Buttercream Philadelphia truck confiscated

University City cupcake connoisseurs were outraged last Tuesday when cupcake truck Buttercream Philadelphia, operated by “cupcake lady” Kate Carrara, was confiscated for violating vendor parking restrictions at 33rd and Market streets.

“Three cops were there, three [Licensing and Inspections] people and a whole bunch of people in line who thought I was getting arrested,” she recalled.

Carrara, who had previously received a warning from the L&I; Department for parking at 33rd and Walnut streets without a special permit, had consulted the Business Compliance office earlier to learn that “they could not tell [her] where [she] could go but only where [she] could not.”

“At this point, Penn and Drexel are out,” she said. “The staff and students are really supportive, and I love the area … it’s sad.”

According to Carrara, at no point during the licensing process had she been fully informed of parking restrictions applied to roaming vendors.

Mayor’s Office spokeswoman Maura Kennedy said Carrara had received two warnings from L&I; prior to the confiscation, which had been prompted by another business in the area requesting “enforcement” against her.

Kennedy said that after the second warning, Carrara was given a map with streets highlighted indicating where she could and could not park.

In addition, she was also invited to have a “longer conversation” with L&I; regarding vending restrictions but declined the offer.

“Our goal here is first and foremost education — we want people to be doing good legal business here in the city, paying taxes and operating correctly,” she said. “Only after three attempts to educate and a lack of compliance on [Carrara’s] part did we take action.”

Penn alum David Dilks, who has operated the cupcake truck “Call Me Cupcake” since June, also had his vehicle confiscated three weeks ago for parking outside of permitted boundaries at 19th and Market streets.

When Dilks asked to learn which specific areas he could not access, he was given an extensive spreadsheet of locations and asked to figure out the restricted areas on his own — a process which lasted several days.

“[The restrictions] really shut off lucrative areas and are counterproductive financially,” he said.

Both Dilks and Carrara have since paid fines to regain their trucks.

Dilks recently started a grassroots campaign with the aid of Facebook and Twitter, collecting signatures from Philadelphia residents in support of changing existing regulations on roaming vehicles like the CMC and BCP trucks, which travel from location to location to vend for brief periods.

He plans to eventually present the results of the petition to City Hall.

“We’re trying to create a win-win for the city and for us,” he said. “Allowing [roaming vendors] access to high-traffic areas will help the city gain more revenue as well.”

Kennedy emphasized that confiscation of vehicles to enforce compliance with L&I; policies is not intended to stifle businesses.

“Our goal is not to shut down businesses but to ensure that they are operating in compliance with the laws,” she said.

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