Streateries & Food Cart Pods

Claim 52 has extra outdoor seating thanks to the City of Eugene's streatery program (photo from the City of Eugene's Streatery Program web page)

The recent, unfortunate upsurge in COVID-19 cases here in Lane County once again threatens the viability of the local food services industry. Many restaurants and bars fell in the wake of 2020’s initial lockdowns. Others survived but have struggled to adapt under shifting public health guidelines and mandates. 

To its credit, the City of Eugene enacted (and recently extended) a temporary “Streatery” permit program at the outset of the pandemic, which allows café seating in the public right-of-way. With a permit, restaurants can expand their serving areas onto sidewalks and on-street parking spaces, facilitating social distancing in open-air settings. City planners have likewise supported growth of the local food cart scene, thereby providing foodies with a wider selection of COVID-friendly dining options. Both initiatives belie a level of flexibility we don’t normally associate with rule-happy city regulators. 

Streateries in Eugene include one located on Broadway between Olive and Willamette, and another on Fifth Avenue between High and Pearl streets. Both involve the complete closure of those sections of roadway to vehicular traffic. The outdoor seating opportunities provided by the participating restaurants and bars have proven popular, being well-used when the weather cooperates. The extra room compensates for the mandated indoor seating reductions. Masks are currently required in the streateries, but may be removed while seated at your table, as you eat or drink. 

Looking ahead, it’s easy to imagine streateries becoming permanent fixtures in our cities. Like “parklets,” streateries reflect a growing appreciation for the social benefits of recasting our streets as pedestrian-first environments, which include the opportunity to see and be seen, play a role in the urban theater, and simply live la dolce vita. 

The explosive growth of food cart pods in Portland in recent decades has been a phenomenon, contributing in no small part to the Rose City’s reputation as a woke, hipster haven. Portland is home to many hundreds of food carts, mostly clustered into pods scattered about the city. Eugene has followed suit, with several small food cart pods springing up in recent years, bringing added vibrancy and color to our increasingly distinctive neighborhoods. Characterized by their diversity and artisanal sophistication, Eugene’s street food entrepreneurs add considerable flavor to the public realm, both literally and figuratively. 

Friendly Garden food cart pod (my photo)

Food cart pods in Eugene are located at the Beergarden, by Oakshire Brewing, and at 3rd and Van Buren in the Whiteaker neighborhood. You’ll find the Graffiti Alley Food Truck Pod on River Road, and the Friendly Garden is a popular attraction on Friendly Street near W. 28th Avenue. Downtown Eugene is home to the Kesey Square Food Truck Pod, another pod at 8th & Olive, and of course food carts have been a decades-long fixture at the Saturday Market. 

While some may disagree, I find considerable aesthetic appeal in the ad-hoc, favela chic of typical food cart pods. They may appear improvisational and shabby, but their vitality is undeniable. Each cluster is refreshingly unique; there’s nothing about them one can possibly associate with placeless and polished brick & mortar restaurant chains. Invariably, food cart pods are a treat for the senses—colorful, aromatic, and vibrant—a far sight better than the enervating blight of surface parking lots they often stake claim to. 

3rd & Van Buren food cart pod (my photo)

The long-term, post-COVID socio-environmental and urban design implications of streateries and food cart pods merit study. There is increasing evidence pandemic-resilient urban strategies will permanently reshape our cities. Among these strategies, maximizing the potential of the public realm to be multifunctional, flexible, and adaptive is key. COVID-19 has spurred increased programming and repurposing of streets as streateries and parking lots as food cart pods, with results that demonstrate resilience and the ability to improvise during an emergency. Time will tell whether the pandemic will also bequeath a legacy dedicated to prioritizing the urban realm for pedestrians rather than vehicles. 

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. The availability of streateries and the proliferation of food cart pods as dining options during these uncertain times are consequences I think we can all relish.