Some retailers blast proposed food plazas

Many storeowners claim vendors have an unfair advantage near campus. and Seth Grossman Many University City retailers say they support a proposed City Council ordinance that bans vendors from the streets and sidewalks in front of their stores. But the University's plans to build five food plazas around campus to house the displaced vendors -- charging them $1-per-month and providing electricity, lighting and a park-like atmosphere -- has some retailers upset, with many of them complaining that their concerns have been overlooked in the battle between Penn officials and vendors. City Council's long-anticipated public hearings on the bill, which bans vendors from most streets and sidewalks in the area, are set for April 14. The University's food-plaza plans are separate from the ordinance. Currently, half a dozen food trucks operate within a block of the 3401 Walnut Street food court, a situation that leaves shop owners steaming. "I wish they would get out of here," said John Santos, a manager at Cosimo's Pizza, one of seven merchants in the food court. That attitude is common at the food court, reflecting a near-universal sense that the trucks unfairly compete with food court stores. "They closed down one day [February 20] for a protest," Santos recounted. "It was one of the busiest days we ever had." Jack Shannon, the University's top economic development official, said Penn shares this concern. He noted that the issue of unfair competition is the reason behind Penn's support of the ordinance and its plans to relocate the vendors. "The ordinance and the food plazas are important in that the vendors will continue to have access to the market without having to worry about vendors poaching customers from [retailers]," Shannon said. But food court retailers say their support for the vending ordinance is nothing personal -- it's all a matter of location. "They serve the public, too," said Steve McCarter, the manager of Philly Steak and Gyro Co. "And if they do move them, they should find a spot for them." And as long as the vendors go elsewhere, questions such as whether Penn should charge them rent don't bother food court retailers. "If the University doesn't want to charge them rent, that is their loss, not mine," said the manager of Oriental Gourmet, who refused to give his name. Retailers on 40th Street, however, are less tolerant of the competitive advantage the vendors have. One of the proposed food plaza locations is on 40th Street between Walnut and Locust streets, making the vendors into long-term competition for the retailers, not a here-today, gone-tomorrow nuisance. "Why do they get treated like kings and we're sitting over here slaving?" asked Dior Robinson, a manager at My Favorite Muffin and Bagel Cafe on 40th Street. The part of the food plaza plans that most angers retailers is the proposed $1-per-month rent for vendors. "Let us pay a dollar a month for rent, and we'll all be rich," said Oliver Matthews, a manager at Fingers, Wings and Other Things. Among other concerns: Vendors block parking spots, obscure storefronts and signs, pay fewer taxes and have lower overhead costs. Sanitation standards are also lower for vendors, and many retailers charge that they are less stringently enforced. The proposed ordinance addresses many of those concerns. The result is that vendors "are making a lot of money on that slice [of pizza] compared to what I'm making," said Wink Hall, who owns Gaeta's College Pizza. Despite Penn's repeated claims that the ordinance and the food plazas are designed to help retailers, many store owners said that the plans are anything but helpful to their businesses. Doug Bernard, who owns Cool Peppers Mexican Grill, said he can't understand Penn's position. He pointed out that Penn invested considerable money in sprucing up 40th Street, installing new signs, trees, sidewalks and lighting. "And then you walk down the street and it looks like a flea market," Bernard said, referring to the vendors lining the street. But University officials insist that they have the best interests of their retailers in mind. "We hope that once the [food] plazas prove successful, a lot of these not-in-my-backyard concerns will go away," said Carol Scheman, Penn's vice president for government, community and public affairs.