CASH FLOW BUSINESS PLAN FOR RETAIL STORE
REQUIREMENTS FOR CART VENDORS
HEALTH DEPT UP TO DATE REGULATIONS
The Parks Department and the Health Department oversees food sales and charge rent in park areas.
Vendors
on city streets (as opposed to outside park areas) don't have to pay rent for
specific spots; their only real estate expense is the cart permit the city
requires them to buy. Theoretically, that'll put you back just $200 a year.
But
since the city caps the number of food vendor permits at 3,100, far below
demand, there's an extensive black market. Some companies buy up the permits
for dozens of carts and then lease them to individual vendors at highly
inflated prices. This is illegal.
Vendors rack up thousands of dollars in fines every year. They can be fined anywhere from $250 to $1,000 for being parked on the wrong street, being stationed too far from the curb, setting up illegal cart "extensions" that increase their shelf space, or any number of other violations.