Councilman Paul Cunningham, along with other City of Tucson members, held an emergency meeting on Friday, January 13 involving The Pit at 7889 E. 22nd St. On Wednesday, January 11, the popular food truck park was ordered to immediately close due to zoning issues.
Today, the owners of The Pit and Cunningham met and reached an informal agreement to keep the truck park open for the next 45 – 90 days. One of the reasons that led to the closure is that a specific area was being used for additional seating and that required the owners of The Pit to submit a development package.
“There are still some changes to the property and fire inspections that need to be completed, but overall, I think the right agreement has been made,” said Cunningham. “I’m really proud of the City of Tucson staff for stepping up and helping us with this situation.”
So, what’s next?
Some paperwork and a couple of other things need to be finished in order to formalize the plan, but for now, The Pit is remaining open.
In the meantime, Tucson Foodie is collaborating with Cunningham to pull together a stakeholder group of food trucks and restaurants that will discuss local needs, research how other cities around the region approach this issue, and draft the new land-use codes that will be needed to enable food truck parks like The Pit to operate.
If you are a food truck or restaurant owner and would like to participate in the stakeholder group, email shane@tucsonfoodie.com.
Stay tuned for more information.
To keep up with any updates on the situation, visit thepittucson.com and follow The Pit on Facebook and Instagram.
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Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
