Grant Park vendors want city to crack down on unlicensed competition
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Licensed vendors who operate in Grant Park have become fed up with unlicensed competitors, who they have said are taking over the park, illegally selling everything from tacos to ice cream and alcohol, all without a permit.
Seven people were taken into custody overnight for operating an illegal business at nearby Prtizker Park in the Loop.
Meantime, while there are only 15 vendors in Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain licensed with the Chicago Park District, every day visitors will see push carts rolling by, who some say are taking away from legal businesses.
On the northeast corner of the Buckingham Fountain plaza sits just one brick-and-mortar concessions stand. PieLife has been in business for three seasons; selling pizza, ice cream, beer and wine to Grant Park visitors.
Owner William Prahofer said profits are down, because unlicensed vendors setting up shop around the fountain are taking away from his legal operation.
"Each year, it progressively gets worse, with more and more people learning that it's easy to come sell things here without having to go through the proper process," he said.
Prahoffer said the turf has become so crowded, two vendors were seen getting into a fight last week.
"When people come to the fountain, they kind of attack them to sell stuff, and so it becomes very an aggressive selling technique, and it kind of scares off especially tourists that don't understand," he said.
These businesses don't pay for permits, or have a health inspection before selling to unknowing customers.
One vendor has been selling packaged ice cream, with little health risk to the public. Nonetheless, he acknowledged he didn't go through the Park District to sell in the park.
Prahofer said he pays $62,000 in rent to the Park District for three months of operation; plus taxes, fees, and licensing to the city and state for selling food and alcohol.
"We go through the process. We pay a lot for license, rents, and fees. Most of the sale is reduced by ice cream and bottled water, which is what the unlicensed illegal people are selling," he said.
He's not the only one who has said it's tough to do business the right way.
"I've been in business for eight years, and if I've got to be legal, you've got to be legal," said Kyle Kelly, owner of Cajun Connoisseur Food Truck and Catering. "I think the health department ought to have somebody out every day, hitting the streets, checking licenses, but they don't."
As summer quickly winds down, licensed vendors hope the city helps them find a speedy resolution to saving their businesses.
"The rents have become so exorbitant for carts and buildings like this, that it's becoming harder to actually make a living and make money from it," Prahofer said.
The Chicago Park District's security unit works with the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) to address reported concerns and issue citations.
BACP said, between May 1 and Aug. 22, they have issued 20 cease and desist orders, 51 citations, and 1 notice to correct to 22 peddlers and vendors on the streets within Grant Park. Vendors on Park District property inside the park, including Buckingham Fountain, are referred to the Chicago Park District, according to BACP.
"Persons selling food outside of a brick-and-mortar establishment require a mobile food license. Mobile food licensees generally may not prepare food on the street to order, but rather may dispense food that was prepared and prepackaged in a licensed commissary/ shared kitchen. Such sanitation requirements are determined by the Chicago Department of Public Health, which oversees food sanitation regulation and inspections," a BACP spokesperson said in an email. "A 'Street Peddler' is a person who moves from place to place, whether on private property or on the public way, selling goods, wares, merchandise, wood, fruits and/or vegetables which are whole and uncut. A street peddler may sell from a wagon, motor vehicle, handcart, pushcart or other vehicle."