Quaker Shaker finds new spot, but loses one-third of customers

After 12 years of vending on the University campus, the Quaker Shaker food truck has relocated to 37th and Walnut streets –– a move which has resulted in a loss of many of the truck's regular customers, according to its owners. "We have about one-third of the customers we used to," Quaker Shaker Manager Jamie Armstrong said. "Everybody says they miss us on campus." "It's too far to walk," said College sophomore Rachel Greenman, who used to patronize the truck, which was formerly located at 37th Street and Locust Walk. But Armstrong said the Quaker Shaker has been able to lower its prices, since it is no longer paying rent to the University. He added that he hopes to lure customers by distributing flyers about the new location and by offering free specials. University officials forced the Quaker Shaker to leave its previous location off Locust Walk last week in order to accommodate construction of the Penn Women's Center at 3643 Locust Walk. Although the Quaker Shaker's lease with the University ran out August 31, the truck remained on campus until September 3, when University officials told owners Mark Gosik and Tim Dever that they would be blocked from the entrance to the campus the next day. Gosik said he later apologized to the administration for overstaying his lease, adding that he would be willing to work with the University on a plan to make area food trucks safer and more accessible. "Our main goal now is to try to get back on campus and in the meantime, keep up some sort of business," Gosik said. Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman is directing a project to plan the future of vending in the area. "There are a lot of complicated factors as far as what we can accommodate and where," Scheman said, "But we are working as hard and as fast as we can." A committee, comprised of representatives from the Office of Community and Government Affairs, the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University City Science Center and Drexel University representatives, is scheduled to present a draft of a master vending plan to Scheman next week. The report will then be passed on to the Undergraduate Assembly, the University Council and the vendors themselves for input, Scheman said. Once a consensus is achieved, the plan will be presented to Philadelphia City Council member Jannie Blackwell. "The questions of where and what on campus, we can resolve ourselves," Scheman said. "But for off-campus locations, we have to rely on a City Council ordinance." As far as the Quaker Shaker owners are concerned, Scheman said, "They are great guys -- everyone likes them [and] we want to accommodate them." But she added that she wants people to understand that no one has a right to an on-campus lease. "In exchange for regulating the vendors, the University can offer better facilities and better locations, though I doubt there will be anything at the core of campus again," Scheman said. She explained that the vending committee aims to develop a plan that will be a close approximation to the current situation. There will, however, be a great reduction in the number of vendors in the area, she said.