MV Town Council to look at removing vendor carts
Cart vendors organizing for October council meeting
By BEN FORNELL
September 23, 2009
Vendor carts may be disappearing from Mountain Village.
Last season, skiers could get their boards waxed or pick up a hot crepe from one of several entrepreneurs on the brick plazas surrounding the base of the ski lifts. But if a group of business owners has its way, the carts won’t be licensed again for this winter.
At the September Mountain Village Town Council meeting, a vocal group showed up to oppose the vendor carts, saying the tiny businesses were cutting into the bottom lines of larger outfits with more overhead costs. Their ranks included owners from Tracks Restaurant and Telluride Sports.
The business owners contend that the carts are harming the permanent business community in Mountain Village. The town council received five letters from business owners before their Sept. 17 meeting, many stating that, in a time of economic downturn, the council ought to help businesses that have made long-term investments in the community.
Many restaurants complained that while they stare at empty tables they can see long lines at the food carts.
“The temporary carts are not required to invest in Mountain Village the way businesses in commercial spaces do,” read part of a letter from Dave Riley, CEO of Telluride Ski and Golf. He added that traditional brick-and-mortar establishments have a slew of taxes, capital expenditures, and fees from the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association.
“Without the burden of those fixed costs, vending carts are allowed to skim off the top of year-round merchants, coming in only during the high seasons. They do nothing to contribute to the year round economic vitality of the core,” Riley wrote.
Most business owners’ letters stated that, at one time, the carts were a necessity. Fifteen years ago, Mountain Village only had two or three eateries, and the carts not only fed hungry skiers but also drew them deeper into the Village Core, into areas with other businesses.
But now that the village has 15 restaurants with another two coming online this winter, some restaurants feel the village has outgrown the need for carts, and established eateries deserve every chance to turn a profit after a dismal summer.
But the cart owners — of whom there are three — feel their businesses only barely overlap with products and services being offered at more traditional businesses.
“If you have problems with a food cart in front of your business, then you have more problems than a food cart in front of your business,” said Erick Mosher, who owns Diggity Dogs with his wife, Audrey. They have a mobile stand location in Telluride and a physical store in Mountain Village. “The only reason I can pay the rent in my store is because I had the opportunity to run a cart up here for years,” he said.
In many ways, Mosher is the model many Mountain Village business owners feel all carts should follow — morph into full tax-paying members of the economic community or disappear.
“It’s tough for me to believe a small business like mine is hurting a big business like Tracks,” said Bertrand Marchal, who operates the crepe stand in Mountain Village. He said he takes in $300 to $400 in gross revenues on a good day. Mosher said $500 before expenses was often his top mark on a booming day at the hot dog stand.
“I am a small business, out in the cold, serving a kind of food no other restaurant is serving,” Marchal said.
He got the idea for the stand from his childhood in the French Alps, where he learned to ski and where every resort has someone flipping the thin French pancakes at a small stand, ready to fill with things like chocolate, fruit and Nutella.
“I was up there before many of the restaurants opened,” Marchal said, who opened his cart in 2001 and saw it bring more skiers into the Core. He said his business runs symbiotically with many of the restaurants as many of his customers are kids, and his peak hour is after the lifts close. His theory is that, while parents are inside enjoying an adult beverage and resting their sore legs, kids are clamoring for a crepe.
And the carts do pay tax — $200 for the winter during the 2008-09 season. The fee will most likely be raised to $300 a month for this season, pending a final council approval.
And while the carts in Mountain Village are paying to use about 30 square feet of plaza space, many businesses set up tables and chairs on municipal property without paying any additional taxes, according to Mountain Village Mayor Bob Delves.
“The carts are kind of part of the culture,” Delves said. “I ride a lot of lifts. Our customers value the products and services these carts provide as well as the services these other businesses provide. Individual businesses are looking at a shrinking pie and I understand that sense of desperation.”
The Mountain Village Town Council will discuss all sides of the argument before making a decision on whether to license carts at their Oct. 15 meeting.
Delves said he is personally opposed to pulling the rug out from the carts all at once this season, but thinks phasing them out may eventually be a good move for the Village.
“The challenge is to figure out where the level playing field is,” Delves said. “It seems to be hotter topic than you would think.” - Telluride Daily Planet
Cart vendors organizing for October council meeting
By BEN FORNELL
September 23, 2009
Vendor carts may be disappearing from Mountain Village.
Last season, skiers could get their boards waxed or pick up a hot crepe from one of several entrepreneurs on the brick plazas surrounding the base of the ski lifts. But if a group of business owners has its way, the carts won’t be licensed again for this winter.
At the September Mountain Village Town Council meeting, a vocal group showed up to oppose the vendor carts, saying the tiny businesses were cutting into the bottom lines of larger outfits with more overhead costs. Their ranks included owners from Tracks Restaurant and Telluride Sports.
The business owners contend that the carts are harming the permanent business community in Mountain Village. The town council received five letters from business owners before their Sept. 17 meeting, many stating that, in a time of economic downturn, the council ought to help businesses that have made long-term investments in the community.
Many restaurants complained that while they stare at empty tables they can see long lines at the food carts.
“The temporary carts are not required to invest in Mountain Village the way businesses in commercial spaces do,” read part of a letter from Dave Riley, CEO of Telluride Ski and Golf. He added that traditional brick-and-mortar establishments have a slew of taxes, capital expenditures, and fees from the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association.
“Without the burden of those fixed costs, vending carts are allowed to skim off the top of year-round merchants, coming in only during the high seasons. They do nothing to contribute to the year round economic vitality of the core,” Riley wrote.
Most business owners’ letters stated that, at one time, the carts were a necessity. Fifteen years ago, Mountain Village only had two or three eateries, and the carts not only fed hungry skiers but also drew them deeper into the Village Core, into areas with other businesses.
But now that the village has 15 restaurants with another two coming online this winter, some restaurants feel the village has outgrown the need for carts, and established eateries deserve every chance to turn a profit after a dismal summer.
But the cart owners — of whom there are three — feel their businesses only barely overlap with products and services being offered at more traditional businesses.
“If you have problems with a food cart in front of your business, then you have more problems than a food cart in front of your business,” said Erick Mosher, who owns Diggity Dogs with his wife, Audrey. They have a mobile stand location in Telluride and a physical store in Mountain Village. “The only reason I can pay the rent in my store is because I had the opportunity to run a cart up here for years,” he said.
In many ways, Mosher is the model many Mountain Village business owners feel all carts should follow — morph into full tax-paying members of the economic community or disappear.
“It’s tough for me to believe a small business like mine is hurting a big business like Tracks,” said Bertrand Marchal, who operates the crepe stand in Mountain Village. He said he takes in $300 to $400 in gross revenues on a good day. Mosher said $500 before expenses was often his top mark on a booming day at the hot dog stand.
“I am a small business, out in the cold, serving a kind of food no other restaurant is serving,” Marchal said.
He got the idea for the stand from his childhood in the French Alps, where he learned to ski and where every resort has someone flipping the thin French pancakes at a small stand, ready to fill with things like chocolate, fruit and Nutella.
“I was up there before many of the restaurants opened,” Marchal said, who opened his cart in 2001 and saw it bring more skiers into the Core. He said his business runs symbiotically with many of the restaurants as many of his customers are kids, and his peak hour is after the lifts close. His theory is that, while parents are inside enjoying an adult beverage and resting their sore legs, kids are clamoring for a crepe.
And the carts do pay tax — $200 for the winter during the 2008-09 season. The fee will most likely be raised to $300 a month for this season, pending a final council approval.
And while the carts in Mountain Village are paying to use about 30 square feet of plaza space, many businesses set up tables and chairs on municipal property without paying any additional taxes, according to Mountain Village Mayor Bob Delves.
“The carts are kind of part of the culture,” Delves said. “I ride a lot of lifts. Our customers value the products and services these carts provide as well as the services these other businesses provide. Individual businesses are looking at a shrinking pie and I understand that sense of desperation.”
The Mountain Village Town Council will discuss all sides of the argument before making a decision on whether to license carts at their Oct. 15 meeting.
Delves said he is personally opposed to pulling the rug out from the carts all at once this season, but thinks phasing them out may eventually be a good move for the Village.
“The challenge is to figure out where the level playing field is,” Delves said. “It seems to be hotter topic than you would think.” - Telluride Daily Planet
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