Fishtown will experiment with a new space for food trucks to set up shop during late-night hours in an attempt to address issues that have long surrounded vendors selling food in other parts of the neighborhood.
An overnight marketplace will debut in October outside the Fillmore Philadelphia, where food trucks will be stationed from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. every Thursday through Sunday. The space will serve as a counterpart to the food truck scene at the intersection of Girard and Frankford avenues, where an attempt to ban street vendors was rejected by the community last year.
MORE: Jersey Shore restaurant pokes fun at Chickie's & Pete's for legal threat over Crabfries trademark
The plan was announced Monday by Fishtown District, the business association that had backed the legislation to restrict food trucks from their longtime spot in the neighborhood. When the proposal to keep vendors off Girard and Frankford failed, the business association searched for a different solution to entice food trucks and people with late-night cravings to go elsewhere.
In an Instagram post, Fishtown District said the concept for the new space was developed in collaboration with Raheem Manning, the nighttime economy director for the Philadelphia Department of Commerce. The Overnight Market will be the first of what could be similar concepts in other Philly neighborhoods in the future, city officials said.
The Fishtown marketplace will be set up in the Fillmore's outdoor stage area at 25 East Allen St., which is about a 10-minute walk south from Girard and Frankford avenues. The fenced-in property owned by Live Nation sits east of Front Street under Interstate 95. Sometimes called the Fish Tank, it's part of an area built up over the last decade with venues like Brooklyn Bowl and the comedy club Punch Line.
The kickoff event for the Overnight Market is Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. A list of participating food truck vendors is expected to be released ahead of the opening.
"This has been many, many months of bringing concept hopefully to life very soon," Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, said Monday afternoon. "It really just fell into a kind of wonderful symmetry."
'Compromise' creates two spots for late-night food
Last year, Collazzo was among those who led the charge to ban food trucks from Girard and Frankford. The issue has cropped up periodically over the years, mainly led by Fishtown business owners frustrated with how food trucks compete for customers, block parking spaces and contribute to litter during late-night hours. Members of the Fishtown District have argued they absorb many of the costs associated with the food truck scene.
Legally, food trucks are not allowed to park on city streets and sidewalks between midnight and 7 a.m. In practice, Fishtown is one of the few places where this takes place without routine enforcement from the city. Inspectors occasionally have issued citations to food trucks whenever the debate over their presence comes to a head, but the vendors always return and business continues as usual.
The threat of a ban returned last fall when City Councilmember Mark Squilla advanced legislation that would have sharply restricted food trucks from parking in the areas where they're most concentrated on Girard and Frankford avenues.
When the Fishtown Neighbors Association met to discuss the bill, the proposal was met with overwhelming disapproval. Some residents said they were concerned the law would push food trucks onto adjacent residential streets. Others said the foot traffic created by food trucks makes the neighborhood feel safer after midnight.
Several scheduled votes on the bill were delayed before Squilla ultimately withdrew it from consideration.
"The Overnight Market was a compromise among the community members, Commerce (Department) and vendors in response to the proposed food truck restriction legislation," Squilla's chief of staff, Anne Kelly, said Monday.
The Fishtown Neighbors Association didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the Overnight Market.
Collazzo said Fishtown District took the neighborhood's feedback to heart and doesn't plan to push again for a food truck ban on Girard and Frankford avenues.
"Really, what you heard back was how much people love the food trucks. It became part of the fabric of what they did during the evenings," Collazzo said. "We want to be clear with everybody. We're not looking to interfere with any legal operations anywhere. We're not asking for enforcement anywhere else. We are not asking for any food truck legislation or restrictions of areas."
More overnight markets are planned
The upcoming Overnight Market in Fishtown is part of a broader plan to expand late-night food options in the city.
When Manning, the nighttime economy director, was appointed to reinvigorate Philadelphia's night life in 2022, he did a listening tour to hear what residents and businesses feel the city lacks. A common complaint was that the COVID-19 pandemic left a void of places to eat after midnight since so many businesses have scaled back their hours in recent years.
"I think a lot of times with food trucks, they're trying to find where they can be that's within the law and doesn't create an issue for them so they're not bouncing all around," Manning said Wednesday. "We also want to give an opportunity to people that need to grow. You have some food trucks that have an amazing following and we'll be working with some of those. But others are just starting and don't know where to go to serve people consistently."
The Overnight Market in Fishtown is considered a test run for the concept. Manning said the neighborhood made the most sense as a starting point because of its recurring issues over the years and the existing nightlife that will help attract people to check out another spot.
"We have engaged some other neighborhoods to see if this is a fit," Manning said. "I think the key goal is to find places where there's going to be a need for it — meaning there's late-night activity, there's foot traffic that would drive to this. There's an entertainment aspect."
The plan is to eventually have multiple overnight markets operating concurrently around the city. Vendors will serve not only the nightlife scene but also third-shift workers who voiced that there are too few places to eat when they get off work, Manning said.
Although many of the Overnight Markets could be opened in unassuming city lots, officials hope they can be places where people socialize. Food truck vendors will have the option to decide whether they plan to offer takeout and coordinate with delivery platforms.
"We want this to not just be, 'Hey, I'm going to go grab something from the food truck and leave.' We want it to be a place where people sit and eat and congregate — a meeting point," Manning said. "It's not just a grab-and-go spot. It's a destination."
Fishtown District is working with ISA Architects and Tiny WPA on the design and furniture for the space outside the Fillmore, which has been spruced up a bit ahead of the opening. Collazzo said there will be ample seating. Fishtown District hopes to host a rotating list of vendors at the market with a special emphasis on supporting women- and minority-owned businesses. The market also could have stations for vendors of other goods.
At the outset, food truck vendors will not be charged to do business at the Overnight Market. No decision has been made about whether that will change in the future.
"We're still considering that because I think it's incumbent upon us to show that it's successful," Collazzo said. "The only cost that we would have would be to cover safety and cleanup. If there's a leasing cost that the property owner wants, (Fishtown District) would pay that."
Manning said he will be taking notes on the Overnight Market in Fishtown to determine how best to introduce the concept in other parts of the city and to consider ways to improve Philadelphia's food truck regulations as a whole. Vendors are encouraged to reach out to the Commerce Department if they want to be involved in Fishtown's Overnight Market and others in the future.
Beyond October, the market in Fishtown could be brought back for events during the holiday season. Plans will then be developed for a more expansive schedule next year, including possible daytime events and live entertainment.
"The neighborhood tells us what they like and what they appreciate," Collazzo said. "Our job is to respond with something that works that in our particular case, we think enhances our thriving dining culture. It gives a late-night dining option to people who are out not just in Fishtown, but throughout the city."
