A Food Truck Revolution? Central Park Truck To Serve Alcohol
When New York's famed Tavern on the Green closed due to bankruptcy last year, it left a void for many in the city's restaurant landscape, particularly tourists who had heard about the legendary space and still flocked to the location unaware it had closed. So it was fitting when the former restaurant space was turned into a Central Park Visitors Center last fall. To fill the culinary void left by the restaurants closing, several food trucks were stationed outside the center. Now one of those trucks is poised to cash in by being the first New York City food truck to fill another void: alcohol.
The Pera Turkish Taco Truck applied for a liquor license this spring and the license was approved this week. The truck can start selling alcohol as soon as today.
William Crowley, a spokesman for New York State Liquor Authority tells the New York Times that Pera's is the first food-truck liquor license to be granted in New York City. It's likely not the last.
According to the New York Times, two of the other four trucks on the Tavern Plaza, Rickshaw Dumpling and Ladle of Love have also applied for liquor licenses. But for now, the Turkish Taco truck has the first-mover advantage and you can bet at they'll do a brisk business.
Does this mean we'll see food trucks in other parts of the city serving alcohol? Possibly, but don't expect an alcohol truck-revolution.
Food truck patrons who buy alcohol from Turkish Taco must drink their beverages on the Tavern on the Green plaza, which is an enclosed space. The Liquor Authority says the liquor application was approved because the truck was limited to a "specifically defined area" and alcohol cannot be removed from the designated zone.
— Tom Rotunno, CNBC.com
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