Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program Details Announced

Communications Director

Kristin Farley
[email protected]
(865) 215-2589

400 Main St., Room 691
Knoxville, TN 37902

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Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program Details Announced

Posted: 03/11/2014
Details of a one-year pilot program for mobile food vendors have been posted to the City of Knoxville website, ahead of a public meeting planned for Wednesday to discuss the program.

Click here to find the full set of regulations, along with a map of food truck zones, the permit form and a list of frequently asked questions.

Patricia Robledo, the City's Business Liaison, developed the program with an advisory board including representatives of the local mobile food vendor organization, local restaurants, and many City of Knoxville departments.

"Food trucks have become very popular in Knoxville, and we wanted to create a program that would allow them to legally operate in public right-of-way while also abiding by City codes," Robledo said. "I appreciate the months of hard work all of the different parties have put into this. It is a pilot program, so we know that we may need to make some changes as we go. But this gives us a good starting point."

The program was partly based on a similar program already operating in Nashville. Among the details:

* Mobile food vendors will need to apply for a permit, with a $500 application fee;
* They will be able to operate in marked spaces along downtown streets in seven locations, at different times of day and night as marked;
* They will be able to operate in designated parking areas on appropriately zoned private property with permission of the property owner (operation outside parking areas will require a site permit);
* They may not operate in residential zones.

For more information or to provide feedback, anyone is welcome to attend the public meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, at the Southern Depot, 318 W. Depot