Weeks after unveiling plans to open an overnight market for food trucks in Fishtown, the city and its partners in the neighborhood said Wednesday the new program has been postponed indefinitely.
The overnight market was slated to debut Thursday night from 8 p.m. until the early morning. It had been planned to run every Thursday through Sunday this month in a lot outside the Fillmore Philadelphia at 25 East Allen St.
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Fishtown District, the business association that partnered with the city’s Department of Commerce on the project, announced the postponement on Instagram. No reason was given for pulling the plug.
“We will keep the public up to date on future events and opportunities,” Fishtown District said. “We appreciate the tremendous amount of public enthusiasm for this first of its kind project.”
City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
The overnight market was intended to create a new space for food trucks to serve customers instead of the area surrounding the intersection of Girard and Frankford avenues. Some Fishtown businesses and neighborhood groups have complained for years about litter, noise and parking issues related to the food trucks, which aren’t legally allowed to do business there between midnight and 7 a.m. — although the city rarely has enforced those rules.
Last month, the commerce department’s nighttime economy director, Raheem Manning, described the Fishtown marketplace as a test run for similar overnight markets in neighborhoods across Philadelphia. Manning said he viewed the idea as a model to change the way Philadelphia regulates food trucks and give growing businesses designated places to do business late at night.
Last year, Fishtown District supported a bill from City Councilmember Mark Squilla to specifically ban food trucks from their usual parking spaces near the intersection of Girard and Frankford avenues. When Fishtown residents voiced opposition to the bill, Squilla withdrew it from consideration.