The Atlanta City Council Wants to Create a Traveling Food Truck Village

The Atlanta City Council is considering the creation of a traveling “food truck village.” A resolution by the council cites “the unique potential to create new employment opportunities, small business growth and favorable conditions for culinary entrepreneurs in the City of Atlanta” as factors for the proposal.

The city council on Monday passed a resolution to begin exploring the idea of creating more designated public areas in Atlanta for food trucks to regularly set up shop. According to city council Resolution 20-R-4315, the food truck village would periodically travel to various established locations throughout Atlanta “monthly, bimonthly, or trimonthly.”

Similar to Austin’s food truck parks and the food cart pods found throughout Portland, Oregon, the Atlanta food truck village would provide owners and operators with expanded licenses and public vending right-of-way options within the city.

Food trucks in Atlanta have a number of rules and regulations to follow in order to legally operate, including vending in a metered parking space on public property, obtaining permits to sell food in city parks, and, if not hired by a private company or individual, operating from one of five designated areas in downtown Atlanta.

However, it’s unlikely the food truck village will come to fruition before the end of the year. The resolution now heads to the Department of City Planning where it will be presented to Atlanta’s 25 Neighborhood Planning Units for consideration. If approved, a public hearing will then be conducted by the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee.

Only two permanent and privately owned food truck parks operate in the city. The Atlanta Food Truck Park, located in a small lot on Howell Mill Road, features a rotating roster of trucks serving vegan and vegetarian fare. Triton Yards, a small food truck and tiny home park in the Capitol View neighborhood, opened earlier this year. The park includes a covered patio area and hosts weekly neighborhood movie nights and shows sports on its two projector screens.

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