OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly a dozen food truck owners said they are fighting for their life savings back, after they spent thousands to reserve a spot in a food truck park that never opened.
▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS
According to rental agreements signed by the vendors, the Food Truck Park was set to open June 1st, along East Irlo Bronson Memorial highway in Kissimmee, but several months later, the park site looks like an empty plot of land.
While the founders of Food Truck Park LLC say the project will now move forward at another location, Osceola County officials said they never received an application for the project to begin with and never granted any permits to the site.
Read: Only on 9: Orange County SOE creates scholarship with tax dollars, naming it after himself
Channel 9 sat down with the Food Truck Park founders, Gabriel Alvarez and Gabriel Trossel.
They met with Channel 9 crews equipped with renderings and site plans of the project.
According to the founders, the project was delayed because a homeless camp needed to be cleared from the property.
Read: Brevard County murder suspect denied bond
They also said they had a dispute with their landlord, causing the lease for the Food Truck Park to be mutually terminated in August.
However, Trossel and Alvarez told Channel 9 they are moving forward with the project at the new location.
According to the founders, 29 food truck vendors put down deposits for the food truck park, a concept they created to alleviate the zoning and infrastructure concerns food truck vendors often face.
Wire Transfers shared with Chanel 9 show food truck vendors spent between $5,000 and $15,000 to reserve their spots in the park.
Read: Volusia County cold case getting fresh eyes and bigger reward
But food truck owners said they were frustrated with the lack of communication and lack of progress on the project.
Food truck owners who reserved a spot said they never were informed the lease for the site was terminated in August.
Five months after the park was supposed to open, and without an application submitted to the county, some vendors now want their money back.
However, Trossel and Alvaraez said all the vendors signed a clause in their reservation rental agreement saying those deposits would not be refundable if terminated before the opening of the Food Truck Park.
According to attorney Jose Rivas, eleven of the 29 vendors have been in contact with his office and all eleven vendors have stated they no longer have faith in the project and want their deposits returned.
Read: Hasbro seeks women innovators for toy industry with $10,000 prize and mentorship
Rivas does not believe the “non refundable” clause in the contract will hold up, because he believes the park developers breached the contract first.
“Obviously we have a breach of the contract on behalf of the company. They have not performed their duty,” said Rivas.
Meanwhile, vendors told Channel 9 they had quit their jobs and spent their life savings to reserve a spot in the park.
“Those ten thousand dollars it hurts a lot. You don’t make ten thousand dollars a day. You don’t make ten thousand dollars a month,” said Eugenio Mora, whose wife owns Hott Bunn’s, a food truck serving Costa Rican food.
The couple said they are hoping Trossel and Alvarez will return their reservation fee, so the family could focus on growing their food truck business.
Both the food truck owners and the food truck park founders said they are considering their legal options.
County officials said this situation stresses the importance of having an attorney review any kinds of business contract before signing.
Officials also stressed the importance of doing “due diligence” and checking with county officials about projects that are still in development.
Meanwhile, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division is reviewing the case but has not yet determined whether there could be criminal charges.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2024 Cox Media Group
