Says our tipster: “The PPA has confiscated West Philly’s Buttercream Cupcake Truck in some sort of dispute over where she is allowed to do business. Seems heavyhanded in the same vein as the Pennsylvania State Police raiding hipster bars for improperly registered doppel bocks and lambics.” Obviously, there’s some confusion about whether it’s L&I or the PPA. (Or the both in conjunction? The mind wobbles!) Either way, we’ll be following this one. To their credit, the Buttercream folks at least seem to be having a sense of humor about it all.
UPDATE: Buttercream Lady tells her story.
It’s not just this type of small business it’s bloggers too that Philly is smacking down. Why is Philly so hateful to the small business owner? Seriously this is the saddest tale of bullying I have heard in a long time. It is worse than the big kids knocking down smaller kids and stealing trick their Halloween haul.
I’ve seen the PPA hassling the Sugar Philly truck, too. Those guys have been parked there every single day for months, then all of a sudden the PPA has a problem with them being there. What do they have against West Philly -based dessert trucks?
It’s not about bullying or hassling anyone, it’s about regulation. Can you imagine if anyone with a van or truck that wanted to sell something was allowed to drive around selling their wares anywhere they would like? It would be utter chaos. Not to mention the traffic and parking issues! These rules and regulations are no different than in any other major city. There are designated areas for a reason, not to stifle small business. By the way, this wasn’t some knee-jerk reaction, this truck was warned many times about their behavior. I know many businesses that lodged complaints. Stop with the victim mentality already.
Go Libertarian.
Chumpy, your scenario sounds like heaven.
@chumpy…I’m sure The Man is getting a warm and fuzzy…keep on steppin’
Chumpy – the map she was given by the authorities designated that area as ‘ok’ to park in. It is not victim mentality. The PPA and L&I (did you see today’s article?) are two of the most corrupt organizations in Philadelphia. They do things like this because they feel like it. It’s a power trip. If I was making assumptions, and I am not, I’d say someone wasn’t getting any freebies…
Chumpy – If you bother to read Buttercream’s site you will learn that they tried multiple times to get the current map of where they may and may not park and that L&I refused to give them the information. The vendor wasn’t flaunting the regulations on purpose.
She didn’t even have a Philly Business Privilege License, nor a food license. She was warned in the past. Yes, Philly does make it hard to do business, but to not follow simple rules like getting a BPL, well, don’t cry victim when you get busted.