Denver Restricts Food Truck Operation after LoDo Violence

Food trucks in the LoDo neighborhood of Denver will have their weekend plans limited until February of 2023, according to Denver officials as of August 2, following a police shooting near a food truck that caused six casualties. As hubs for large groups of people, food trucks will only be allowed to operate bordering the Central Business District on Friday and Saturday nights from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. These rules are limited to exceptions and are applied to holidays as well, with seven approved trucks being able to operate until midnight on Blake and Market streets.

The new rules are reactionary towards an increase in violence and crime in the Denver area, specifically surrounding certain patrons of the food trucks, according to The Denver Gazette. Their solution is the creation of two rectangular zones that are designated for food truck operation in which Armando Saldate, the executive director of the city’s Department of Public Safety, said in a statement that the rules “strike the right balance in our efforts to keep people safe and allow mobile food vendors to operate.” This legislation follows an almost complete ban on Denver food trucks after police shot and injured six a month ago.

What is described as a preventative law could mean lawsuits for the city in the future, according to a Virginia-based law firm. Given that the time limit on the hours of operation completely exclude peak business hours for some vendors, many food truck operators, including those operating the Amore Pizza food truck, told Denver7 that the new legislation will directly affect their profits.

Without operation during key times of night in areas that are frequented by customers on a consistent basis, food truck owners are nervous to lose their way of making a living. Officials are already planning on making adjustments to the ban, including allowing six trucks in LoDo per night, but forcing them to close up at midnight.