. We have a takeout window. No one is allowed in the trucks. We sanitize everything, including the cash, and do what health advisers are recommending.” Premier Doug Ford announced that starting May 11, stores in Ontario can do curbside pick up, which is what Berbatiotis says he and the other trucks in his fleet have been doing whether they are parked on a street for curbside service or delivering directly to customers who placed an order online.
Essential food businesses, include supermarkets and grocery stores; convenience stores; big box retailers that sell groceries (such as Wal-Mart); alcohol retailers; and restaurants only doing takeout, drive-through and delivery, according to the province. There is no mention of mobile food trucks.
“I’ve emailed (mayor) John Tory, and I’m not getting any responses back,” Berbatiotis said.
“The only thing I can do is hope that, when we go to court with these tickets, there will be some leniency because we’ve been following what the premier said.” A spokesperson from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade wouldn’t say specifically if food trucks are allowed to operate on city streets.
In an emailed statement, the ministry said business owners, including food truck operators, should determine whether they fit in the category of essential businesses allowed to stay open and, in the case of food businesses, can only operate through takeout, drive-through or delivery.
A spokesperson from the city of Toronto said city staff is reviewing the provincial guidelines.
Ada Mok, co-owner of the FeasTO dumpling food truck, has pivoted to selling frozen dumplings during the pandemic, either delivering them to people’s homes or having people pick them up at their commercial kitchen.
For her, the food truck season is already done for the year as all the major festivals have been cancelled, but Mok says the food truck model is primed as a means of feeding people during a pandemic.
“I know the city doesn’t consider us as restaurants, so I know there’s no way we could operate and I’m not going to risk it,” she says. “I think we should be essential businesses because we can only operate outside and you can socially distance on the sidewalks.”
Mok says a benefit of food trucks is that, because the kitchen is so small, it means only one or two people have handled the food before it gets to the customer.
“I feel like the city just doesn’t care,” says Mok. “But we really could have filled the gap.”
For now, Berbatiotis and his trucks will continue to operate while they wait for a definitive answer.
“We’re going to100 houses between the six of us. It’s better than nothing,” he says of the day’s route. “I don’t want to make it seem like I’m going over people’s heads.
“I’m following what the premier is saying with curbside pickup and delivery.”