Deception Bay family may be forced to hit the road after lockdown cripples business

A mother-of-three is fighting to keep her food truck afloat as she battles the impacts of the Covid lockdown and a devastating council crackdown.

Tanya Mcaleese is the manager of mobile food truck NY Dogs based in Deception Bay.

The manager of a mobile food truck is considering heading west in a bid to keep her small business afloat amid the pandemic.

Tanya Mcaleese runs NY Dogs, a popular mobile hot food van based in Deception Bay.

The 45-year-old was working in the business when she was offered the opportunity to take the reins.

Unfortunately her new venture coincided with the beginning of Queensland’s strictest lockdown yet.

The mother-of-three decided to take on the mobile food van to not only provide for her family but inspire them with her achievements.

“It’s overwhelming,” she admitted.

“I’m trying to give staff some work.

“(But) It’s affecting me badly, I can’t go anywhere.”

Tanya Mcaleese is the manager of mobile food truck NY Dogs based in Deception Bay.

Last year more than 70 booked events for the American style hot dog van were cancelled due to Covid-19.

On Thursday, they lost another five in the space of three hours with the unpredictability of lockdown forcing event operators to pull the pin.

The family run business faced another blow however on Thursday afternoon.

A Moreton Bay Regional Council officer visited their site on Bayview Terrace and Raymond Terrace to advise they could not continue trading in their current location on private property if they did not obtain extra licences above their existing ones.

To continue operating on their private property, which they say was inspected and approved by Moreton Bay Regional Council, would require more paperwork which the business owner believes is just more red tape revenue raising.

Tanya Mcaleese is the manager of mobile food truck NY Dogs based in Deception Bay.

It comes after a food fight escalated on Wednesday between local tourism boss Shane Newcombe and council over pop-up food stalls trading.

Mr Newcombe blasted council’s decision to allow mobile vendors to operate.

The council however insists it’s done nothing wrong, saying Queensland Health advised them that food vendors can operate and should be treated like other cafes and restaurants, provided they abide by same take away trading rules.

The Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism CEO wrote:

“I am bewildered why tonight, after a council resolution, that our region is promoting pop up locations for food vendors that encourage people to leave their house for this purpose.”

The grandmother-of-five is now looking for alternate sites with more than three days worth of stock to try to use.

The food truck is beloved in the Deception Bay community with locals, in a 10km radius, turning out in droves to support the small business.

With the positive comments flowing on social media for the “very yummy” and “very fresh” food trailer.

The van also serves up gluten free loaded fries, nacho plates, chicken schnitzel, chips, Hoki and salad.

Ms Mcaleese is now hoping the community will continue to support her despite the restrictions or she’ll be faced with the possibility of taking her work on the road.

The Deception Bay woman is hoping eventually she’ll be able to head outside of south east Queensland with the van to other areas where she believes “understand the stress of small businesses losing events and income” better.