Over the last few days, attention has turned to Victoria Square with the type of pitchfork-wielding fury that only election rhetoric can inspire. Things boiled over when outdoor furniture was discovered in the vicinity of food trucks on Victoria Square last Tuesday.

The Square has become a focal point for a larger tug-of-war between young mobile businesses and established bricks-and-mortar offerings. Royal Croquet Club was named by Lord Mayoral candidate Martin Haese as an initiative that comes in and “take[s] the cream off the cake” prepared by year-round businesses.

We spoke with Adelaide City Council, Gareth Lewis (Council candidate and proprietor of speakeasy-style bar Jack Ruby), and Stuart Duckworth (Royal Croquet Club, Little Miss Mexico/Miami, Crab Shack and more) about the issue.

Read Part 1 with Adelaide City Council here.

“Fuck You” to business

Gareth Lewis isn’t on board with the Adelaide City Council’s explanation.

“Council setting up alfresco dining in front of the food trucks in Victoria Square – as a business owner, as a rate payer, as a representative of the hospitality industry – was a complete, you know, “Fuck you”, basically, to the hospitality industry and to everyone who pays exhorbitant rates for outdoor dining seats,” Lewis tells Rip It Up.

“I completely agree with his [Martin Haese’s] sentiments, and agree that the Council shouldn’t be subsidising outdoor dining in that area in front of food trucks.”

Lewis believes that mobile food vendors should “pay an equitable rate” to bricks-and-mortar businesses on the Square.

Part of the problem, he says, is the trucks’ usage of public space violates a free-market arrangement.

“It’s free market if people are prepared to go out and rent at a commercial rate, you know, bricks-and-mortar buildings, carparks, whatever. It’s not free market if you’re using public space.”

Lewis believes it is “naïve of people to just blame businesses for not being innovative”, saying that people who defend foodtrucks with a free market argument “don’t understand the commerciality of actually running a business”.

Beyond this, Lewis takes issue with a perceived lack of consulation on the use of Victoria Square.

“I’d like to hear from all of the businesses in the city,” he says. “At the moment, none have been consulted about how Victoria Square is being used.”

When presented with examples of public consultation, Lewis reiterated: “There was no public consultation on the use of Victoria Square for outdoor dining, creating an alfresco area.”

This position, as seen in Part 1, is being refuted by Council.

Read Part 1: Adelaide City Council

Read Part 3: Stuart Duckworth (Royal Croquet Club and Little Miss … proprietor)

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Andre Castellucci