Locals and tourists alike don’t understand why you can buy food on the streets of cities across North America but not in Montreal, a city otherwise known for its vibrant restaurant scene.

Selling food on city property was banned in 1947. Four reasons were cited at the time: many vendors weren’t respecting hygiene rules, chip wagons were leaving a mess behind, food trucks were unfair competition to taxpaying restaurants and obstructed traffic by parking haphazardly.

But things may be about to change. The city is now asking for public input on the idea of opening some streets to food carts and trucks. City hall expects to propose rules to govern the practice in September. Food trucks could start rolling later this year.

The city has raised hopes before. In 2003, the borough that encompasses downtown and Old Montreal came close to lifting the ban but balked at the last minute. It decided street vendors would hurt restaurants, snack bars and corner stores, and would be difficult to license and inspect.

Again, some restaurateurs are up in arms about the idea, saying there will be too much competition, noise and pollution.

Fearmongering, surely. If most other major North American cities allow food to be sold on the street, why wouldn’t it be doable in Montreal?

The city’s hungry foodies are ready. They have tasted the possibilities via a handful of food trucks that are already operating, thanks to loopholes: street selling is allowed at festivals and on federal and provincial land in the city. Montrealers have come to love the Vietnamese pork tacos from the Grumman ’78 truck at festivals. In the federally owned Old Port of Montreal, you can get lobster rolls and porchetta sandwiches from movable restaurants built out of old shipping containers. This summer, you can buy snacks from a mobile crêperie in the park surrounding the provincially owned Olympic Stadium.

Another reason street food might fly this time: the concept has some powerful backers – including Normand Laprise, a well-known chef in Montreal. In an open letter in La Presse, the owner of the iconic Toqué! restaurant said the city’s many established food entrepreneurs should be given the green light to sell street cuisine: “I love Montreal, I’m proud of it and I would like to see gastronomy descend into the street. Yes to quality street food, but on the condition of having serious and rigorous legislation.”

Deep-pocketed epicurean tourists would love it. A lively street food scene could also help in Tourism Montreal’s new efforts to position Montreal as an international gastronomic destination. There’s even a new iPad app, recently launched by the tourism industry group, about Montreal gastronomy. In all, Tourism Montreal is spending $1 million this year to sell the city’s culinary side to potential visitors from the U.S. and Ontario. The Tourism Montreal website, as well as offering tips on the best restaurants, tells visitors where to go if they want to enjoy the “zany, tasty food vehicles appearing at select spots” this summer.

Hopefully, that will keep tourists coming back for more.

© 2012 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.