Food trailer sidelined during FIFA boom

For the past eight years, the Mr. Arancino food trailer has had a spot on the Granville Strip.

 “This is our typical location right here,” explains Yannick Cudennec, owner of Mr. Arancino.

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But with the World Cup in town, over the last two weeks, this Sicilian eatery has been off Granville and moved.

“This is the location where we have been relocated. It’s very much a through fair from Robson Plaza to Granville Street.”

And now, you won’t find it at all, because owner Yannick Cudennec says it simply isn’t worth it.

“We attempted to operate at that location for several days and the sales were absolutely abysmal, worse than on a typical day and just really not worth our time, so unfortunately I’ve hung up my hat.”

Cudennec says he didn’t see this coming and thought the plan would look very different.

“They were working with us to create a pedestrian zone along Granville. My understanding was that we would be part of this pedestrian zone, and that we would be able to abide by some strict load in load out schedules and still operate at our fixed location where we were typically at.”

CityNews reached out to the City of Vancouver for comment. In a statement, they said:

“Due to safety standards of the closure design of the Granville Pedestrian Zone, street vendors are unable to safely enter and exit the closure area each day with their vending unit and towing vehicle. As a result, several permitted street vendors whose regular locations are inside or adjacent to Granville Street Pedestrian Zone, including Mr. Arancino, have been temporarily relocated.”

The city also said other options downtown are still being explored for Mr. Arancino. But Cudennec says the timing couldn’t be worse.

“it’s really sad because this is the boost that we needed for the year, it’s been a tough year last year, this year as well, the economy is suffering, we’re feeling it hard.”

And while he knows he’s missing out on a lot of potential profit that he could be making on the strip, he says its not just about the money- it’s about the culture.

“It’s really heartbreaking. I really appreciate and love the food culture in Vancouver. And it’s the small businesses, the independently owned restaurants that give that special vibe, it’s not going to be the chains that are multinational, we should be the ones the city wants to exemplify something that’s truly Vancouver”

Mr. Arancino is expected to return to its usual spot at the end of July.