Proposal to kill Charlottetown food vendor curfew presented

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee presented council with a proposal Wednesday night that would ditch a bylaw to force food trucks and vendors in the downtown to close at midnight.

The bylaw was put in place by the previous council, before the fall election, and vendors would have to start abiding by it this summer. Council faced an outcry on social media when word about the bylaw got out earlier this month as vendors were informed of the new rules.

At the centre of the dispute was Tony Suarez, The Hot Dog Guy, who operates a cart with sausages and hot dogs on Queen Street outside of Confederation Centre. Suarez attended Wednesday night's meeting.

"I'm feeling good because this is something that I really wanted to happen and I was hoping for it," he said.

"I feel that I've been listened to because my position made a lot of sense.  People rallied behind me and I put my best foot forward."

Suarez fought the bylaw because his best business is from when the bars close until about 3:30 a.m.

A curfew would remain at one of the city's six designated food-vendor locations, which is in a residential area. Council still has to vote on the bylaw change at its next meeting.