Food truck operators warring outside University of Toronto library

A food fight has erupted among the meal trucks that park outside the University of Toronto's busy John Robarts Research Library.

The owners of the trucks say tens of thousands of dollars in damage has been done since the scrap broke out at the beginning of the year, and — they maintain — police are ignoring their calls for help.

"Since the day we started our business in Toronto, we have been systematically subjected to threats, sabotage, and vandalism," Emel Arslan, owner of the Meal Queen truck wrote to CBC Toronto. "I feel alone."

The brouhaha involves the owners of at least three trucks, all of which park on the west side of St. George Street, between Sussex Avenue and Harbord Street, and all of which sell Middle Eastern-style foods.

Arslan and her son, Erem Yucel, say their family's problems began on their first day operating on St. George, on Jan. 29. Sometime that night, Yucel says, someone slashed the tires on the truck.

The following night, someone broke open the truck's exterior metal cabinets and stole their propane tanks and generator — equipment most food truck operators use to run kitchen appliances, as well as heating, cooling and ventilation systems.

"As a new female entrepreneur, I feel my safety is at risk," Arslan wrote in her online police report. "I do not know any of the other food truck operators in the area, which adds to my sense of vulnerability."

Within days of those incidents, another food truck operator, 20-year-old Karim Zinalddin, moved his truck, Levantine, into the space on St. George directly behind Meal Queen. 

Ten days later, he too was being victimized. Zinalddin says he arrived at work Feb. 12 to find his propane lines cut and his generator inoperable. He believes someone poured sugar or sand into the fuel tank.

That same day, Yucel says, his truck was hit again — this time, his propane fuel lines were cut.

Yucel and Zinalddin say they reported the incidents to police but have not heard from investigators since.

Another operator on the block, who didn't want to give his name, said he too had had his vehicle damaged. It was keyed several months ago. But he blamed anonymous vandals, not bad blood among his competitors, for the damage.

Finally, on March 31, Yucel said someone climbed up on top of his truck in the night and damaged his heating and ventilation system.

"This time, we did not even bother calling the police," Arslan wrote in her letter to CBC Toronto.