A popular Toronto food truck is fighting a city bylaw after being ordered to close by the end of the month.

“It’s extremely stressful,” said Helen Antonopoulos, who co-runs Food Cabbie with husband Spiros Drossos. “We were shocked.”

Drossos is a chef from Napa Valley who serves burgers, Philly cheese steaks and burritos with a New York City taxi theme. In California, chefs can pull up to a parking meter and serve food on the spot.

The two opened on Queen St. E. last summer before moving to a parking lot they lease from at 67 Shuter St., between George Brown College and Ryerson University. But now their parking lot could be fined for renting the space.

Antonopoulos said a bylaw enforcement officer came by in the last days of February and told them to leave by the end of March. The officer cited a regulation that truck and parking lot owners cannot allow a truck to be parked longer than 10 minutes if serving food.

“It’s a shame because our customers are expressing big concerns,” said Antonopoulos, who started an online petition Thursday to allow food trucks on private parking lots with landlord consent.

“I am so overwhelmed by the people, what they’ve been writing and saying. They really want us there; they love our food.”

Antonopoulos said the two went through zoning and obtained a license addressed to their parking-lot location. They also have each employee obtain a $400 food handler’s safety certificate that most nonmobile restaurants only need for head chefs.

“We don't think its right that city officials should be telling people what to eat, people should have a choice. After all Toronto is supposed to be a world-class city,” said Drossos.

“Why is it so difficult for gourmet food trucks to operate, when other eating establishments do not have to go through as many regulations?”