One food truck approved for Lost Cabin Beer Co.

Does allowing a private business to have a food truck solve the debate or start an entirely new one? At a minimum it created a debate at the Hill City Common Council meeting May 22. 

Lost Cabin Beer Co. (LCBC) is new to Hill City but is well established and recently celebrated seven years of business in Rapid City. According to owner Jesse Scheitler, LCBC is the third largest brewery in the state.

They spent a lot of time looking for a location in the Hills, and Hill City was really appealing to them, partially because there is not a brewery in city limits. 

Its business model is designed to be dog, children, people and food-friendly. Since they do not have a kitchen or restaurant, LCBC will not be providing food itself. Instead, its documented business model at its other locations is to have a daily rotating schedule of food trucks entirely on their property. 

Thus, Scheitler applied for a conditional use permit to host up to two food trucks on the private property located at 150 Poplar Street. The application met the standards outlined in Title 9 Zoning & Subdivision Regulations and met all nine conditional use permit review criteria. 

Additionally, for a conditional use permit there is a mandatory 12- to 18-month review. At that time, it would be brought to the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&ZC) as would any complaints or issues. These would be discussed during the review, and if there are issues, the permit can be revoked. 

Since there is no difference in code between a bar and a restaurant regarding parking, four additional off-street parking spaces were required and made available by LCBC. The nearest restaurants are 550 and 800 feet away, and certified notices were mailed to all properties within 150 feet of the business. 

This conditional use permit was recommended by the P&ZC in a three yes, one no vote. It was also informally recommended that the council eliminate the two proposed food truck spaces at Tracy Park if an ordinance is later adopted. 

One response to the certified notices was received and was read by developmental services coordinator Dani Schade. 

It said, “We do not have any complaint with this request. I assume there are plenty of ordinances about noise and such that I do not believe the presence of food trucks would add much concern. Thanks for all you and the rest of the Hill City staff do to help our community run smoothly.”

Another community member in attendance who lives just outside the mailing radius came to the HCCC meeting to voice her support of LCBC getting its permit and food trucks. 

Jessica Jacobs, owner of the Tin City Saloon, in contrast expressed her concerns with the food truck situation and the mobile vendor ordinance. 

“I’m wondering, why the change of heart? We have two businesses that I know of for sure on Main Street right now that became storefronts because of that ordinance. And I don’t think it’s very fair to them that now they’re being told that we’re going to do it differently for somebody else. They’ve invested in this town,” said Jacobs. 

“Having been to several meetings now, I’m starting to wonder if our ordinances actually mean anything. Because it seems like any time someone asks for a conditional use permit or a variance, they get it. It’s very rare that they’re denied,” Jacobs continued. 

Some additional concerns Jacobs expressed were traffic issues in the location, the financial impact on other storefronts, the potential impact and repercussions of future permit applications and the council’s personal relationship with the town.

“Do you guys really think allowing two food trucks at Lost Cabin fixes the food truck debate or does it open up an entirely new one?” Jacobs asked. “I’m urging you guys to think about the consequences.”

On the topic of the mobile vendor ordinance, Schade said it does not specifically address food trucks. Rather the ordinance is generally for a 12-day period of time and based on history has been for t-shirts, trinkets or tourist merchandise. Also, food truck ordinances are typically separate from transient merchant ordinances because the fees are higher for transient merchants due to their profit margins. 

Transient merchants were eliminated from the central business district. However, Schade pointed out that LCBC is not in the central business district. They also have restroom access and are entirely on private property. 

“I guess the question is, if this was a full-service restaurant with a kitchen going in there, would we be having this discussion about an additional food place in town?” Schade said. 

Meanwhile, Scheitler said, “We never intended to be part of the larger discussion that happened to coincide with us opening, but the food truck relationship has been really great for us.” 

“I don’t see that they would be disadvantageous or detrimental to anybody’s business. We fully intend on being a part of the community here and have got a lot of support from a lot of business owners here,” Scheitler continued. 

Many of the local bars and restaurants serve Lost Cabin beer, and Scheitler said the last thing he wants to do is hurt anyone’s business. Rather LCBC intends to be a destination and wants to bring additional tax revenue to the community. 

Another community member suggested limiting LCBC to one food truck rather than two since it is a hot topic. 

On this note, Stacy Bintliff, a P&ZC commissioner who voted in favor of this permit, pointed out that LCBC usually has one food truck. Scheitler agreed saying there just needed to be a cap on it. 

“I think one of the things that people are forgetting is that he is going to be a brick-and-mortar business. That we are bringing in a new business, and this is part of his business plan,” said Bintliff. 

“I guess I would rather see a brick-and-mortar business like his come into Hill City,” Bintliff continued, “than to vote it down and not have him come to Hill City at all and lose that business.”

Alderman Carl Doaty said when talking to people and business owners about food trucks, “Their big opposition was the fact that it was being allowed on city property. And a lot of them said, we don’t see any issue if it’s private property because that gives the property owner the right to choose whether they want a food truck or not.

“My suggestion would be to knock it down to one food truck. Let them try it for a year with one food truck, and then give them the opportunity to come back if they’d like to go for two. That would hopefully alleviate some of the concerns with parking down there.” 

To alderman Dale Householder’s knowledge, there are three local people with food trucks who he hopes Scheitler could use. He also liked the idea of starting with one food truck and having it reviewed in a year. 

Additionally, Householder requested they tie in some of the conditions from the food truck ordinance into the conditional use permit. 

These conditions are mobile food and beverage vendors shall not conduct any vending that causes congestion or blocking of vehicle or pedestrian traffic, are prohibited from selling alcohol, must provide a trash bin for public use and remove all garbage within ten feet of the food truck, are prohibited from projecting amplified music or making unreasonably loud noises for advertising and must display a current SD Department of Health Mobile Food Service License and proof of a Hill City Sales Tax License. 

With these conditions and a limit of one food truck, Householder made a motion to approve LCBC’s conditional use permit. It was unanimously approved by the council.