September 28, 2016
Contributed photo/The Vendy Awards
The SeoulFood Philly food truck, seen here at Night Market, won Rookie of the Year at the 2015 Vendy Awards.
Organizers of what would have been Philadelphia's 6th annual Vendy Awards, a fundraiser and street food competition, have been forced to cancel the Oct. 2 event because of poor ticket sales, timing and internal issues.
The announcement was made with one, swift post on the event's page Tuesday:
Dear Vendy Awards Fans,
We are sorry to announce that we are canceling the 2016 Vendy Awards in Philadelphia which was scheduled for this coming Sunday, October 2, 2016. With the New York Vendy Awards having just taken place, we were unable dedicate sufficient resources to properly execute this event. All purchased tickets will be refunded in the coming week. We appreciate your time, effort and enthusiasm and we sincerely apologize for our shortcomings.
-Street Vendor Project, New York
The Vendy Awards aren't exclusive to Philadelphia. Versions of the event are held in both Los Angeles and New York and while Philadelphia's is traditionally held in the spring or summer, this year's was scheduled for fall, right before the ever-so-popular New York Vendy Awards.
The event is organized annually by – and is also a fundraiser for – the Street Vendor Project, the Food Trust and the Philly Mobile Food Association.
"We thought we'd be able to be planning two events at once and it looks like we were not," said Sean Basinski, the director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York. "We bit off more than we could chew. We feel bad. We really regret the error."
This year's Vendy Awards would have been held at the The Fillmore Philadelphia, one of Fishtown's newest venues. Though, the location skips around each year. Last year's was held at the John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge.
The Fillmore would have cost about $20,000 to use, said Rob Mitchell, president of the Philly Mobile Food Association and with only about 100 tickets sold at $65 a pop, it didn't make much fiscal sense to continue with the 2016 Vendy Awards.
In years past, Philadelphia's awards have drawn more than 1,000 attendees.
"It's a shame that it happened because it's no way indicative of the strength of food truck culture in Philadelphia," Mitchell said. "Nationally and internationally, it's still a growing phenomenon that food truck culture continues to thrive."
Basinski admitted his organization devoted too much time and too many resources to the New York event on Sept. 17, which celebrated its 12th year. He also said this doesn't mark the permanent end for Philadelphia's Vendy Awards, just the one that was supposed to be held this year.
Here's how it works (worked) – the Street Vendor Project takes in public nominations and the top handful get to participate in the awards. Attendees pay the price for the ticket, which gets them as much food as they can take in. Then, they vote on who's truck had the best eats. Awards range from "Vendy Cup" and "Rookie of the Year" to "People's Taste Award" and "Best Dessert."
This year's finalists including Grubaholics, The Chilly Banana, Dump-N-Roll, Dos Hermanos Tacos and more.
Vendy Awards are happening soon!
— The Chilly Banana (@thechillybanana) September 26, 2016
Come out and have a blast - eat at some of the cities best food trucks and drink... https://t.co/xkg6KCk9BC
So for Thomas Smith Jr., owner of Jamaican/American food truck Grubaholics that's been open since 2014, the news was nothing short of upsetting.
"It was my first time being nominated – that's why it was a huge honor," he said.
The announcement came as another blow to Smith. Earlier this month, he was forced to stop vending at midnight at Frankford and Girard avenue after the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections began to crack down on a long-instilled rule.
Many of the food trucks that just about live in that intersection make the most of their revenue between 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. when the bars in the area close for the night.
Smith said he was looking forward to whatever publicity and bragging rights the Vendy Awards could have brought him and his truck.
"I'm very disappointed," he said. "I was really honored to be a part of it, and I got that email saying it was canceled and I was disappointed. I wanted to part of it very much."
