The Dispatch has an article on mobile food vendors, which includes some interesting comments regarding the licensing and permitting:
A spate of high-end trucks has surfaced in New York, touting street eats such as rhubarb popsicles and creme brulee. The roving Kogi Korean barbecue truck in Los Angeles boasts 67,791 followers on Twitter. San Francisco is rife with clusters of the kitschy, tech-savvy restaurateurs, several of whom will appear on The Great Food Truck Race, a competition show hosted by Tyler Florence set to make its debut Aug.15 on the Food Network.
Closer to home, the Cincinnati City Council in June passed legislation designating three city-owned downtown spots as open territory for 20 mobile vendors, allowing them to operate until 3:30a.m. for an annual fee.
Even the National Restaurant Association featured a food-truck pavilion at its 2010 conference for the first time, underscoring the fact that hot dogs and burgers - and, lately, a flood of Latino vendors - are no longer the only edibles on wheels.
Still, unexpected bumps and a lengthy approval process can throw wrenches into a chef's business plan.
Sorboro, who once rented space in a private Arena District lot, said his pizza truck faced hostility from longtime cart merchants (vendors must secure a spot via a city-sponsored lottery to peddle within district limits as well as parts of Downtown).
Although the city doesn't have specific codes governing food trucks, such vendors must obtain health-department approval and a peddler's license as well as licenses for additional employees - a requirement Soboro finds extreme (he has previously received a warning from the city for hiring unlicensed help).
"It's just so new; they don't know how to handle these things," said Sorboro, 29, who is licensed. "They're grabbing at whatever laws they can."
The Columbus traffic code states that a vehicle selling goods can't park on the street for more than 15 minutes.
Trucks must otherwise operate on private property; pushcarts have to work by a curb and leave at least 5feet of pedestrian sidewalk space between the cart and the adjacent building.
"It's a safety issue," said Sharon Gadd, the city's licensing manager.
Very interesting to see that Cincinnati has provided 'open territory' downtown. Wish Columbus would get on that.
Full story here
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