Food carts in Portland, Oregon facts for kids
The city of Portland, Oregon, United States, has experienced a boom in the number of food carts due to relatively low regulation compared to other North American cities.
History
In 1965, the first food cart in Portland, which sold kosher hot dogs, was set up across from Portland City Hall. In 1976, Portland opened up all of its downtown parks to competitive bidding. A 2001 report in The Oregonian stated Portland was home to 175 carts, with fierce competition for the four cart spaces available since 1987 in the South Park Blocks. A bidding war in February 2001 led to a combined price of $192,000 for the spaces. There was also a large cluster, often referred to as a food cart pod, at Fifth and Stark street, and one food cart had been operating since 1980. In 2010 it was estimated that there are between 450 and 671 carts citywide.
Regulation
Most North American cities sought to make the street for cars in the mid twentieth century, and thus imposed strict regulations on food carts, which led to few food carts remaining. In comparison, Portland has low regulation, such as having nearly no requirement for a food cart to have a particular structure, which makes the cost of entry low, and thus leading to a proliferation of carts. Many regulations are also not enforced as long as health and safety are not impacted.
Notable pods and foods carts
Notable food cart pods in Portland include the Cart Blocks, Cartlandia, Cartopia, Carts on Foster, Collective Oregon Eateries, Hawthorne Asylum, Nob Hill Food Carts, Portland Mercado, and Prost Marketplace, and formerly the Alder Street food cart pod (1990s–2019).
Notable businesses which have operated as food carts in the city include:
- Baby Blue Pizza
- Bing Mi
- Birrieria La Plaza
- Birrieria PDX
- Chicken and Guns
- El Cubo de Cuba
- Deadstock Coffee
- Desi PDX
- Dirty Lettuce
- E-san Thai Cuisine
- El Gallo Taqueria
- Erica's Soul Food
- Fifty Licks
- Flying Fish Company
- Fried Egg I'm in Love
- Gracie's Apizza
- The Grilled Cheese Grill
- Holy Trinity Barbecue
- Jojo
- Kee's Loaded Kitchen
- Kim Jong Grillin'
- Le Bistro Montage
- Matt's BBQ
- Matta
- Nacheaux
- Nong's Khao Man Gai
- Paladin Pie
- PDX Sliders
- Ruthie's
- Shanghai's Best
- Stretch the Noodle
- Tamale Boy
- Tierra del Sol
- Viking Soul Food