While Los Angeles, New York, Austin and Minneapolis lead the way in the gourmet mobile-truck food trend, Chicago seems to be anchored in its old ways.
But one Chicago Chef is trying to change Chicago into a city of traveling treats, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Matt Maroni, 31, has been out of work since leaving Chicago's Mid-America club, but he's hoping to reinvent himself with a mobile food business. Maroni plans to open "GaztroWagon" in Edgewater this week.
The 13-seat sandwich shop is a brick and mortar location for now, but Maroni wants to make it mobile. Along with 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, Maroni is drafting a city ordinance that he will present to the Chicago City Council next month allowing for gourmet food trucks to patrol the city's streets.
Thus far the carts have been prohibited because of a health department rule which allows only pre-prepared and packaged foods to be offered on the street.
Maroni thinks it's time for a change. He says his 30-page model ordinance for Chicago could bring jobs and revenue while adding a new dimension to the city’s dining scene.
So far a handful of alderman and some city departments are interested in the proposal. So far, he's received no flat-out rejections.
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