Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Kent reexamines food trucks

Local crepe vendor presses for approval

Kent reexamines food trucks

Crepe Royal, a refurbished ambulance turned food truck owned by Kent resident Gregoire Pye, has become the focal point of an ongoing debate over whether mobile food vendors should be allowed to operate in town.

Provided

KENT – A local crepe chef and food truck owner is fighting to find a place for his business in Kent despite a series of rulings in 2022 by the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Board of Selectmen that ostensibly banned mobile food businesses from town.

French-born, eight-year Kent resident Gregoire Pye appeared before the Board of Selectmen for a second time on March 17 to make his case for establishing a semi-permanent location in town for his food truck business, Crepe Royal.

Pye said the antique car dealership Motoriot has already offered its site as a permanent location for his business.

Pye said that, despite being a local resident with two children in the school system, the town has been inhospitable to his vision of bringing his French pancakes to the region.

“I’m allowed to go everywhere but here,” Pye told selectmen at Town Hall on Wednesday, March 18, accompanied by his wife and daughters.

Due to a series of motions made by P&Z in 2022, and subsequently by the BOS, food trucks have been understood to be prohibited from operating publicly in Kent. The two town boards spent two years shifting responsibility, with P&Z requesting that the issue be addressed through a town ordinance, while the BOS asked P&Z to handle it as a zoning matter.

Ultimately, according to past P&Z meeting minutes, the Commission moved to forward a letter to the BOS that included the following statement: “As we have previously determined, our regulations do not permit food trucks in the Town of Kent.”

The BOS responded with its own motion at its March 3, 2022 meeting, stating that upon P&Z’s counsel, “the Board of Selectmen agree and move that commercial food trucks are not allowed in the town of Kent.”

Despite the motions, Kent does not currently have an ordinance or zoning regulation explicitly governing food trucks on the books.

Speaking at last week’s meeting, Selectman Lynn Worthington indicated she felt the 2022 statements were insufficient.

“I never was happy with the way the selectmen handled that in 2022,” Worthington said. “I think it’s worth looking into,” she said, but noted that the Board will need more time to consider the issue.

Several days after Tuesday’s meeting, First Selectman Eric Epstein said he is open to all proposals, but that any change will have to be the will of the community. “Ultimately, I don’t believe it’s up to us, it’s up to the townspeople,” he said.

Epstein noted that the public testimony submitted so far has largely been in opposition to allowing food trucks in town.

Elissa Potts, owner of the Fife & Drum Restaurant & Inn, submitted a letter to the BOS arguing that food trucks are not held to the same standards as brick-and-mortar restaurants. She also argues that food trucks “are not invested in the town” the same way as permanent restaurants.

Kent Green General Manager John Casey also wrote in, stating, “to invite [food trucks] in as regular competitors to our tax-paying, closely regulated businesses is an unkind turn for our entire full-time, highly competitive restaurant sector.”

Speaking several days after the meeting, Pye said that he had no interest in overhauling the status quo, but would just like to give his business a chance to operate with stability in Kent.

“What I want is not a big change,” he said. He said Crepe Royal, which operates out of an old ambulance he bought for $1,000 and refurbished, is his pride as a way to bring his country’s cuisine to Kent.

Both the letters from the public and the selectmen themselves expressed doubts as to how the town could allow for one food truck without permitting others.

The conversation will resume at the BOS’s next regular meeting.

Latest News

Early morning Kent crash sends car into ditch, disrupts traffic on Rt. 341

A blue SUV remains in a ditch after an early-morning crash along Segar Mountain Road in Kent May 27.

Ruth Epstein

KENT – A driver escaped with minor injuries after an SUV crashed into a utility pole and water line before rolling into a ditch along Segar Mountain Road early Wednesday morning, May 27, disrupting traffic for much of the day and affecting water service to a nearby residence.

The single-vehicle crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. near 36 Segar Mountain Road, just under half a mile east of the intersection with South Kent Road. State police said the blue SUV struck the pole, went over a guardrail and came to stop in a roadside ditch.

Keep ReadingShow less

Pauline King Garfield

Pauline King Garfield

EAST CANAAN — Pauline K. (King) Garfield, 94 of 77 South Canaan Rd. formerly of East Canaan, died Sunday May 24, 2026, at Geer Village.She was the wife of the late Duane Garfield who passed August 14, 2017. Pauline was born April 3, 1932 in North Canaan, CT in the former Geer Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Rose (Van Vlack) King.

Pauline spent her career at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, after being a stay-at-home mother for many years.She was employed at Becton Dickinson for 23 years. She enjoyed bus trips with her late husband Duane to the Casinos, spending time with her family watching the grandchildren grow up. Recently she made a comment to care givers that was “wait until I see that husband of mine for leaving me here, I am going to read him the riot act.” Over the years she enjoyed many crafts, but her favorite was crocheting gifts for everyone.

Keep ReadingShow less
A blessing for pets — and a lifeline for their health
Lazarus, a Eurasian eagle owl, poses with Dr. Laura, his longtime handler. The rescue raptor — known as the event’s “wow factor” for his striking presence and six-foot wingspan — will appear as the Raptor Ambassador at Rhinebeck’s Blessing of the Animals.
provided

For many pet owners, animals are family. On Saturday, May 30, that bond will be celebrated in a uniquely practical and heartfelt way when the Blessing of the Animals returns to Third Lutheran Evangelical Church in Rhinebeck alongside a free rabies vaccination clinic hosted by Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.

The event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., is free for Dutchess County residents and open to dogs, cats and domestic ferrets three months and older. While the clinic itself provides an important public health service, organizers say the day has become about much more than vaccinations.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh takes his lens to China

Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh on a shoot last year in New York City.

Matt Kashtan
When I was around 12, a family friend showed me how to use my family’s computer...from that point on, it was pretty much all movies. — Yonah Sadeh

Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh of Falls Village left May 8 for China, where he will shoot a short documentary.

“I got into a documentary film intensive program where we have two weeks to shoot, edit and screen a 10-minute documentary about a topic of our choosing,” he said.“I’ll be in Changsha, Hunan, making a film about a fifth-generation shadow puppet master.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Silvano Monasterios wows packed Cornwall Town Hall audience

Silvano Monasterios thrilled a sold out audience in Cornwall.

Natalia Zukerman

Grammy-nominated pianist, composer and producer Silvano Monasterios performed works from his upcoming “Solo in Paris,” his seventh album, on Sunday, May 23 at Cornwall Town Hall to a packed audience. Presented by Music Mountain in partnership with the Cornwall Town Hall and Cornwall Library, the concert showcased Monasterios’ signature fusion of sophisticated jazz harmonies and vibrant Latin rhythms. Throughout the performance, he moved seamlessly between intricate compositions and spontaneous improvisation. The concert built excitement for Music Mountain’s upcoming summer jazz series, which will bring an array of acclaimed performers to the historic venue. For more information, visit musicmountain.org

Author Courtney Maum to discuss new novel at Norfolk Library

Norfolk Library celebrates the release of Courtney Maum’s latest novel, “Alan Opts Out,” with a book launch party Tuesday, June 2, at 5:30 p.m. The author will speak about her book in conversation with WAMC radio producer Sarah LaDuke.

A graduate of Brown University with a degree in comparative literature, Maum is an acclaimed author of five books, including the romantic comedy “Touch,” a New York Times Editors’ Choice and NPR Best Book of the Year; “Costalegre;” and “I’m Having So Much Fun Without You.” Her memoir, “The Year of the Horses,” was chosen by the TODAY show as top pick for Mental Health Awareness Month. Vanity Fair listed her author’s guidebook “Before and After the Book Deal,” as a best resource for writers, and she has an eponymous Substack newsletter.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.