A local food truck owner is “flabbergasted” that he can no longer serve at the Indiana Statehouse market after complaints about his tongue-in-cheek slogan.
Scott Sims, the owner of Smash Daddy’s Burgers, Fries, Etc., learned in a July 10 email from a state official that there had been complaints over the truck’s tagline: “You’ll love our meat in your mouth.” However, the state told IndyStar that no written complaints exist.
The email from Kirollos Barsoum, communications director for the state’s personnel department, said state organizers valued his truck’s service, but the decision is final.
For two years, Smash Daddy’s has been a routine vendor at the Statehouse Market, a state-organized gathering of rotating organizations, food trucks and other sellers. The market is every Thursday from May to October on the north side of the Statehouse.
Prior to the email, Sims said he was not given any indication the slogan was a problem, and he has had few complaints since his businesses started using it 20 years ago. He previously owned the restaurant Between the Bun on the southside.
“I wasn’t trying to be crass. I was trying to just make it witty and funny with an eye wink,” he told IndyStar. “If you want to take it there, fine, but that’s not how it’s implied.”
Sims said his truck was often one of the most popular and had constant lines. He was expecting to attend two more dates at the Statehouse this year, Aug. 6 and Sept. 10. Between the two dates, he estimates he’ll lose about $4-5,000.
“That’s a pretty good chunk of change” for a small business, he said.
The truck’s exclusion could run afoul of the First Amendment. The government cannot shut down speech unless it meets the high bar of one of its exemptions. Obscenity is one of those carveouts, but it has a very narrow scope, though it can depend on the community’s interpretation.
People don’t lose those speech rights when they decide to sell goods. Publicly-operated markets can install content-neutral rules or take action on unprotected speech, according to the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.
In a similar case out of New York, a food truck featuring a slur for Italians won the right in court to serve at a state-organized lunch program. The federal appeals court found the state engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it denied the truck from participating because of its name.
Sims said his slogan of 20 years is no different from several other businesses that employ double entendres. He mentioned Arby’s “We have the meats,” Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” and the Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store.
Now, he is working with an attorney to send a letter demanding that the state reconsider and push back on the complaints. His concern is not just whether he can finish out the season, but the potential financial losses if he cannot come back next year.
“My concern is that I’m not trying to cause any trouble,” he said. “I’m just trying to do business. I’m trying to get people what they want.”
The Indiana State Personnel Department, which runs the market, can modify or discontinue vendor participation as they see fit, said Barsoum in an email. The event is invite-only, and approved vendors are routinely evaluated on “a variety of operational and programmatic considerations.” He declined to discuss any decisions around specific vendors.
The market’s requirements don’t explicitly address its standards for speech but state “any behavior or language considered deleterious to the normal operation of the Market will be grounds forexpulsion.” However, neither the handbook nor this specific line was mentioned in the email to Sims.
Sims has since seen significant support, including hundreds of online comments and some clamoring for T-shirts with the slogan. He does not plan to print any new shirts until next year, but he has had several first-timers find his truck to support.
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Have a story to tell, tip or question? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: State boots food truck from market over ‘meat in your mouth’ slogan
Reporting by Cate Charron, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cate Charron, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
