Foodies rejoice.
Ridgeland city officials are aiming to strike the right balance with food truck owners, to allow them to be easily accessible to patrons while also being mindful of restaurants with brick and mortar buildings in the city.
“What we’ve done over the last few months is meet with people in the restaurant industry and tourism to come up with an ordinance that is beneficial to all local restaurants,” said Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee. “I think we’ve come up with a final product that will be good for business here.”
Steven Sahler, owner of Burgers and Blues in Ridgeland, was able to voice his concerns about food truck regulations and be a part of the process of forming the ordinance.
Sahler has skin in the game, not only as a brick and mortar restaurant owner. He recently purchased a food truck for Burgers and Blues as well.
“The main thing that we were trying to accomplish was making sure that (food truck owners) have to play by the same rules that we do,” Sahler said.
The food truck ordinance is set to go before the board of aldermen at the first meeting in November.
Director of Community Development Alan Hart said the city cooperated with the Ridgeland Tourism Commission to bring together a group of restaurant owners in the city to address their concerns and put together an ordinance that they were comfortable with.
“We have had very positive feedback from business owners,” McGee said. “We want to protect our restaurants with brick and mortar businesses. They are supplying everyday business here.”
Hart said the idea was to create an ordinance that places the same requirements on food trucks that brick and mortar businesses have.
“The premise is that our expectation is that they are going to be treated identical to brick and mortar restaurants,” Hart said.
Food trucks will be required to receive architectural approval for their trucks, according to Hart.
The mobile restaurant stands will also only be able to set up in areas zone C2 and above.
“We didn’t want the food trucks to be sitting in our front door either,” Sahler said. “If they aren’t approved by the city, they can’t come in. If they are approved, then they are required to be a certain distance from a restaurant.”
“They cannot locate any closer than 200 linear feet from an existing restaurant,” Hart said.
The proposed ordinance also states hours of operation must be between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
To obtain a permit, food truck owners will have to undergo review from the architectural review board and an application process.
Hart said that during the architectural review, if the board finds it to be minor, the review board will give final approval. If any major issue is found, the request will go before the board of aldermen and mayor for consideration.
While most of the mobile facilities currently in the city of Ridgeland belong to an existing restaurant for catering purposes, Hart said established rules and regulations will set the tone for the future of mobile restaurants.
“We have a great respect for our existing brick and mortar stores, but this is a great opportunity for us to capitalize on this venture and possibly lead to more permanent business in the city of Ridgeland,” Hart said.
“It’s a new venture for us too,” Sahler said of the food truck scene. “I think (the mayor and aldermen) did a good job making (the ordinance) fair. Food trucks are really popular right now, and I don’t see that going away.”
