HAINES CITY, Fla. — Adam Gomez and his wife opened their food truck, Florida Fruit Cups, three years ago, and the smoothie shop has already made a name for itself in Haines City.
"We have a lot of regulars and a lot of people that we already know. They love coming here. They love our smoothies as well. There are other smoothie shops as well here, but they always come to us, so I think we're doing something pretty well," said Gomez.
Their food truck is located in a lot downtown next to two others. Gomez said sharing the space has helped them gain new customers.
"You have Jamaican food; you have fruit cups; you have seafood. If somebody goes to get seafood and they see this, they're like, let's grab some smoothies. Let's try this out," Gomez said.
A new ordinance would mean food truck parks are no longer allowed. Haines City Commissioners went back to the drawing board to draft a new food truck ordinance, after more than a year of revising their first proposal.
The city regulations include limiting one food truck per private property. Restricting food trucks from using parking spaces, loading zones, landscape or buffer areas. They also cannot be located on city property, except when it is a city-sponsored event. Some food truck operators say not only will small businesses suffer, but customers as well.
"It's going to be difficult on mainly the businesses, but I feel like customers are going to feel it as well. If they get to their spot and these new rules pass and now their food truck has to leave," said Trey Blake with Gianni's Jerk Out.
Food truck owners say they are all for regulations, but not ones that will do more harm than good.
"Regulations are good, you have to have them. For small businesses like us sometimes these regulations can really hurt us, especially if this is our only income," said Gomez.
According to city leaders, the ordinance has a "grandfather clause" that allows existing food trucks to stay where they are.
Hillsborough County crews work six days a week to improve stormwater drainage
The ongoing restoration work is part of a larger effort by Hillsborough County Public Works aimed at mitigating flooding risks throughout the area. Officials are hopeful that these improvements will provide a sense of safety during this hurricane season.
