Food Trucks Won't Be Allowed on Busiest LoDo Blocks on Weekends

The Denver Police Department is once again restricting which streets food trucks can operate on in LoDo during the weekend.

In what the department describes as an effort to improve safety during let-out — when Denver’s popular clubs and bars close at last call at 2 a.m. — the DPD has worked with the city to disallow food-truck permits from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday through Sunday on certain blocks: from 18th to 21st on Blake, Market and Larimer streets. Food trucks also won’t be allowed to operate on 21st between Market and Larimer.

Although food trucks are not allowed in those areas, the DPD says the policy is "not a 'food truck ban,'" as there will be new “food truck destination zones” in which the businesses can operate.

“The Denver Police Department values the services provided by food trucks and set out to develop a plan that would create four food truck destination zones for people traveling to rideshare, public transit or parked vehicles to access a variety of food options along the way and allow adequate space away from the bar entrances/exits to enjoy their food,” DPD spokesperson Doug Schepman says in a statement.

Friday through Sunday, starting September 6, 2024, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., the four destination zones in the LoDo area that will be permitted by DOTI for food truck operations are: 18th Street between Larimer and Market streets; Lawrence Street between 20th and 21st streets; Market Street between 17th and 18th streets; and 21st Street between Blake and Market streets.

The DPD also notes that "the Market Street/17th Street location will only be used for [September 6-8] due to an upcoming construction project. DPD and DOTI will continue evaluating additional possible locations to replace this one. ... On September 6, 7 and 27, food truck permits will not be available on 21st Street between Blake and Market streets due to large events at Coors Field. Instead, food trucks will be permitted by DOTI to park in the loading zone on the east side of Market Street between 20th and 21st streets. This exception is only for these three dates."

Schepman says the destination zones will help activate areas between bars and rideshare pick-up zones in LoDo, which the DPD implemented in July. The area from 18th to 21st streets and the two blocks between Blake and Larimer on 21st street are off-limits to rideshare pick-ups from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with designated pick-up zones positioned less than two blocks away from those areas instead.

The DPD says the rideshare pick-up zones have shaved thirty to forty minutes off the typical let-out crowd timeline. Both the pick-up zones and food truck restrictions are designed to decrease “bump into” fights where patrons crowded into small areas on the street outside of bars get into altercations.

“The Denver Police Department has a large number of officers in the LoDo area on weekend nights and finds violent incidents often stem from areas in which crowds congregate after leaving nightclubs and entertainment establishments,” Schepman says.

Denver police implemented a food truck ban in 2022 after an officer-involved shooting stemming from a “bump into” altercation at let-out resulted in police gunshots injuring six bystanders.

Back then, food truck owners who were forced to relocate from their usual spots on popular blocks reported losing half their business each weekend.

The DPD says the program is a pilot for now, and that it plans to evaluate the initiative to determine if adjustments are needed.