Police Shut Down Vendors at New Food Truck Park

The Atlanta Police Department closed down vendors at the new food truck park on Howell Mill yesterday afternoon. Around 4 p.m., Champion Cheesesteaks announced on Twitter that the police were at the park "shutting down trucks," and that until the truck got the proper permit, it wouldn't be back at the park. Soon after, Yum Yum Cupcake stated that they, too, were having "permit issues with the City of Atlanta" and wouldn't be able to serve at the location until after lunch today.

Roy Boystrand of Champion Cheesesteaks tweeted that permits were the only reason the trucks couldn't operate. He said, "[Under] Atlanta law, you can only have one permit for one location at a time. If you move your truck to a new location, you need a new permit. If you move back to your old location, you need to repurchase that permit and void the new one. Until now, the Atlanta police department didn't enforce the law as long as you had a permit for the city. Now that has changed."

Boystrand's announcement seems at odds with the legislation that came into effect last fall. In September, an ordinance that granted food trucks more freedom— including the ability to be truly mobile by selling food in multiple locations— passed in the city. Luckily, it apparently doesn't take longer than a day to get a new permit, so the Atlanta Food Truck Park should have all of its vendors back soon. Stay tuned for more updates as information is released.
· Yum Yum Cupcakes [Twitter]
· Champion Cheesesteaks [Twitter]
·Information on the Atlanta Food Truck Ordiance [Atlanta Street Food Coalition]
·Kwanza Hall's Food Truck Ordinance Approved [-EATL-]
·All Previous Coverage of the Atlanta Food Truck Park [-EATL-]
[Photo via John David of John David Hall Photography]