Elder Brewing Gets Food Truck Special Event Permit

JOLIET, IL - The issue surrounding a Chicago-based food truck coming to downtown Joliet this weekend has a happy ending after all. On Thursday night, Joliet Patch published an article explaining how the owners of the new Elder Brewing Co. announced they had to cancel Saturday's much anticipated food truck event at 218 E. Cass St., after learning this week the city did not allow for food trucks. Elder had posted the announcement on its Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon, leaving many of its patrons sad.

On Friday morning, however, city of Joliet officials reached out to Elder Brewing owners Andrew and Melissa Polykandriotis to discuss the matter further. As a result of that discussion, the city has granted Elder Brewing a special event permit to allow for a food truck from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Elder Brewing opened here in November as Joliet's second microbrewery

Joliet's Corporation Counsel Marty Shanahan said that food trucks have been allowed at certain special events such as New Orleans North and the Joliet Public Library's annual Star Wars Day festivities.

Elder Brewing just opened its doors in November.

"It's a miscommunication between the applicants and the city so we've gotten it straightened out," Shanahan said of this week's food truck mix up. "They did not ask for a special event permit."

The special event approved on Friday morning by the city of Joliet authorizes Elder Brewing to have a food truck for three hours as part of its "Elder Brewing Tasting Event."

Friday's positive news from the city, however, still left the matter up in the air at Elder Brewing.

After all, Elder figured that Carnivale probably went ahead and rescheduled its truck for another stop in another Chicago suburban community.

Then around lunch time, Melissa Polykandriotis called the Joliet Patch to report the happy news. She and her husband learned that Carnivale was still a go.

The Carnivale food truck will still be able to come to downtown Joliet on Saturday afternoon, serving up its Latin fusion cuisine in the 200 block of East Cass Street.

"How exciting," she exclaimed.

"We're very, very, happy with how flexible they were with the city, and we look forward to many, many more food truck events to come," she told Patch.

To mark Saturday's gala, owner Andrew Polykandriotis will unveil his sixth microbrew on tap, his wife added. "It's an American stout," she said.

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Images via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak