This is Maximus Minimus, the most fun vehicle I’ve even seen when it comes to food vendors since the Dancing Grass Van. Thanks to Lydia Heard, aka City Walker, for these fabulous pictures and tipping me off to the funky new addition to Seattle street vendor scene. The pig hangs out on the corner of 2nd and Pike in Seattle near Pike Place Market.

Street vendor carts are a fabulous thing. They can help activate spaces that are otherwise empty and can help keep way issues from problematic areas by putting more eyes and feet on the street. It also allows smaller food businesses to have low overhead thus keeping things like lunch prices down for those of us that really don’t want to spend over 10 bucks for lunch. Maximus Minimus draws a huge crowd to what was previously a dead corner and people not only simply walk up, buy food and walk away but they stop and chat with others on the street or waiting for food. It’s actually a more social environment than going to a restaurant. I think the two people in the image below are even exchanging business cards.

Fort Worthology, who is Kevin Buchanan an urbanist from Fort Worth, recently made a trip to Portland and while he wrote a whole series of posts on the city he focuses one whole post just on the food carts throughout the city and how they add to the urban street character. He also points out how food carts turn dead spaces into vibrant ones full of color and life. He calls them “instant urbanism”.

all images via City Walker