WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) – A new city ordinance has taken effect, allowing food trucks and other mobile vendors to open for business within Whiteville city limits.
In a unanimous vote, Whiteville City Council established a new ordinance allowing food trucks and other mobile vendors to operate with some stipulations.
Vendors are permitted to operate in four zoning districts: office and institutional (O&I), central business (B-1), highway-serving business (B-3) and retail/office complex (B-4). You can see a map of Whiteville’s zoning districts here.
Hours vendors can operate is determined by the zoning of the area the vendor is set up in. Vendors in a B-1 or B-4 zoning area can operate Thursday through Saturday from 3 pm to 10 pm and Sunday from 7 am to 10 pm In a B-3 or O&I zoning district, vendors can operate Thursday through Sunday from 7 am to 10 p.m
The restriction of days and hours was frustrating to some vendors who say there are opportunities for business during all days of the week. One vendor says he has friends in the industry who have coffee and donut trucks, so earlier hours are best for their business to thrive.
Still, it’s an exciting day for food truck owners like Jimmy Spivey, who says he’s waited for this day for four years.
“We get phone calls daily from people wanting to do an employee appreciation day or a customer appreciation day,” said Spivey, who owns the ‘When Pigs Fly’ and ‘Franks and Fries’ food trucks. “Before we couldn’t do that, but now the door’s open.”
The ordinance limits how many permits will be given out each year to only 20, with 10 of those set aside for food trucks and the rest being available to all other mobile vendors. This was a change from the proposed ordinance, which would have lumped both categories together for a total of 25 permits.
“My suggestion and Councilman Williams’ suggestion was to separate them into two distinct classifications so one wouldn’t fill up and be a disadvantage to the other,” said Mayor Terry Mann.
Each permit costs $500 and is good from the time it’s purchased through December 31st of that year. For business owners planning to get a permit immediately, council members decided the city will pro-rate the cost this year. The owners will have to reapply at the beginning of the new year.
The ordinance also limits how far food trucks can set up from existing restaurants and how long they can stay at one site.
Although there is concern about the cost of the permits, leaders say it was the best way to level the playing field between food truck owners and brick-and-mortar restaurants.
“There is an expense of operating [a food truck] — buying the trucks, fixing it up and they do pay property taxes on it, so they do pay some, but they don’t have the same expenses that the brick-and-mortar stores have,” said Mann.
While Spivey says he didn’t get everything he hoped for in this ordinance, it’s a place to start. He says it won’t be long before his trucks are serving up meals to Whiteville citizens as he plans to be first in line to get a permit Wednesday morning.
“I have a feeling that the phone’s going to be ringing a whole lot more,” said Spivey.
Spivey and Mann both pointed out that it can be relatively easy for leaders to amend city ordinances. Mann says he and other leaders will pay attention to how this impacts other businesses and if it does draw more people to town. If it seems to be beneficial for Whiteville, the city could be open to allowing more vendors to set up shop.
Copyright 2022 WECT. All rights reserved.
.