Spotted: Food Trucks and the Free Market

Economy |
By Christine Harbin | Read Time 1 minute

When I was in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, I encountered a food truck parked next to the Woodley Park Metro station. A crowd of people waited in line next to the truck, with wallets wide open and hungry for lobster.

The District is evidently friendlier to mobile vending than certain municipalities in the Saint Louis region, which may even be losing some business to the D.C. area. Pi Pizzeria of Saint Louis has been restricted from Clayton, Mo., and Edwardsville, Ill. — but it expanded into the D.C. area this month! Although I can’t suppose that the Pi food truck wouldn’t have gone to D.C. anyway if the Saint Louis area were wide open for Pi’s trucks to do business, I do find the coincidence interesting.

Who would have predicted that there would be such a demand for lobster from a food truck? I bet that it wasn’t a government official.

Lobster food truck in Washington, D.C.

Lobster food truck in Washington, D.C.

About the Author

Christine Harbin Christine Harbin, a native of Wisconsin, joined the Show-Me Institute as a research analyst in July 2009. She worked as a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute until her departure in early 2011. She holds undergraduate degrees in economics, mathematics, and French from the University of WisconsinMadison, and an MBA with an emphasis in operations management from the University of WisconsinEau Claire. She interned with the National Economic Council at the White House in Washington, D.C., during spring 2007. Prior to joining the Show-Me Institute, she worked as an advance planning analyst for hospitals and health care systems.

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