50 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

^Busted by VHF:

Liquor-delivery service shut down

By Keith Vass - Victoria News

Published: June 30, 2008 3:00 PM
Updated: June 30, 2008 3:39 PM

Two men are charged with illegally selling alcohol after Victoria police shut down a liquor-delivery service last month.

The service, called 'Cheetah Express', took phone orders from customers for beer and liquor despite not having a liquor sales license, said police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton. Many of their customers were underage, police allege.

The men, aged 50 and 56, are free on promises to appear in Provincial Court Aug. 8.

I like liquor as much as, if not more than the next guy. There is no way the cops did not know about this before. If they didn't... well, again, there is no way I exposed them, everyone knew about them. They have (had) been running for over 15 years, I'd say. The timing is uncanny though, about a week after I post.

OK, let's test the theory: I know the identity of a second shooter...

[Holden West]

Hmmm, this operation has been going on for a decade but an arrest was made a mere 10 days after VHF mentions it here? Sounds like VHF earns the Crimestoppers Award.

[G-Man]

I used to use Cheetah Express when I was in Uni. VHF you narc!

[Ms. B. Havin]

Didn't guyinthesky also mention it just the other day, on a different thread? Something to do with parties at the end of days spent pedaling touriststs all over town on Kabuki Kabs?

Two "informers"! Quick, wipe out your hard-drives, you're next!

PS: oops, silly me, it was just a few posts up, on this thread...

[Koru]

Didn't guyinthesky also mention it just the other day, on a different thread? Something to do with parties at the end of days spent pedaling touriststs all over town on Kabuki Kabs?

Two "informers"! Quick, wipe out your hard-drives, you're next!

PS: oops, silly me, it was just a few posts up, on this thread...

haha glad you noticed ...yah it was me. The other day I was going through a box of old stuff from years past and found a bunch of my Kabuki Kab stuff, and in it was a little red business card that said Cheetah on it, at the time it was delivered out of the Chip Wagon...one and the same? or different?...oh yah and who the heck on here is a cop?! they are monitoring us...*looks around furtively* better watch what I say...

[G-Man]

So I was down in Portland and do they have the best street vendors or what.

People rent space in Parking lots next to sidewalks and sell food out the back to passerby's. Not only is there a great selection but the food is CHEAP and good. Lunch for two at a mexican stand came to 11 bucks with a drink and it was almost more than we could eat.

Also it brought life to an area that would otherwise just be parked cars.

Some locales that would work here.

- Lot between Pandora and Cormorant.
- Lot on the corner of Langley and Fort.
- Lot on the corener of Quadra and Fort.
- Lot across from Library on Broughton.
- Lot on the corner of Quadra and Broughton.
- Lot on Yates Street across from the Wave.
and many more.

[Caramia]

What a brilliant idea! I'd love for a wider selection of vendor food in this city, it is one of my favourite things about travelling to just about anywhere that not Victoria.

[Mike K.]

So long as these vendors serve food away from catchment areas of brick and mortar food establishments, it's a good idea. But if vendors are to start competing with merchants that need to pay expensive leases and cover high operating costs then I'd be dead set against it.

I know first hand how food carts serving any food can negatively affect nearby brick and mortar establishments.

[G-Man]

Really in what cases? You are saying that someone looking to sit in a restaurant would choose a food cart instead? I think that a restaurant and a foodcart would have vastly different clientele and demographics. Also nothing is stopping any establishment from setting up their own food cart outlet. If someone loses out to a food cart then that is a problem with their business plan I would think.

While socially I am a advocate for regulation and government control. In business operations, I am all for market determination. Why would we set-up regulations that encourage monopolies and at the same time take away from the vibrancy of the city?

We should completely deregulate business operations in the city IMO. Sure the city can tax any of them but also should allow more too. Shoe Shine people, buskers and yes food carts.

When I am travelling to places that actually allow food carts such as Portland, I make a conscious choice before seeking out a venue. Do I want to sit down or do I want to grab something quick? I did both on my trip and in every case I made that decision before seeking out an establishment.

[Mike K.]

Take the Italian deli on Blanshard. They serve both sit down clients and take away. If a food cart serving Italian food, or whatever, was setup a few steps away and served food at a lower price because of much lower operating costs, it would impact the deli's business. That's not a problem with the deli's business plan. It's a problem of regulations that allow someone to unfairly compete with a brick and mortar business. In terms of personal experience, I don't care to go into it but my mother's business dealt with the effects of mobile food vendors. Did they impact her income? Very much so.

Brick and mortar businesses have an incredibly difficult time becoming established and making ends meet, and to have a mobile, largely indifferent food cart operator establish a competing business anywhere they wish then that's not a fair practice and should be regulated.

The best analogy I can give is a transit system laying down rails for a trolley line, only to have their ridership usurped by a less expensive, limited stop express bus service that capitalizes from the high ridership and high density established by laying down the rails. BC Transit would be pretty choked and the result would be a decrease in service and/or little desire to lay tracks elsewhere in the region.

[gumgum]

The only solution is to limit the mobile food carts. Which I guess you could say they're doing.
Mind you, I was told once by the guy running the hot dog across from Capital Iron stand that he pays enough rent to the Capital Iron owners to buy a car every month. So it's not like they're getting a steal sometimes.

[Mike K.]

The only solution is to limit the mobile food carts. Which I guess you could say they're doing.

Yes, and it's a good thing.

But as for paying enough rent to buy a car, there are plenty of people driving $300 cars

[G-Man]

I disagree. The italian place can pad their sales with stock and menu variety that a cart could never do. They are different animals.

[Nparker]

Some locales [where a street vendor] would work here...[the] Lot between Pandora and Cormorant.

How about that useless pit outside the back of Rotherham Place? I keep hoping that it might be put to some use, if and when Centro gets built. As it is, it is complete waste of space. I have NEVER seen anyone sit or spend any time here. It is crying out for some sort of life.

[Mike K.]

I disagree. The italian place can pad their sales with stock and menu variety that a cart could never do. They are different animals.

They are not different animals. A sandwich is a sandwich. A full belly is a full belly.

Let's not forget that the deli subsists mainly from the sales of fast food items like sandwiches and pasta while other items make up opportunistic purchases. And what do carts sell? Fast food, albeit at much reduced prices because they do not have the overhead of brick and mortar establishments. And that's the killer, the difference in price. Why pay $5 for a sandwich if a vendor a few steps away is selling the same thing for $4?

An established business should not have to drastically change its operations because someone decides to open a fly by night cart steps from their business. That's unfair hence why we have regulations.

[G-Man]

Well then I have to use the rest of the world as an argument. Why are Victoria restaurants vulnerable to this destruction by food cart when in most other cities large or small on the planet has a huge selection of restaurants, deli's and food carts. I mean in latin america you will have food carts literally at the door of the restaurant.

[Caramia]

Well we do have a robust restaurant/foodie culture. Which I love. I wonder if this is part of why?

[mat]

Well then I have to use the rest of the world as an argument. Why are Victoria restaurants vulnerable to this destruction by food cart when in most other cities large or small on the planet has a huge selection of restaurants, deli's and food carts. I mean in latin america you will have food carts literally at the door of the restaurant.

Exactly - look at Ny and LA, or more recently Portland Oregon which is experimenting with street food evenings. If you want density for the downtown core, then you must allow for the lifestyles that go with a 24hr life, and street food stalls are a contemporary and historical part of high density. Why are Bridges and The Keg on Granville Island?

Restaurants in London (UK) have street stall outlets, Singapore is famous for its stall food and yet Mike K feels it would hurt established units on commercial grounds - create an area for foodies (street and in-house) and business grows for everyone.

[pseudotsuga]

The street vendors in Portland are nice. Convenient & inexpensive.
Would love to see more of that here.
For sure, some existing restaurants would have to adapt to the new competition - but I think there is room in the market for more options.
It's not a parking lot, but why not test out some new street vendor licences in Centenial Square? And if baby steps are called for, make the licences seasonal. See if that works and go from there.

[G-Man]

Well the city is going in the other way. Their are currently 7 food cart licenses in the city and the plan is to reduce that number more.