'This Is Our Livelihood': Philadelphia Food Truck Owners Claim They Were Blindsided By New City Ban

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A food truck fight is brewing in Philadelphia. The battle is over trucks' location and a move that some owners say seriously hurts their sales.

If you've ever walked west on Spring Garden Street off Broad Street, you've likely walked by Mike Debesai, who owns the Mike's Breakfast and Lunch Deluxe food truck. He's been parked in the same spot on the same south side of the street for the past 21 years.

"This is our livelihood," Debesai said. "We started in 1998."

Until last week.

"You got to move. There is no reason and all of us, we are very anxious," he said.

The change was set in motion as construction redeveloped the block more than a year ago with new storefronts being built.

The city asked the six or so food truck operators to temporarily move across Spring Garden Street.

"In April, it was presented to add this block to the prohibited streets list," said Matt Rossi said, who owns Brick and Mortar Nick's Roast Beef on Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

But since no trucks were currently parked on it due to construction, Rossi, who's also the president of the Mobile Food Truck Association, says no operators were notified and therefore, no one could appeal the new rule.

"It's something we wish we could have been a party to before it was made into law," Rossi said.

The only vendors allowed right now are street carts, but city council is looking at banning them there as well.

"It's a massive difference in business from here over there," Abbas Kahn said.

Kahn estimates he sees a 30% profit cut when he's across the street, saying it's simply quieter with much less foot traffic.

"I thought that cart was there, but it's not there anymore," a Community College of Philadelphia student said.

Regular customers from the nearby community college don't seem to have the time to bounce back and forth across four lanes of traffic.

"If you come up on this side, you're not going to cross the street," a student said. "It's really busy."

So now, Rossi, Debesai and others are planning to petition council and have them roll back the new ban.

"We're hoping that once city council gets the whole story, they'll be behind us," Debesai said. "That's what we believe."