3CDC Finally Responds about Ousting Food Vendors from the Square

I promised to update my original story from last Sunday when I learned more. 3CDC never responded to me when I requested comment. But after Polly Campbell ran the story Thursday on the Enquirer's website, 3CDC finally issued a press release. Polly has an update here and promises more coverage today. Julie of Wine Me, Dine Me shares from the press release here. The Fountain Square facebook page (under the auspices of Fountain Square Management and 3CDC) has also posted a couple of excerpts from the press release. WLWT ran a brief item on Thursday's 11:00 p.m. news here.

While it may or may not have led to 3CDC's decision to restrict food vendors on the Square, in my attempts to research this story, I also found this Letter to the Editor on the Enquirer's website by Charlie Luken published in July 2011 voicing dismay that the “aesthetically pleasing Fountain Square promised by 3CDC in all those pictures and designs has turned into a hodgepodge of ugly tents, wagons, barricades and a very few scrawny trees. Somewhere behind those barricades, tents and wagons sits the most beautiful fountain in North America.” Luken concludes his remarks with this: “So, I have a question: Can Fountain Square be clean, safe, fun and attractive?”

The word attractive has diverse connotations. “Aesthetically pleasing” is one. “Acting as a magnet” is another. I hope future plans for the Square do not lean toward one at the expense of the other. The inclusion of food and beverage vendors in the Square's programming efforts has helped increase the vitality of the area and draw more people to downtown, especially in the evenings.

I still have a lot of questions and am eager for more details, including how future policies may impact the city's food trucks. I will continue to update as more info becomes available.