How to Obtain a Food Vendor Permit

When deciding where your next business venture should go, why not consider obtaining a food vendor permit and starting from there? From hot dog wagons to noodle carts, mobile food vendors are a welcome and fun part of daily life in cities around the world. In 2008, progressive chefs in New York and Los Angeles started taking mobile food vending to the next level, offering increasingly broader options for food-on-the-go. Taco and hamburger stands began to share sidewalk space with gourmet, fusion, healthy, and fresh options. Many of these new endeavors boosted sales by cultivating buzz and followings online through social network sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Inspired by this new realm of possibility and perhaps enchanted by the thought of very small restaurant ownership, many people have explored the idea of starting their own food cart. However, the permitting for new food carts is handled at the local level and ranges from very easy to almost impossible, depending on the city. Familiarize yourself with the process in the following cities before you let yourself get carried away.

Food Vendor Permits in New York City

In New York City, you will find it nearly impossible to obtain a food vending permit without waiting a very long time. New York City stopped issuing new food vendor permits back in 1979, capping the limit at 3,100 food carts throughout the city. There are 8 waiting lists, with wait times lasting for years.

Food Vendor Permits in Los Angeles County
    
There are 88 municipalities in Los Angeles County, which necessitates quite a bit of site-specific preliminary research before deciding to launch a mobile food operation. Some cities and counties permit food trucks, while others do not. A business license is necessary for every city you plan to do business in, and the cost of this license ranges from free in Los Angeles to $300 in Alhambra. You will also need a tax certificate and to register your business name before you can obtain the Public Health Operating License from the Los Angeles County Health Department. Nonetheless, Los Angeles County boasts 4,000 food trucks, so it is a thriving industry.

Food Vendor Permits in Chicago

The mobile food industry in Chicago suffers from prohibitive restrictions on the operation of food carts. Currently, laws only permit the sale of food that has been prepared elsewhere, preventing the establishment of on-site preparation of hot food. There is one exception, however. Chicago All Fired Up is a food truck that made it past the law by a stroke of dumb luck. However, as soon as summer 2011, a change to this law might revolutionize Chicago's mobile food scene. Next up is tackling the decades-old restriction on operating food carts after 10 p.m. Despite these barriers, Chicago currently has about 2,000 mobile food vendors. Aspiring mobile food dispensers must first have a Wholesale or Retail Food Establishment License for the location in which their food is prepared, as well as a health inspection of their vehicle. The fee for the Mobile Food Dispenser License costs only $275 and can be obtained from the Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection and the Department of Public Health.

As you can see, the laws and ordinances of different cities make a huge difference in the ease of obtaining a food vendor permit. Like any good business idea, you will need to devote a lot of time and energy to researching business requirements and realities inside and out.