Last week officials from the city’s Licenses and Inspection caused a full-on cupcake commotion when they temporarily seized two popular cupcake trucks, pulling them off the streets of Philadelphia. In the first go round after trucks were impounded, Kate “Cupcake Lady” Carrara who’s Buttercream Cupcake truck was confiscated and David Dilks, owner of another truck, Call Me Cupcake, both told the Inquirer that operating within L&I;’s guidelines and the seizures themselves is a game of blind man’s bluff with their livelihoods on the line. Both trucks were seized for operating in no-vending zones. True to L&I; form, when asked to define what areas were safe for cupcake sales, both operators were reportedly told to figure it out for themselves.
Now L&I; is firing back, saying that the Buttercream truck initially ran afoul of the agency back in July for not having a business privilege license, a food license or a license to vend from a vehicle. When impounded last week, Carrara’s truck was missing the license it needed to vend in University City. No explanation was offered for Call Me Cupcake. [KYW via Foobooz]
