The Cinnamon Snail Truck is Closing For Good At the End of the Month

We got some very sad news over the weekend. Adam Sobel, the owner of four-time Vendy Award winning Cinnamon Snail, announced on Facebook that after five years on the road, the truck will be closing for good.

Their Mobile Food Vendor permit expires at the end of February and they have not been able to secure another permit. This is one of the biggest hurdles food trucks and carts must deal with. Since there are no more permits available through the Department of Health, you must find another way to obtain one which is next to impossible. It is very expensive and often times not completely legal.

We will sincerely miss this very special truck. Their mission was to bring tasty vegan food to an audience that might otherwise never try it. And considering the carnivorous writers here at Midtown Lunch have donated so much bandwidth and coverage to a completely meat-less truck, I think we can safely say that they have accomplished their mission.

This will not be the last we see of Adam and his terrific food. He has a cookbook coming out in May and is actively searching for another food project, either under the Cinnamon Snail brand or a new vegan concept. Either way, we just ask that he considers Midtown and we can’t wait to see what he does next!

In the meantime, you have two weeks left to enjoy those vegan donuts and spicy seitan sandwiches!

11 Comments

  • Sad to hear. They make awesome donuts.

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    Not even a year ago, Adam raised $85,000+ for a new truck and vending permit.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1313420258/the-cinnamon-snail-gets-a-new-snail-shell

      • Cinnamon Snail: Truck can be found parked at the nexus of climate change, veganism, lumbersexual hipsterism, income equality, obamanomics and good old fashioned hucksterism. Who needs a business model anymore when you can get handouts for free? One free-range organic cranberry kewl-ayde with a BPA-free funnelto chug-a-lug

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    Are they going to return the Kickstarter money? I’d feel really ripped off if I donated. Could there be a criminal offense in taking the money but not following through with the promised purpose of the fundraising?

    • They don’t have to as long as they have already delivered what they promised their backers (stickers, food, shirts, skip-the-line passes etc)

      The only shady thing is they raised just enough for a truck plus inspection but are somehow still able to promise all of that swag for the backers. How can you raise $85,000, say you will spend $82,000 on a truck, plan an additional $16,000 on upgrades and inspections, and still be able to give away thousands of dollars worth of goodies? Doesn’t add up.

  • Holy crap–I forgot about that kickstarter campaign. As a lawyer,I don’t think it is criminal, as they probably honestly hoped to get a new permit, so it would be tough to prove fraud. However, they clearly knew that this was a possibility so it makes sense why they didn’t want to risk their own money on this–hence the kickstarter….IT reeks of being totally unethical in my book, but legally, I’mnot sure it is criminal. all the same, I would encourage them to sell their damn truck and repay their backers as best they can. What scumbags!

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    @deanlo — you are correct. As per the Kickstarter Terms of Use in effect at the time of the Cinnamon Snail’s Kickstarter campaign, “Project Creators are required to fulfill all rewards of their successful fundraising campaigns or refund any Backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill.”

    In looking over the rewards, there are some that definitely cannot be fulfilled, including the $5,000 + donation for naming rights to the truck, which I suppose will now need to be refunded as per the Kickstarter Terms of Use.

  • I guess that’s why there was a line half-a-block long for the truck this morning at around 9:45 am. Well, I never tried it, and I guess I never will.

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