News Oct 30, 2008 at 4:00 am

Georgetown Feuds over Falafel Truck

Kelly O

Comments

1
No!!!! Please don't leave and take the best falafel in Seattle away. Park in the lot across the street from the 9lb. I'd cross Airport Way for one of your sandwiches.


2
What about the posters from the Falafel truck that said it'd be at 1st & Pike on Friday nights? They're still up in GT, but he's never at f*ing 1st & Pike when I'm drunk in stupid downtown. Stupid posters.
3
Did you know that 2 of the 4 bars within 2 blocks of the 9lb are closing or for sale? Bye bye Uncle Mo's (and your crappy kareoke) and Jules Maes (and your awesome pinball).
4
Last time I will go to Smarty Pants.
5
There's a falafel truck near Belltown?
Be still my beating heart.
6
Let me guess: Wengard and Smarty Pants are voting for McCain and think that Baker and his falafel truck are Islamo-Fascist Jesus-hating heathens. Do I have that right?
7
so, does the dude who leaves in his other car (the truck/cock blocker) even patronize any of the businesses while his car is smugly parked overnight?
8
Smarty Pants is lame. They know they're lame. And to call their kitchen a "kitchen" is a joke. Weak food + high prices = no wonder they would resort to childish means to lessen competition. All this just confirms what I knew on my first visit to that crap bar, which is that there is no need to ever return there.

May your business fail.
9
Parking on Airport Way S. at that location is public parking: anyone can park there during hours that parking is allowed, so parking the pickup is legal.

Tire slashing is illegal.

Smarty Pants has excellent sandwiches, soups, and brunch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (no soup on brunch days).

I am a sstisfied customer of Smarty Pants; I have no business or personal relationship with anyone who owns or works at Smarty Pants.
10
Seriously Smarty Pants? He is there for 3 hours on Fridays- is that really a big deal? You are lame and if people aren't going to your place to eat your food that is because your food isn't as good as Hallava's and maybe you should change some things on your menu and stop being such an a**hole.
11
Throwing a hissy because you cannot monopolize a piece of public property, to make money for yourself, is not cool. If you want to have a dedicated space and time to do your business, either pay for a spot, or get a kitchen that isn't on wheels. Vandalism is not the answer. Messing with another person's car is chickenshit!
12
This is sad news. I didn't realize that there was even a conflict happening. I eat at the truck about once, sometimes twice a week now for lunch and it is excellent grub and really good quality food. The guy running it is very personable as well.

I'm going to be a dick and say it: Smarty Pants should concentrate on bringing back good sammiches instead of blaming others for their declining business. I've been eating there off and on for the past three years, and I'm really sorry to say this because I used to love that place, but their food quality has really gone down. In fact, I just ate there last week and was so unsatisfied I doubt I'll eat there again unless it's by chance.
13
Throwing a hissy because you can't monopolize a public space to make money for yourself is not cool. If you want a dedicated space to conduct your business, pay rent like the rest of the people on the block, or at least fix your truck so you don't have to steal electricity from the nine pound hammer. It kinda defeats the purpose of having a mobile eatery if the only place you can put it is in front of another established restaurant. There's tons of parking on the block. Pick a different spot, or better yet move to portland.
14
Please don't move to Portland. We need your most excellent felafel and friendly, open demeanor.

But what happened to you in Fremont? There were posters up that you'd be in the Fremont Abbey parking lot on Mondays. I tried 2x but never saw you. I don't have a myspace account so I couldn't post to your account.
15
Georgetown high schoolers at it again.
16
Well, I always thought Smarty Pants' sandwiches were okay. But Hallava is way better. Resorting to intimidation to marginalize your competition is lame. I'm not going to eat or drink at Smarty Pants anymore.
17
Clearly Wengard is the jerk in this situation. That sure is awfully unfortunate about your slashed tires - I wonder how you might possibly have avoided something like that, Wengard?

I haven't yet been down there on a Friday night, but after reading this I know for sure that Hallava will have my business.
I hope that word gets out about this enough that everyone know to avoid Smarty Pants even more than they apparently try to now.
18
Smarty Pants is not good food. I was served a half-raw chicken sandwich there. When this got pointed out, the waitress didn't come to collect it. I finally walked out without paying and was accused of walking out on a meal - before I actually AGAIN pointed out the raw chicken in the sandwich, and walked out without paying.

Arrogant staff, rude people, and a group of entitled assholes who seem to think that "their" tables are the ones only they can sit at for hours on end - gee, Scott, whyever would I not like Smarty Pants?

There's a difference between being a royal fucking dick and being supportive of small businesses - and your favored salmonella hotspot needs to get up off their alcoholic aging hpster asses and figure that out.

I have no business or personal relationship with anyone who owns or works at Smarty Pants. I do, however, know their food, service, ambience, and clientele all earn FAILSAUCE marks.
19
Smarty Pants can go to hell.

9lb was there before Smarty Pants and helped bring people to Georgetown.

20
For the first time in my life, I'm thinking that vandalism is the answer here. Fight immaturity with immaturity. This Bryce idiot parks there for no other reason except to impede this man's business. Fine. Since this takes away $1200 in business monthly, then let Bryce pay for it by means of tire replacements.
21
Park your rediculous roachcoach somewhere else if the spot's not available, douchebag.
whhhat a fucking baby.

and that's crack reporting there JonahSpangenthal-Lee. you managed to turn a piece about a tire-slashing moron into bad press for local business owners that had nothing to do with it.
22
Maybe if the Hallava paid rent, employees, or licences this would be the story of a successful entrepreneur. Instead he has a mobile restaurant he's tried to put in Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, Freemont, and now Georgetown - read his blogfull of complaints (wah! no one likes me!). When things don't go his way he makes threats, calls the police, slashes tires, and cries to the Stranger for help two months later (after doing nothing himself - inclulding returning to the 9lb Hammer spot). Do threats, crime, and gossip really make your restaurant run?

And what a way to miss the issue, Jonah somelastnameLee. The neighborhood restaurants ARE having problems. Jules Maes recently spent thousands on a kitchen and now the whole bar is for sale. In the other direction Planet Georgetown is closing altogether. Arson, vandalism, and theft are rampant, and the police are stretched too thin - which Jonah should know since he attends community council meetings.

Happy Halloween! I think this must have been a trick.
23
I love GT drama. The Falafel truck is one of the coolest parts of GT and it's going to suck when Rick relocates to PDX (good for him though, he's going to kill it out there!). People will go to the establishment of their choice. If someone wants to sit down and get a sub-par sandwich, they'll go to Smarty. If they want to do some drinkin' they'll be at the 9lb. If they want a Falafel, it's their god given right to hit up Halava which provides a basic human need......Falafel and Shwarma. Long live Halava.
24
Bring your Falafel Truck to Ballard bro-heim. Will will shower you with money up here. Looks like the Georgetown Goon-squad and their overhanging brows don't take kindly to your fancy foreign food. Viva Hallava and 9lb Hammer!!!
25
You do know if you have the right amount of torque... kinda like the amount under the hood of a falafal truck... you can drag the offender into a no parking zone

Ya know I'm jus sayin.

JSin
26
What a dipshit that Wengard guy is. Typical loser mentality, so you don't have any ingenuity or creativity to deal with the high cost of building a kitchen, he has to attack Baker & limit what customers to that bar & street can eat when they're out.

I hope Wengard & his friends at those other pathetic Georgetown businesses go bankrupt & end up homeless on the side of the street begging for leftovers from Baker's truck.
27
For hell's sake, Rick, GET THE MESSAGE!! We need more falafel in this town--not just any falafel--but YOUR FALAFEL. Don't you feel it your duty, your obligation to the hungry falafel-less of Seattle?? You teased us in Fremont for a while--I bet Paseo almost passed out when people were passing up the pork sandwiches for your handsome falafel. Don't you have any brothers of cousins or someone to help you out w/ another truck??? Please come back to Fremont.
I kiss your beets,
Love, JC
28
Just because it's legal to park his pickup there, doesn't mean he isn't a dick. Hallava is great and I would be very sad to see it go.
29
Give me fucking break. You park your truck there because.....? You're a stupid fuckin asshole? The more people that visit a business in a place, the more people that go there. That's good for business - not some fat-assed fucking truck driving macho fucker who is to fat ugly and lazy to park elsewhere. That ain't good for business, no where, no how.
30
Hey, I gotta idea. W boy - park your truck in front of the public bathrooms in the park in GT. That way you'd be doing a public service. Keeping those fucking homo cock suckers from gettin/havin head, and protecting the stupid "I wanna be urban - BUT NOT THAT URBAN" people who are populating GT. Sounds like a win-win to me.
31
Smarty pants sucks anyway. Elitist pricks "it costs money to put in a kitchen" waah. These guys had a novel idea to satisfy customers who don't want to eat shitty frito chili pie and some douche wants to be the parking police?
32
Attn to these posters: falafels are stupid, eh....son....y, real businesses pay bills, parkit/park it.

-You are all total duchebag conservatives. Before I reduce myself to your level, let me first explain that what Rick is doing, is totally legal. He has a business license and pays taxes. Judging by the amount of people "on his side," you morons are in the minority here. I don't know who you are, but please don't come to Georgetown. You'll be hated. I love that names were used, as they should have been. Rick is a good guy who is totally respectful and hard working. You people obviously don't know the whole story and I suggest that you shut the f*ck up.

33
Keep the falafel there. It's only Friday night. If your business is hurting because of those 3 hours, get creative and come up with something cool yourself. Competition is the name of the game. Smarty pants in next to the 9lb. which is next to the next place the next and the next. You all compete. Do you slash the tires of the Calamity Jane folks who have come in and opened for business?

Grow up not so smarty pants. I'm taking your sticker off my car.
34
fuck Smarty Pants and especially fuck Stellar. That bitch had my car towed from their parking lot while I was eating there and didn't apologize or flitch when I confronted her.
35
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
Boycott Smarty Pants!!!
38
Jules Mae's is closing? NOOOOO. Is this true?
39
Wengard sounds like a stupid ignorant fuck. Stop with the vigilantism. If stupid pants has an issue, deal with it like an adult and not get some embarrassing and sorry excuse of a bully to do your dirty work and park there sister-cops truck. Never again stupid pants will I, my family or my friends support your business. This is a shame especially in G-Town.
40
back in the day, when the 9lb hammer was a tool and die shop and someone else's art studio, i would've been embarased that such a nice yellow falafel van was parked anywhere near georgetown. as well, a place like smarty-pants and the 9lb hammer would've made me feel like the nieghborhood was going to the yuppy dogs.
as it is, even georgetown is, alas, too groovy for me. it is certainly too expensive. georgetown used to be such a nice inexpensive shithole. the happycooker, the georgetown tavern, a laundromat for godsakes, & a liquor store. and now one can even order a pizza with(wha?)yukon potatoes on it.

i hope the smarty-pants vs. falafel van conflict works out.

but if you'd like a glimpse of georgetown pre-yuppy, check out, youtube, georgetown radio.












41
Wow - that's a real commitment to free-market capitalism you have there Smarty Pants. If you are losing business to a falafel truck, fix your business, don't run them out. I'd spend more money on beer in Georgetown if I could get a cheap and tasty falafel to keep me going instead of the overpriced and mediocre food served in most of the bars. Improve your food and maybe I'd change my mind. Or just let the truck be.
42
Ah....so competition is bad. Yeah, I get it.

These guys are angry, frustrated people who can't improve their business; rather, take the easy, sleazy way out and try to snuff out the competition.

Tell the Falafel guy to come to Central PA...we'll take him!
43
Wengard says. "It's direct competition down there" OH MY GOD, COMPETITION! Guess what, you have a good product, people will buy it. Tim is a good guy, and I doubt he would be party to this. SPants isn't loosing out- people love that place and he's doing great- he has no reason to fear competition that doesn't compete with him. The only people that lose are GTowner's who already have only a handful of options. Bryce's tactics are juvenile yet effective. He gives no reason for wanting the truck out other than its competition? Stop being a pussy.
44
I have been a manager at a G-town restaurant for 3 1/2 years and the business owners who know me can attest to the fact I often recommend to my customers there business's and specific items I enjoy. pork sliders at Calamity Janes, lamb burgers at Jules Maes, cheese burgers at Scott's new joint Loretta's, trouble maker pile-ups at Smarty Pants and was excited to add the delicious falafel sandwiches from the falafel truck to my list of recommendations. I am deeply saddened that any of my G-town neighbors would be reduced to such pettiness as to try and run Hallava Falafel out of the neighborhood. I guess I come from a time when G-town business owners embraced one another and sincerely got along. It seems now those times have faded and our jaded little neighbors are acting like high school drama queens. SHAME ON YOU GEORGETOWN. We are better than this.
45
Sounds like everybody is just too-cool-for-school in G-town. Anal mofo Wengard parking his Chevy there 'for overnite storage' is just plain childish and he deserves all the damage to that truck he will heretofore receive. Blatantly and intentionally blocking that spot, regardless of the 'legality' of that lame maneuver, is begging for bad karma.
46
That's funny that Poopy Pants rode 9-lb hammer's coat tails in the first place and now theyre crying about "competition" after THEY set up shop 20 feet down the sidewalk from 9-lb. Looks like a case of hating on the 9-lb because 9-lb is a great place with a great owner that does great and is always a great time. Fuck off whiny-Pants!
47
Stupidy Pants
I’m a native Seattllite, I like my beer with a mountain on it and my coffee as bitter as I am. I grew up in West Seattle and worked in Georgetown 15 years ago where I worked in the warehouses, when that’s all GT was was: warehouses, the Jules Mae, low flying planes, some affordable artists spaces and miles and miles of train tracks. GT and it’s NEW businesses have tried to maintain what drew everyone there in the firstplace, but this falafel truck bullshit stinks of typical, “I was here first”, Seattlite bullshit. If the local business owners are concerned with an “outsider harshing their mello”, they should remember that there are some of us who liked GT the way it was, before the obnoxious hipsters, luxury household goods, and overpriced rents and restaurants. Just because you are acting like a dog whose marked it’s territory, doesn’t mean it’s yours. To be fair, what does Seattle need more of? Late night street food. What could Seattle use less of? (1) Hipster bars changing our last industrial neighborhoods into Belltown.(2) Uptight seattlites who got thiers first and now don’t want anyone else around.
Falafel truck has as much a right as you to change my fucking city. Smarty pants can eat shit, the rest of us will eat falafels.
48
I am sad that Wengard had his sister's truck tires slashed (really dude, don't have the balls to park your own truck down there?) It would be really sad if someone used a jumbo syringe and injected fish fertilizer into the AC intake. That would be totally unfair. I mean, just because the guy is being a total prick and reducing the diversity of a great neighborhood doesn't mean that someone should vandalize his sister's truck that he has parked and walked away from with such an easily concealable, affordable, and accessible thing as a big syringe full of fish fertilizer. Yeah, that would be sad.
49
Well, the solidifies my opinion that I won't be going back to Smarty Pants. The food was OK at best, but is this is how they and their "friends" treat other business owners and their community? I have no desire to give them any of my patronage. And I will be sure to try and steer my friends away from their establishment as well. With any luck they will be out of business and replaced with a higher class of business owner.
50
It's GEORGETOWN for f**k's sake! I could understand this sort of behavior from Wengard and his ilk if it were some uptight neighborhood but this is Georgetown - where freedom, expression and the good love vibe should rule the day! (And besides, I know Rick and he's a hard-working, decent sort that deserves far better than all this crap.) Oh, and if they're scared of his culinary craft - they should be, his food is outstanding.
51
For all you people obsessed with the legality of parking a truck in a particular spot solely to interfere with another person, could you please post your names, addresses and favorite things to do so that people can follow you around and interfere (legally of course) with everything you do? Hey, its legal, so don't whine about it, losers!
52
There is absolutely nothing wrong with parking his truck there. It's not illegal, so who gives a crap if he leaves it there all night and goes home in a different car. Why can't the falafel guy just park across the street? If his foods that good, people will cross the street for it. Smarty Pants, and 9lb are both cool spots. Tire slashing and lying about it (at least Bryce was honest about his actions) falafel guy; not cool.
53
Although i've never visited Mr Baker's falafel truck- it seems from many of the above comments that people would INDEED be willing to cross the street to support his business. However, in response to MAngel and other similar comments, i would like to say: as someone who is familiar with the laws and workings of mobile food vendors, it is not possible for Baker to simply move across the street or around the corner. Yes, mobile vendors are on wheels, but what many people seem to be unaware of is the fact that these vendors have to log the EXACT locations they plan to open for sales with the city/health inspector/etc. If an inspector shows up and Mr Baker is across the street/anywhere but where he specifies, HE WILL GET FINED. Subsequent fines could result in him losing his business. (Is it safe to say Smarty Pants/Mr Wengard were aware of tis fact? Who knows?) So it is not as simple a case it may appear to some. As for Mr Wengard, it does appear that in this case he has every right to park his truck in the spot Mr Baker had been using. We live in a great, free country (made even greater by our recent election of Barack Obama) where anyone can be a jerk as long as they don't break the law. Is Mr Wengard violating any law? Apparently not. Is he being a jerk? Well, read his own words and decide for yourself. To me the answer seems obvious.
54
All of you f'n losers should know the best food in Georgetown is the TEXACO fried chicken and jo-jo's.

55
All of you f'n losers should know the best food in Georgetown is the TEXACO fried chicken and jo-jo's.

56
3 months since this happened - no Falafel at night anywhere, and this is still news? Huh?

What about the 8 foot penis burning from three weeks ago - at least that was entertaining.

For good chicken - it's at the SHELL not the Texaco. And Marco Polo has better (and you get free ice cream too).
57
Jules Maes is closing? Really?
58
i've lived in g-town for 4 years-i don't eat that often at smarty pants and i've never eaten at the falafel truck-i do however find the falafel truck offensive to look at and it has annoyed me parked in front of 9lb and under the bridge-effing move to p-town already
59
Excellent Sandwiches? Dude, you ARE affiliated with Smarty Pants. This is a total advertisement. I know this because the word "excellent" and the sandwiches at Smarty Pants don't belong anywhere near each other, and definitely not in the same sentence.

Parking on Airport Way S. at that location is public parking: anyone can park there during hours that parking is allowed, so parking the pickup is legal.

Tire slashing is illegal.

Smarty Pants has excellent sandwiches, soups, and brunch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (no soup on brunch days).

I am a sstisfied customer of Smarty Pants; I have no business or personal relationship with anyone who owns or works at Smarty Pants.
60
I'm a G-town local. Been in the hood for 5 years. I'll just go on the record and say that Smarty Pants doesn't attract the G-town crew. The 9lb does. In fact, Smarty Pants brings people from out of the area, which isn't a bad thing, but for other reasons, S.P.'s and it's owner aren't so popular amongst the locals. I wouldn't say "hated," just not favored. If Smarty Pants were to close up shop, only the PBR drinkin' import crew would be sad. Nobody in G-town would care, it would make for good gossip for a week, but that's about it. It would be like that Scooter's barbershop place closing down. A few good stories, but an easy page to turn. Now, if you're not from G-town, you don't have a clue. If you claim to be on the side of S.P. and say you're from G-town...."I know you're lying," you're not from G-town. You just don't know. Plain and simple, get a life and go find a new blog to spew over.
61
whoa nelly...... is this for real? I cant believe all of the comments. I only came to look because I heard about how much of a hot topic this is.

I moved to G-town before there was anything but Planet G-town aka Uncle Mo's, a Shell station and a Texaco. I think I CAN speak on behalf of the average G-towner when I say that ALL of the businesses thrive on eachother.

Never before have I seen such an immature, gossip-driven tirade over a "he said she said" situation. PLEASE!

Everyone down in good 'ol G-town wants to be the one who knows the most people, remembers when, has the best piercing or tattoo, leaves the smallest carbon footprint, is the most vegan, has the fastest scooter, etc etc etc.... ya catch my drift.

In my opinion, this is nothing more than a souped up version on Beverly Hills 90210 meets LA Ink. What a crock!

Competition is good and tire slashing is illegal; TRUE

It being the fault of Smarty Pants that some jackass decided to pull STOOPID antics without the knowledge of the owner; FALSE

Lets keep the record straight....
It seems to me, over the EIGHT years I've spent in Georgetown, that everyone has gotten along just fine.

Sure Stellar is frenetic and a little over-priced. GLC is a little holier than thou with its veggie-only agenda. Jules Maes has had its ups and downs. Calamity..... heh? 9 lb.... great but usually full of overserved wannabes. Smarty Pants...great fire pit and cheap beer but could use improvement too!

Do you see a pattern here.... its called DIVERSITY! There is room for everyone. It is what makes this hood unique. They all have a niche and there is a place for it all..... even the falafel truck.

Now get to improving relations and quit your whining or I may be forced to hang out elsewhere..... ANYwhere that people act like adults and say what they mean and mean what they say!

Please wait...

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