Too often the question is asked, why do young talented people leave Savannah? Brittney Blackshear is a young, talented entrepreneur who recently left Savannah for a better opportunity in Nashville, Tenn., and from whose story we can learn.
Brittney is a native of Houston who, after graduating from SCAD, took the initiative to start her own catering business, Crepe A Diem, specializing in appetizer, entrée and dessert crepes.
The business was successful, and as Brittney says, “It was so rewarding to provide good, quality food and see the resulting enjoyment.” Crepe A Diem’s business grew, and Brittney felt the next logical step in growth was a food truck.
However, there is one major issue. Food trucks are not permitted in Savannah.
In recent years, food trucks have become popular in numerous cities. Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; Nashville; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; Boston; Washington, D.C.; and Charleston, S.C.; to name a few, have enacted ordinances authorizing food trucks.
The rules and regulations for food trucks vary. Some cities allow food trucks only in privately owned lots and others allow them in designated street parking spaces. City parks are accessible to food trucks in many cities, and the size of the truck is often regulated, as is the artwork content on the side of the truck.
All of the cities limit the food trucks to specific zoning districts, and in every city, food trucks are subject to the same health department standards and inspections as a restaurant.
Food trucks have become restaurants on wheels with numerous advantages over traditional or brick-and-mortar restaurants. The start-up costs are less and the overhead is lower, but it is still a business that requires long hours and much work.
While some restaurant owners have fought the authorization of food trucks, a majority support food trucks, for if a restaurant is good at what it does, food trucks are not competition. If a restaurant is not so good, the food trucks may spur them to do better.
Additionally, many restaurants use a food truck to expand their business and provide an economic means for a “second location.”
At the same time that Brittney was seeking to establish her food truck in Savannah, a small downtown Broughton Street restaurant and a small Sandfly restaurant were seeking to do the same but could not due to Savannah’s zoning ordinances.
Food trucks improve the quality of city life, and with their mobility, they can go to less developed parts of a city and bring new (and quality) food to residents and workers where food choices are limited.
In Washington, D.C., food trucks have turned barren areas into popular and safe gathering places.
Food trucks stimulate pedestrian activity and as a result, generate more foot traffic in an area that in turn creates additional retail businesses and sales and even more brick-and-mortar restaurants.
They improve the “food culture” of a city, and food truck festivals and special events are significant social and economic events.
Brittney loves Savannah and “wanted to establish and build her business in the community she loves so much, but business could not wait.” After trying for a year and being told it cannot happen under the codes and ordinances, she made the difficult decision to relocate to Nashville and did so in early February.
The Crepe A Diem food truck will be in business the first of May, less than three months after her arrival in Nashville. Brittney describes the Nashville food truck scene as “an event that brings people together and encourages entrepreneurs to get their unique and different foods out there.”
So, what is the lesson for Savannah?
The city needs to embrace and encourage new and different business enterprises. When a new business concept is presented, city staff should be empowered to ask, “Why not here?” and make it happen.
They should look at the experiences of other cities, review their codes and ordinances and put forth recommendations as to what is suitable in Savannah, instead of responding, “it is not allowed.”
Once it is put forth, the recommendations can be debated, concerns expressed and addressed, and then the recommendation can be accepted, modified or rejected, with an overall goal to make it possible for business opportunities to exist in Savannah that exist in other cities.
Dana Braun, a Savannah attorney, is chairman of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Braun can be reached at 912-238-2750 or dbraun@cbrhlaw.com.