‘He came and stab me’: Food truck pirates turn National Mall into a lawless mess

Unlicensed food trucks have taken over prime spots around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and this problem persists at the Great American State Fair.

A small group of operators runs most of these illegal trucks as a coordinated network, Washingtonian reported. Longtime licensed food truck operator Zack Graybill walked around the National Mall during the fair with reporter Jessica Sidman and observed illegal trucks blocking traffic and hydrants, creating fire hazards, charging high prices and intimidating legal vendors through turf wars.

“For all the people eating food right here? The food isn’t being refrigerated. That’s fucked up. That’s gross,” Graybill told Washingtonian.

He observed that there was no generator running in one of the trucks and no ventilation.

“For all the workers, that’s miserable and shitty. And that’s not healthy. Dangerous,” Graybill emphasized.

One Tunisian vendor named Jackie said a rival pulled a screwdriver during a dispute over a parking spot and tried to stab him in the eye. “He came and stab me,” Jackie said. “He was trying to make me blind. He do it on purpose.” He still sees the attacker operating near the mall.

In 2024, an unlicensed food truck caught fire and exploded near the National Mall, and two people were critically injured, WTOP News reported.

“[T]he majority of the illegal operations in the city are organized crime,” A Park Police spokesperson told Washingtonian. “The majority out there illegally are not individual food-truck operators trying to make an honest living … We’re talking about repeat offenders who ensure that if we remove one truck off the street, that another stands ready to continue collecting money from an unsuspecting public.”

Youssef, an ice cream truck operator, does not list his truck prices. “It depends if somebody got [Casio] or somebody wearing a Rolex, you know? It’s not the same. It really depends on the customer,” he told Washingtonian. He charges $6 to $10 for a single cone at the Mall.

The truck operator mentioned that “we got a team” of food trucks, and more than 50 of them are owned by his “religious” boss.

“Everybody’s religious, pretty much. We’re Muslim people,” he said.

The operation includes “watchers” who look out for police for $80 per day.

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