Lansing’s Old Town has seen success with their food trucks over the past year, according to Old Town Commercial Association Executive Director Louise Gradwohl.

If these vendors have proven to be favorable just a few minutes away from downtown East Lansing, there is no reason they won’t have similar luck here. Some students have shown a liking for El Oasis, a Mexican food truck in Lansing, and The Purple Carrot, a truck serving local grown food in the Lansing area, to name a few.

Of course, like any food establishment, the success of East Lansing’s food trucks will rely on how good the food is. With so many restaurants and available places to eat, the food trucks will have some steep competition with local restaurants that already have an established rapport with students and residents.

And apparently, many of those established restaurants aren’t happy with East Lansing’s latest addition.

Aaron Weiner, general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, told The State News (“City council votes to allow food trucks in E.L.” SN 7/11) he isn’t happy with food trucks being allowed in the area.

“We’ll be competing with someone who doesn’t share in many of the costs that we do,” he said. “It’s a very hot issue nationwide in the restaurant business right now for good reason. There’s not a single restaurant owner in the downtown area who thought this would be fair.”

Although some restaurant owners might have a fair point in being upset with the varying costs of each establishment — the trucks would have to apply for a $1,800 concessionaire’s license, renewed annually for $1,700 — it’s essential they realize that food trucks offer a very different experience than sit-down restaurants.

When someone wants to sit down and be waited on for a longer lunch with friends, they wouldn’t look to go to a food truck to eat. Instead, they would head to one of the many restaurants scattered throughout East Lansing.

And when a student needs a quick bite to eat on the way to class, they wouldn’t stop at a sit-down restaurant anyway. The food trucks will offer many students and local residents another grab-and-go option.

Some current establishments might feel threatened by this new addition to the already plentiful East Lansing food scene, but owners and managers must recognize the varying experiences at each location. The differences in experience will be enough for many people to continue to choose a restaurant over an outdoor vendor.

It’s a good sign East Lansing has acknowledged a common interest in this new type of food service, and hopefully the food trucks will prove to be successful in the downtown area.