Mobile Food Vendor permit

[scottpollack]

One idea among the various restaurant ventures I've considered is to open a food truck in NYC (such as the "Mud Truck" at Astor Place, the pizza truck down in the Financial District around lunchtime, etc.) Some preliminary research into the process of securing the necessary permits from the city, ie. a Mobile Food Vendor permit, reveal that there is an application just to get on the waiting list. After talking to some actual vendors on the streets, it seems like getting such a permit is more about who you know or who you pay than patiently waiting in line (one even told me point blank "they'll never give it to you unless you're a veteran").

Has anyone here been through the process of securing a Mobile Food Vendor permit, successfully or unsuccessfully? Care to share the details?

Thanks,

Scott

[Luckylies]

ugh I've wanted to do the same thing too. This shit is as impossible as getting a taxi medallion. They direct you to all these different websites and all of them say the same thing. Get on the list. Try calling 311, though they most likely will not help much. I wanted to set up a business in soho.. really tough. anyway. perhaps find out how otto got the gelato carts in the square...that might be a clue. If you get any leads....please tell us (me)

[maui420]

any updates to this thread? im planning to do something here in NJ and since nyc is right over the bridge, we may encounter similiar problems...

ugh I've wanted to do the same thing too. This shit is as impossible as getting a taxi medallion. They direct you to all these different websites and all of them say the same thing. Get on the list. Try calling 311, though they most likely will not help much. I wanted to set up a business in soho.. really tough. anyway. perhaps find out how otto got the gelato carts in the square...that might be a clue. If you get any leads....please tell us (me)

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[mikeycook]

Found this link. Apparently you need both a Dept of Health permit as well as a Food Cart Permit. There is a cap of 3000 Food Cart Permits and that cap is met, so there is a waiting list.

Take a look.

Just speculating, but I wonder if you can buy an existing cart and get a license transferred. Once you have the permit, perhaps you can change the food type.

The exam from the Dept of Health sounds like the ServSafe program.

[scottpollack]

Since the original posting, I found the Street Vendor Project (http://streetvendor.netfirms.com/public_html/), which in its FAQ mentions the following:

"...If you want to sell food, it is somewhat easier but still difficult. Food vendors need a license for themselves, on which there is no limit. They also need to sell from a pushcart with a Department of Health permit, which are limited at about 3,000 city-wide. The Department of Health holds lotteries every few years to distribute any excess permits, but the average wait is still many years. Many food vendors who do not have their own permits enter into relationships with permit holders to use their permits, for a fee."

Looks like the suspicions are correct. However, I wonder how established restaurants like Daisy May's were able to get food carts setup timed with their opening. I doubt highly that the full restaurant opening was timed with the mobile vendor permit approval; seems more like palm-greasing or buying out an existing cart business, per Mikey's suggestion above.

-Scott

Found this link.  Apparently you need both a Dept of Health permit as well as a Food Cart Permit.  There is a cap of 3000 Food Cart Permits and that cap is met, so there is a waiting list.

Take a look.

Just speculating, but I wonder if you can buy an existing cart and get a license transferred.  Once you have the permit, perhaps you can change the food type.

The exam from the Dept of Health sounds like the ServSafe program.

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[AzianBrewer]

Since the original posting, I found the Street Vendor Project (http://streetvendor.netfirms.com/public_html/), which in its FAQ mentions the following:

"...If you want to sell food, it is somewhat easier but still difficult. Food vendors need a license for themselves, on which there is no limit. They also need to sell from a pushcart with a Department of Health permit, which are limited at about 3,000 city-wide. The Department of Health holds lotteries every few years to distribute any excess permits, but the average wait is still many years. Many food vendors who do not have their own permits enter into relationships with permit holders to use their permits, for a fee."

Looks like the suspicions are correct.  However, I wonder how established restaurants like Daisy May's were able to get food carts setup timed with their opening.  I doubt highly that the full restaurant opening was timed with the mobile vendor permit approval; seems more like palm-greasing or buying out an existing cart business, per Mikey's suggestion above.

-Scott

Found this link.  Apparently you need both a Dept of Health permit as well as a Food Cart Permit.  There is a cap of 3000 Food Cart Permits and that cap is met, so there is a waiting list.

Take a look.

Just speculating, but I wonder if you can buy an existing cart and get a license transferred.  Once you have the permit, perhaps you can change the food type.

The exam from the Dept of Health sounds like the ServSafe program.

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I was watching FOX news a month ago and there's a report that some of these "agencies" that handle the permits/licenses are scam.

[lambretta76]

You can rent a cart from someone with the license. I guess the license can transfer from a particular cart to another one - i.e. - a hot dog vendor with a hot dog cart can rent their permit to someone who would like to sell falafel witha grill/fryer cart. As long as the cart meets code, they're OK. My landlord has a number of permits and has rented them out - he only has one hot dog cart that he runs now. For the most part, renting them out is a very lucrative business - these permits go for upwards of a thousand/month from what I've heard.