Mr. Arancino closes after FIFA relocations tank sales
The Sicilian food trailer, a Granville Strip fixture for eight years, has shut down after the city's World Cup pedestrian zone made its temporary location unviable.
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Mr. Arancino, the Sicilian food trailer that has anchored a spot on Granville Street for eight years, has closed after losing its location during the FIFA World Cup pedestrian zone closure.
Owner Yannick Cudennec said he didn't anticipate the impact. "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."
Instead, the city temporarily relocated several street vendors whose regular spots fell inside or adjacent to the Granville Pedestrian Zone. Mr. Arancino moved to a location between Robson Plaza and Granville Street, but Cudennec says the foot traffic there didn't translate to customers. "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."
The city said in a statement that the closure design made it unsafe for vendors to move their units and towing vehicles in and out each day. "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," a city spokesperson said. The city is exploring other downtown options for Mr. Arancino and expects the trailer to return to its usual Granville spot at the end of July.
Cudennec said the timing couldn't have been 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." He emphasized that independent food vendors are what give Vancouver its food 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."