Food carts to move from Thackeray to Bigelow

Viday Patidar used to operate his Kashmiri food cart near Hillman Library. He was forced to… Viday Patidar used to operate his Kashmiri food cart near Hillman Library. He was forced to move to Thackeray Avenue in March after the Schenley Plaza construction project began.

He said that the move caused a drastic loss in profits.

Patidar is one of several vendors being asked to move again, this time to Bigelow Boulevard by the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, and he’s not pleased.

“We were happy by Hillman, not on Thackeray or Bigelow,” Patidar said. “But we have no alternatives.”

He said that business dropped 60 percent after making the move to Thackeray.

“They will keep moving us, it won’t stop,” he said. “It’s absolutely not fair.”

Pittsburgh City Council relocated the vendors to Thackeray because of its proximity to the Litchfield Towers and lower campus.

The council recently voted to move the carts again, starting on Oct. 11. Other vendors said the Bigelow location is not a good place for student business.

Mohammed Issa, who operates the Mediterranean food cart, Leena’s Food, next to Kashmiri, voiced his concerns about the next move.

“We are in the heart of Oakland here,” Issa said. “I love it because the business is good. “Business will die on Bigelow because there is no crowd there.”

Patidar received a letter from city council that encouraged cooperation between the vendors and the city.

“Please be advised that vending is a privilege and not a right,” wrote Bennett Carlise, the public space manager for the Department of Public Works. “This privilege is given to you because of your cooperation in the past.”

Food cart advocate and councilman Bill Peduto fought to keep the carts in Oakland after the eviction from Schenley Plaza. He also worked with the vendors to find the temporary location on Thackeray and the permanent location on Bigelow.

“This has been an ongoing process,” said Dan Gilman, a spokesman for Peduto. Thackeray was chosen only as a temporary location. Bigelow is more centralized to campus, and there will be no negative consequences to the surrounding buildings.

“The students and faculty have supported the carts, and we feel it is important to have them in Oakland for everyone to enjoy,” he said.

Gilman added that if the vendors are not happy with their locations, they can enter a citywide lottery that would place them elsewhere.

Patidar is still critical of the council’s reasoning for moving his business.

“City council loves me a lot,” he said sarcastically. “We asked for many other spots, and they stick us on Bigelow.”