Fayetteville looks to add street vendors on Dickson Street
Taniah Tudor
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: News
Dickson Street may be experiencing some changes in a few months if the Fayetteville City Council passes a draft ordinance that would allow pushcart vendors with permits to operate on public sidewalks.
The ordinance would allow privately owned mobile vendors to sell items like hot dogs, beverages and flowers to pedestrians, said Lief Olsen, a long-range planner for the city.
He said the ordinance is part of a continuation of a downtown master plan.
The north and west sidewalks in front of the Walton Arts Center and the inside of the downtown square are the two locations where the sidewalks are sufficiently wide enough to allow space for the carts and the flow of pedestrians, Olsen said.
He said these places are good choices also because they are high-traffic areas, giving more opportunities for business to the vendors.
John McMillan - director of operations for Hog Haus Brewing Company, located directly across Dickson from the Walton Arts Center - said he thinks vendors would bring business rather than take it away from Hog Haus.
But if it came to a vote, McMillan said he would be against it because he thinks it would have a negative effect on smaller businesses like Common Grounds, a coffee shop which has the same owners as Hog Haus.
"We're a pretty tight-knit group here," McMillan said.
The street vendors would add to the nightlife ambiance on Dickson, such as what one might see in a larger city like New York or Chicago, Olsen said.
He said it would allow people to have more choices on Dickson and add a certain amount of street life.
"It will give more spirit to the place with more local people coming in," said Tyler Johnson, a freshman history major.
Johnson said he thinks permitting vendors to operate on Dickson might provide an opportunity for local people to sell things they wouldn't normally be able to sell, such as produce or crafts.
"We have everything from Greek to Thai," said Michael Theodore, owner and operator of Kosmos Greekafe on Dickson. "We have a lot of variety already."
The ordinance would allow privately owned mobile vendors to sell items like hot dogs, beverages and flowers to pedestrians, said Lief Olsen, a long-range planner for the city.
He said the ordinance is part of a continuation of a downtown master plan.
The north and west sidewalks in front of the Walton Arts Center and the inside of the downtown square are the two locations where the sidewalks are sufficiently wide enough to allow space for the carts and the flow of pedestrians, Olsen said.
He said these places are good choices also because they are high-traffic areas, giving more opportunities for business to the vendors.
John McMillan - director of operations for Hog Haus Brewing Company, located directly across Dickson from the Walton Arts Center - said he thinks vendors would bring business rather than take it away from Hog Haus.
But if it came to a vote, McMillan said he would be against it because he thinks it would have a negative effect on smaller businesses like Common Grounds, a coffee shop which has the same owners as Hog Haus.
"We're a pretty tight-knit group here," McMillan said.
The street vendors would add to the nightlife ambiance on Dickson, such as what one might see in a larger city like New York or Chicago, Olsen said.
He said it would allow people to have more choices on Dickson and add a certain amount of street life.
"It will give more spirit to the place with more local people coming in," said Tyler Johnson, a freshman history major.
Johnson said he thinks permitting vendors to operate on Dickson might provide an opportunity for local people to sell things they wouldn't normally be able to sell, such as produce or crafts.
"We have everything from Greek to Thai," said Michael Theodore, owner and operator of Kosmos Greekafe on Dickson. "We have a lot of variety already."
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