Last breath of taco trucks in Jeff Parish

Only one left:

And then there was only Taqueria Chilangos.

The taco truck parked at an empty service station at Power and Veterans Memorial boulevards in Metairie, the very site that inspired a Jefferson Parish politician to launch a crackdown in June on mobile food vendors, is the last wheeled taqueria in the parish, hanging on two months after the Parish Council tightened its rules on such stands.

Truck owner David Montes said he will stay as long as possible, but the fate of his business hangs in the balance as his landlord resists parish efforts to eject him and a raw shrimp vendor at the same intersection.

"I can't work well," Montes said, saying the situation makes him anxious. "I'm afraid, because I don't know what's going to happen."

He said Tuesday, or any day soon, could be his last at Power and Veterans.

"My last weeks, my last days, you never know," he said.

After receiving visits from parish inspectors and weighing the specter of steep fines, other vendors and their landlords have given up on maintaining taqueria trucks in Jefferson Parish. Some of the vendors continue operating trucks in New Orleans, which has been more accommodating. Montes carries on largely because of his landlord's protests of the parish codes.

Parish inspectors originally found five stands in violation of the new regulations, which outlaw mobile food vendors on major thoroughfares and require them to have running water and permanent restrooms.

I never personally supported the Jeff Parish ban on taco trucks. First of all, there's no real compelling reason to ban lunch wagons. Construction is a major industry now in New Orleans, and the workers (largely Hispanic) need quick food. You don't need permanent restrooms to eat at a lunch wagon; the idea is to eat and get back to work ASAP.

Secondly, the regulation's justifications -- that taco trucks are ugly and they generally don't pay parish taxes -- were pretty weak. Placing a truck in an empty field or parking lot can't spoil the bucolic scenery of Jefferson Highway, and the loss in revenue was minimal. Counties in other states just accept the loss and try to enforce existing regulations; they don't write new ones.

Finally, the ban at least had the appearance of being anti-Hispanic, even if that wasn't the intent. I don't endorse assuming racist motives, but this left Jeff Parish wide open to such accusations. It could have been dealt with differently, but now it's just too late.