Without the worry of making the monthly rent or being anchored in a poor location, Ali Baba’s Kitchen and the Burrito Buggy have had the luxury of moving their restaurant to wherever is most convenient.
For a yearly rate of $1,500 — a fraction of the cost of opening a traditional immobile restaurant — the veteran food carts find success in parking their restaurant at the intersection of Court and Union streets, directly next to College Green.
Instead of paying the parking meter, as other cars do, the food carts are able to retain their spot on the street for a flat rate each year. However, the yearly rate is only available to businesses, said John Paszke, Athens code director.
“We wouldn’t let students buy the spots because the whole idea is to promote local business in the area,” Paszke said. “Other non-food vendors are able to park there too, but they would have to pay the same fees as the food vendors.”
While only Ali Baba’s Kitchen and the Burrito Buggy have parking permits on the south side of the street, the parking spots become regular meter-parking spots after 4 p.m. and before 7 a.m.
“We just changed the rule where they have to stay on the south side on Union Street,” Paszke said. “I assign the spots to them based on seniority.”
The Athens City Code offers a Category A license, which determines which side of the street the buggy sits. Last year, a vendor permit cost $1,200 a year, but the price increased to $1,500 this year, Paszke said.
During its more than 20-year tenure at Ohio University, the Burrito Buggy has become a staple in Athens, similar to the Marching 110’s performances, spring fests and the kissing circle on College Green.
Part of the reason the Burrito Buggy has stayed in Athens so long is because of the amount of business they get from OU’s student population, said Bethany Rutter, co-owner of the Burrito Buggy.
“I’d say — during the school year — our sales are about 60 percent students and 40 percent local community members, including OU employees,” Rutter said. “The students are a large percentage of our business, but we have a pretty steady local clientele as well.”
During the summer and seasonal breaks, the Burrito Buggy stays busy by parking itself at fairs and music festivals near the area, Rutter said.
“We tend to leave Uptown during the breaks because we want to make as much money as we can, and fairs and music festivals always help,” she said.
Parked next to College Green for almost as long as the Burrito Buggy, Ali Baba’s White Flying Saucer (known as “Ali Baba’s”), has been cooking up gyros for Athenians since 1989.
“The competition is difficult with many different types of restaurants, but I’m just glad to be here and to be selling to the students on campus,” said Nisar Sheikh, founder of Ali Baba’s.
Ali Baba’s is still parked next to the Burrito Buggy on Union Street and is currently the longest running family-owned restaurant in Athens, according to its website.
“I wouldn’t say we compete with other buggies — the more (buggies) there are, the more popular they get, which helps our business,” Rutter said. “We’re not against new business and restaurants in Athens — in fact, we’re all for it — because it brings attention and more business.”
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