Dispute over mobile food vendors postponed

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

In Little League baseball, a little competition never hurts.

Just don't bring the battle to the concession stands.

In an 11-hour council meeting Wednesday packed with issues involving work card requirements and homelessness, the members took an hour to debate whether mobile food vendors should be allowed to compete with Little League concession stands at city parks.

In the end, overwhelmed by an issue that began with the merits of grilled hamburgers versus packaged candy, Councilman Larry Brown threw up his hands: "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen," he said.

There are currently 60 mobile food vendors licensed in the city of Las Vegas who are allowed to travel anywhere within the city limits, selling their goods. But they can only stay in one spot for 30 minutes.

Most of the mobile food vendors find their customers at construction sites.

One entrepreneur, Tom Jerbic, found a different niche.

Jerbic, a father of three, found that when he attended his children's baseball games after work, the candy and soda at the Little League concession stands did little to quell his appetite.

With an idea in mind, in December Jerbic applied for and received the necessary permit from the city's Leisure Services Department that allowed him to operate at a location for more than 30 minutes.

Jerbic -- who has a daughter on a Little League team coached by Brown -- started parking at the baseball games at Mountain Ridge Park in the northwest, where hungry customers bought up his hamburgers, barbecue beef sandwiches, and other hot meals.

The problem was, much to Brown's chagrin, that Jerbic was taking money away from the Little League's concession stands, which generate money for uniforms and other related costs.

The council Wednesday delayed a proposal for two weeks that would have allowed limited competition by requiring mobile food vendors to locate in a specific area of city parks, away from the concession stands, and to sign a short-term contract with the city.

Jerbic, though, claimed he was only having problems because one of the councilman -- Brown -- was also a coach.

"You're making it sound like I'm taking food out of the mouths of the Little Leagues," he said.