Food Truck Not Allowed At Joliet's Elder Brewing

JOLIET, IL - Elder Brewing Company owners Andrew and Melissa Polykandriotis opened downtown Joliet's second microbrewery in November at 218 E. Cass St. and this Saturday, they were expecting a large turnout of craft beer enthusiasts. After all, they had scheduled the Carnivale food truck out of Chicago many weeks in advance and publicized the much anticipated event. Then on Wednesday afternoon, Elder posted a message on Facebook, announcing to its patrons that the popular food truck that specializes in Latin fusion cuisine would not be coming to downtown Joliet on Saturday.

"We are sorry to have to cancel the food truck this Saturday. We thought that we would be able to obtain a special event permit, exception, or something of the sort and have the food truck in a private lot... however, Joliet does not allow food trucks, and we were unable to get this exception," Elder Brewing posted on Facebook.

Around 100 people had already indicated on Facebook they were planning to trek to downtown Joliet on Saturday knowing Carnivale's food truck was coming town. But now that's not happening.

"We will still be open on Saturday," Melissa Polykandriotes told Joliet Patch on Thursday.

Elder Brewing is open Thursdays 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays 1 to 8 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m.

Melissa Polykandriotis emphasized that she is not mad at city of Joliet officials. Rather, she and her husband did not realize when they opened their new downtown microbrewery that food trucks were off-limits around Joliet. After all, many of Chicago's suburban communities and some of Joliet's neighboring communities welcome food trucks for specific events and occasions. For instance, the Forest Preserve District of Will County hosted Food Truck Fridays last summer including events at Plainfield Township's Lake Renwick Preserve.

Still, this week's surprising news from Joliet was a bit of a letdown.

In time, the owners of Elder Brewing are hoping to turn this week's development into a positive.

"As far as the city of Joliet, I want to work with them on changing the ordinance," Melissa Polykandriotis told Joliet Patch Thursday night.

"I am going to be looking for new ways to work with them not against them," she added.

Since opening, Elder Brewing has expanded its menu to five microbrews on tap: The Stout Shaker, Trapped Tidal Wheat, Cream of the Castle, Poly's Punch and Making Me Late IPA. Elder also sells beer in 32-ounce glass howlers.

The news of Saturday's cancelation did not sit well with some patrons at Elder Brewing.

The Carnivale food truck Facebook page has 5,000 Likes and Followers.

One person remarked on Elder's Facebook page, "they wanna revitalize Joliet, then they do things like this. This seems like a no brainer and potentially puts money in everyone’s pockets. The city charges a SMALL permit fee, you guys and the food truck bring out customers. Hopefully the city will realize that it’s time to rethink their guidelines."

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Images via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak