CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Visitors in town for the Democratic National Convention may not get a taste of more than a few Charlotte favorites.
Several food truckers said they are skipping CarolinaFest and the Convention because it's too pricey to park.
"It would cost me $12,000. I would have to sell 6,000 ice cream cones just to break even," said David Trauner, owner of Sticks & Cones. "I am hearing a lot of outside, national vendors are coming to town for it."
Brian Seely from The Herban Legend agreed.
"The fees they have set up are a little out of my price range. Actually, they are a lot out of my price range," he said.
David Stuck, from The Tin Kitchen, was planning to skip the DNC because of the high prices, but was contacted by a local catering company working several private events.
"Just pure luck, really. If the catering company had not called us up, we wouldn't be doing this," said Stuck, who will whittle down his menu to only the items ordered by the caterer that week. He estimated the truck will make triple what he would on a good day.
Dan Huntley won the "DNC Barbecue" competition for best red sauce. He is forking over the cash to rent a spot on South Tryon Street for the entire convention.
"People from New York or Iowa probably don't know a lot about the local cuisine, except barbecue. At some point they will want to try it. I will be there. I expect to break even or better," said Huntley. "Well, I better."
According to numbers given to NewsChannel 36 by CarolinaFest organizers, a 10' x 20' space will cost $1,500 each day. Most food trucks said they will need two spaces per truck.
CarolinaFest did say the application time was open for three weeks and has since closed. It did not get back to our questions about which vendors would appear and how many were local.
