Chattanooga looks to possibly change food truck ban on city streets

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – “We are just a moving coffee shop.  I don’t do a lot of food, but I do lattes, teas, chai teas,” Lisa Dunny said.

Dunny owns Spill the Beans, a coffee shop food truck.

But her dream she put on wheels a few years ago hasn’t been so easy to operate in Chattanooga.

“It’s difficult.  You can only be in the city of Chattanooga if it’s an event, or if it’s you know, on private property.  So we just have to kind of find where to go.  But we still have to have all the licenses, all the health permits, the health inspections twice a year,” Dunny said.

Dunny started an online petition last year hoping the city would change a ban on food trucks on city streets.

She almost has 5,000 signatures.

“We don’t expect to run amok and be everywhere in the city, but at least give us a shot.  We just want to earn a living and be successful,” Dunny said.

On Tuesday, City Council Members talked about updating the city’s food truck ordinance to allow the mobile businesses on city streets in specific areas.

“Food trucks competing against our brick and mortar restaurants and I think that’s what we sort of want to do no harm to those industries as well,” District 1 Council Member Chip Henderson said.

“I think that’s one of the things that the regulations will take into consideration, exactly where those food trucks could be placed, and I think that would probably take into consideration some comments, concerns from those stakeholders in the community,” City Attorney Wade Hinton said.

Changes to city law might grow the food truck industry in Chattanooga or it may not.

That could depend on a lot of factors including where exactly trucks would be allowed on city streets.

Dunny said she hopes the ordinance will be fair to everybody.

“I hope they at least when they are picking out these designated areas that they do let us go where the morning crowd is and the lunch crowd and bigger businesses.  I hope they don’t put us on the outskirts of the town, where we’re just not going to be successful, and it’s just not gonna turn into anything,” Dunny said.

Food trucks have had significant growth in the U.S.

So much so that according to a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it’s estimated that food trucks have reached $2.7 billion of revenue in 2017.

That’s up from $650 million in 2014.

The changes to Chattanooga’s rules are still in the works and have not been presented to Council.