Thriving food truck forced to shut shop
Karen Gonzalez has been happily serving food and coffee at the side of the road for the past two years; then came the earthquake, the customers and the complaint.
That one complaint has effectively shut down her food cart in the middle of a purple patch brought on by the redirection of South Island traffic.
But the one-woman food operator on State Highway 63 has an unlikely ally in the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), which may stump up the money to make her layby safer.
The agency believes there is merit in having a place for drivers to take a break, but the Marlborough District Council says the turnoff to the Wheely Wild Food Cart is not safe.
Gonzalez also needs a resource consent to operate in her isolated spot near the Branch River, about 30 kilometres from St Arnaud.
The energetic Filipino launched her food truck on the side of the highway two years ago.
The redirection of traffic after November’s earthquake changed everything, as vehicle numbers quadrupled in a matter of weeks and Gonzalez found herself as the only option for hungry drivers.
Business had been ‘‘100 per cent’’ more busy, she said in November. But that was before the business was served with an abatement notice last month. Gonzalez declined to comment on the notice.
Council spokesman Glyn Walters said the cart was operating on land which required a resource consent under the Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plan. There were also concerns around road safety and wastewater management.
‘‘Council has worked with the owner since a first meeting in January. Council’s concerns were discussed and information on how to apply for resource consent was provided,’’ he said.
‘‘The food truck owner continued to operate her coffee cart at this rural property knowing that she needed resource consent.’’
Gonzalez applied for a resource consent at the end of April, and the council was still awaiting input from NZTA, Walters said.
A NZTA spokeswoman said the agency and Marlborough Roads were looking at funding better access to the food truck. The agency was keen to do whatever it could to ensure drivers could continue to benefit from coffee and refreshments, she said.