Food truck proposal cheered at Charlottetown public meeting

A proposal to set up a food truck that would serve alcohol and have permanent seating received vocal support at a public meeting on the plan in Charlottetown Wednesday night.

Mikey Wasnidge, a partner in the project, said this is not a new concept, only new to Charlottetown, and gave examples of where it has been done in other Maritime cities.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We're just trying to bring something that other cities have benefited from to Charlottetown," Wasnidge said.

"We've created this vision to transform this space into something I hope most of you will agree is better. It will bring more life to that area of Charlottetown. We're really excited to invest money into that space and make it beautiful."

The food service area, to be called Nimrods, would go in a vacant lot on Great George Street between The Old Triangle and Cedar's Eatery.

People who lined up to speak in favour of the proposal were greeted with cheers and loud applause.

Heather McIver said it is important to give entrepreneurs, particularly young entrepreneurs, an opportunity to start small.

"If we send out the message to our youth you must come in with an incredibly large business plan, take over this huge restaurant and do well, we're setting people up for failure," she said.

Lorne McLaren also expressed his support for the project, but he had reservations.

"I do feel for the permanent establishments that are slugging and dragging through the bleak months of January, February, March," he said.

McLaren wondered if the tax system could be used to level the playing field a little more.

Following the discussion of Nimrods, the meeting went on to discuss a residential development in Sherwood.

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