An interesting idea... I guess its success relies on working out what makes street food attractive. If the food itself is somehow different or superior then you're home and dry and even your do-it-yourself tins and cans might work. If it's the way it's prepared and cooked then the restaurant alone might work. Somehow though I suspect the main attraction of street food is the street location, with its convenience and atmosphere, and by definition you can't create that in a BIG BOX...

An organized food site would somehow diminished the attractiveness and random gourmet conditioning. Secondly I guess culture has something to do with the regional different set up.

I agree with vizminda. And what if I don't live in NYC?

i don' know.... sort of like a food court for street/vendor food. Interesting idea. Sort of like a city version of the 7-11 or BP food mart where they have pizza, burgers, chicken, hot dogs, breakfast sandwiches etc...

i've been to places where there are lots of street vendors and my question is similar to Phillip H...cuz wherever i've chosen to buy from a street vendor its cuz i'm on route to somewhere else and just need a quick bite. (same reasons I buy food from 7-11 or BP) I'm no expert on the variety of foods available now, though.

I think if you can determine why people choose the street vendor (if you haven't already) and those reasons have to do with the food itself, as opposed to the convenience, then it sounds great. OR if its convenience, then figuring a way to emphasize that (almost like a drive through??)

I do dig the whole communal dining and the variety of food types mentioned in your description. I think that too could be a strong point of emphasis. especially if you call it a 'restaurant'. Most restaurants only serve one type of food. this would be different.

interesting idea indeed.

interesting but how do you crowdsource this?

You are for the most part describing a food court. Also, there is a reason why all the hotdog carts are not in one place.

Thanks for the comments. I guess I'll try and clarify a couple of things.

1. NYC first for a reason. Reason being is the sheer volume of street cart food and the passion that new yorkers have for their carts. Organizations like the annual Vendy Awards lend credence to this notion.

2. To centralize the disparate locations of street cart vendors is a new idea. I, for one, dont necessarily enjoy schlepping to Red Hook Ball Fields from Manhattan for the best Mexican food in New York.

3. In essence it is a food court. The differentiating point here is the notion of authenticity and the ability to purchase amazing, homegrown food under one roof. We're not talking Sbarro and China Star here.

4. There is currently a crackdown on street vendors in NYC. Started under the Giuliani administration, there has been a concerted effort by officials to raise prices of licenses/medallions [effectively forcing out a large population of entrepreneurs], administering stringent guidelines and rules that work in favor of the city, etc. Part of the idea is to give haven to these vendors who are being pushed out of their well being.

5. The other idea that I failed to leave out of the elevator pitch is that one of the booths will be wholly-owned by BIG BOX. This vendor space will feature some of the best and brightest young chefs on a seasonal basis. Imagine in winter you have the cuisine of an Anthony Bourdain and in the Summer you have an Adam Perry Lang doling out BBQ.

6. This is an experiment and a community. Allowing people to try the foods from around the globe under one roof brought to you by the people who know the cusisne's ins and outs.

7. How do we crowdsource this? It's a matter of collaboration in finding the right vendors, sourcing an appropriate space/venue, developing a profitable business model [franchise the idea?, use existing distribution partners to stock the dried food/canned food on shelves across the country?] and obviously putting our collective heads together to find the investors to bring the idea to life.

Thanks again for the comments.

Hi,

Many Cities in Europe do something similar to this during the month before Christmas. Basically the City makes some public space available to vendors who set up stalls , exactly as you have just described, in order to sell food from all corners of the globe. Additionally there are vendors who sell all kinds of knick nacks, flea market, foodstuffs etc etc.

I think that your idea is excellent. However, rents are very expensive in most downtown areas which have a lot of pedestrian traffic.

I have no ideas as to the economics of such a venture, it may be worth your while putting together a basic business plan with financal projections?

This idea could also be attractive to areas/towns which have high seasonal tourist traffic.

Good, luck

If the people google maps read this they might use this idea....
Tommy

My GPS in my car let's me search for restaurants in the neighbourhood of the car but having the openingtimes would definitly be great.
Tommy

Zazz, I can imagine the appeal of such a place. It sounds (to me) like an external food court, except you're not populating it with chains. And having a delivery service makes perfect sense.

It would be hard for me to get too enthused about it not living in NYC. I mean even if I had the money to play VC role, I couldn't imagine investing unless I lived in the same city and could visit the site.

Wouldn't the land be too expensive to make this viable? Or... at least it is a major project right, else you're just starting off with a couple outdoor vendors and you lose economics of scale for the delivery service.