06/12/2026
DRAYTON ― You'll still see the Hometown Street Eats food trailer out and about Drayton this summer, just not in its normal location.
Typically popping up in the municipal parking lot on Main Street in Drayton, the family-owned and operated food trailer was recently informed the township had received a complaint after its opening earlier this month, and the trailer would have to find a new location to set up or submit a bid to use the spot.
Owner Christian Giffin said the complaint came after they decided to spontaneously set up their food trailer in the municipal parking lot at the north-west entrance to town last Wednesday, seeing as they didn't have a lot of June bookings and wanted to generate some extra business.
The next day, Giffin received a phone call from the town telling him to shut down.
"Perhaps there was a point of ignorance, but no one ever mentioned to me that they needed notification in the four years prior," said Giffin in a phone interview on Wednesday.
"It was never an issue."
While Giffin understands the township's point, he said their business runs on a flexible operating model, which allows them to cater to public and private events, but relies on their ability to "pop up" in areas like the municipal lot to generate consistent income, and can make it difficult to know when, or how long, the lot is needed.
"By definition, it's a trailer, it has wheels, it moves. It's not a permanent location, and we are not sitting up there permanently," said Giffin. "We wanted the availability to be able to pop up there when we weren't booked elsewhere or doing an event, which provides us with some stability."
Beyond that, Giffin said his business has contributed to the community since they opened in 2021, raising funds for various initiatives and even starting Food-A-Palooza, an annual food truck event in Drayton.
"We did that as an act of love," said Giffin. "We're not making a fortune in Drayton, we do it because it's our home ... our intention has always been to be helpful and supportive of the people and businesses in our area, and we were just looking for a little reciprocation."
Mapleton CAO Manny Baron said the township isn't against businesses, but was forced to intervene after receiving several complaints about the trailer.
"I don't have any issues with (Hometown Street Eats), but (the process) needs to be formalized," said Baron. "We don't just want a free-for-all, where whoever wants to go can go, and I'm not saying that's what's happening, we just need to put a policy in place to allow people to do that, if that's what council wishes."
For example, Baron said vendors have to bid to run the canteen at the Drayton Ball Diamond, and the township is hoping to develop a similar process for food trucks to create equal opportunities for residents to nab the spot they want to do business.
As a result, Baron said Hometown Street Eats technically could continue operating in the municipal parking lot, but there's a formal application process to follow, which requires vendors to pay an event fee and get a site plan approved by the clerk, in addition to the licensing fee.
"We don't go out and create bylaws just for fun, right? We deal with them as they come in ... I just want to make sure that everybody understands that we are pro-business, it's just got to be done properly," said Baron.
Offering gourmet hot dogs and smashburgers, as well as other fast food, since 2021, the situation has left Giffin in a bind, considering he recently up-sized from a hot-dog cart to a 17-foot trailer, and was intending to operate the business full-time with his wife, Edit, this year, after the two were recently laid off.
"My wife and I ... we're just regular folk trying to survive," said Giffin. "We're not sitting here, getting ready to retire, we're working our buts off to make a living and pay our bills ... we are taking a huge risk here and investing in ourselves."
But Hometown Street Eats isn't going anywhere.
Giffin is currently in conversations with FS Partners in Drayton about popping up in their private parking lot, which has great access to Main Street.
Even if that doesn't work out, Giffin said he's open to partnerships with other businesses that'd allow them to share their lots.
"I don't want to come across as bashing the township, because they're doing their job ... I just wish things had turned out a little differently," said Giffin. "I think it would be more fair to allow me to operate as the pattern of behaviour has been established over the last four years ... not have me twisting in the wind while they're making a decision on a new policy."
Going forward, Giffin said he believes council needs to develop a specific policy regulating food trucks in Mapleton, similar to neighbouring municipalities, to avoid situations like this in the future.
Following Giffin's delegation to Mapleton council on Tuesday evening, asking them to allow him to "pop up" in the municipal parking lot, Baron said staff will return with a report exploring the feasibility of a specific policy regulating food trucks and trailers.
Beyond that, Giffin said he'd love to see the province develop a food truck license that encompasses all of Southwestern Ontario, because the cost to apply for licenses in each municipality adds up, and those costs are often passed on to the consumer.
"I feel that if you want to come up with a policy, I think that's great, but I shouldn't have to suffer in the meantime," said Giffin. "In the meantime, I've already given you your money for the license."
More information about Hometown Street Eats is available here.
