'No fun festival': Why food truck owners were left frustrated by this year's PVDFest
Food trucks that shelled out hundreds of dollars for space at this year's PVDFest are frustrated over a washout weekend that they say tanked sales and turnout.
Alison Rosario and Conroy Outar, owners of Ja Patty, a vendor that dishes out traditional Jamaican patties, said sales were down more than 50% over last year's festival, and they lost thousands of dollars worth of prepared food. They blamed a festival layout that required long walks for food, and that left revelers little place to seek shelter during a downpour that sent them huddling in Plant City.
"Guests complained to us that the food trucks were positioned farthest away from the music, beverages, and activities," Rosario and Outar said. "And despite the forecasted rain, guests could not find any cover, therefore many left when it rained."
Ultimately, Ja Patty's owners said they were so disappointed that they opted not to participate in the third day of the festival, even after paying $750 in fees for the three days. That's a $300 increase over previous costs that the owners said forced them to hike menu prices.
Festival 'a shell of what it used to be,' says taqueria owner
Jonathon Kirk, owner of Masa Taqueria, called PVDFest "a shell of what it used to be," downgraded to "a family no-fun festival."
"Nobody [seemed] to be excited," Kirk said. "The energy wasn’t there. The rules [and] regulations they made it extremely hard for people to have any sort of fun here."
Among the changes Mayor Brett Smiley made to the festival launched by his predecessor were moving it from downtown to an area next to the Providence River, banning open containers and barring block parties save for the festival's first night. Kirk said that rule in particular was "a slap in the face to the businesses that put so much tax revenue into the city."
More: Smiley reverses stance on block parties at PVDFest. Here's why
Lara Sebastian and Deb Thibault, owners of Atomic Blonde Ice Cream, echoed the concerns of other businesses who were dismayed by the gulf between food and entertainment created by the pedestrian bridge. Sebastian and Thibault said attendees complained about having to cross the bridge if they wanted to grab a bite. Furthermore, this year's festival collided with several others happening the same weekend, including the Cranston Greek Festival and the Johnston Apple Festival.
After paying the hefty price to reserve a spot at the festival, Sebastian and Thibault said they should be refunded for Sunday when it was abruptly canceled due to bad weather.
Joyce Bouchard, owner of Kona Ice, a shaved ice truck, expressed similar concerns over the hike in fees.
More: Frustration brews over sudden PVDFest changes curbing drinking, block parties
Oyster bar owner still willing to give new festival layout a chance
Perry Raso, owner of Matunuck Oyster Bar, said his sales plummeted to "way less than 50%" this year compared to last year, though he feels Smiley's changes didn't get fair treatment because of the heavy rain.
"[If] all three [days] were good weather and we had record turnout and then we went back to the other setup … everybody would think the layout we have now is better," Raso said. "These things depend so heavily on the weather."
City says turnout was consistent and good, but no 'dependable data' yet
Smiley's spokesman Josh Estrella said previous years saw festival attendance surpassing 100,000 people. However, at present, no data is available for this year.
"While we consistently saw good turnout this year, we do not have dependable data regarding attendance due to the weekend's extreme weather conditions, at this time," Estrella said. "Dangerous lightning storms and a flash flood emergency required programming evacuations, delays, and cancellations. Additionally, attendance calculations were done in the weeks following the festival in past years."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: PVDFest location, weather led to tanking sales, food trucks say
