Food trucks

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SpoonFed Grill
Off The Hook
Taqueria Guzman

Food trucks are mobile vendors serving food throughout the Birmingham area. "Taco trucks" began proliferating in the scene in the early 2000s, while SpoonFed Grill touched off a "gourmet" food truck trend in 2009.

Food trucks are food service businesses licensed by the municipalities in which they operate, and permitted and inspected by the Jefferson County Department of Health, which requires them to operate in conjunction with a permitted brick-and-mortar food service establishment such as an affiliated restaurant or catering kitchen, or a multi-tenant "commissary kitchen," where foods are stored and wastes are discharged.

In addition to serving street food or rotating lunch periods between businesses with large numbers of workers, most food trucks are available for hire for private events, functioning as caterers.

In January 2013 Deep South magazine included four of Birmingham's food trucks: Dreamcakes, Los Dos Hermanos, Shindigs, and SpoonFed Grill, in their listing of the "Best Food Trucks in the South." By 2022 the Jefferson County Health Department reported that nearly 150 food trucks had active licenses.

List of food trucks

The following list includes typical locations, along with Twitter handles or semi-permanent locations:

dessert / beverage trucks

Food trailers

Other street vendors

Former food trucks and street vendors

Food truck regulations

By 2012 the Birmingham City Council began responding to private complaints by brick-and-mortar restaurateurs in the City Center by drafting a proposed ordinance to restrict operating hours and locations. The proposal has been debated in Council committee hearings, but has not come up for a vote. Public hearings were renewed in November 2013.

In response to the threat of restrictive regulation, several truck and food cart vendors joined together as the Greater Birmingham Street Food Coalition in early 2013 and proposed an alternate, less restrictive ordinance for consideration. The coalition has also developed a "Food truck lot" at 211 Richard Arrington, Jr Boulevard North.

The Council passed its Birmingham food truck ordinance in December 2013, and amended it in July 2014 to remove some restrictions that applied to groups offering free food to the homeless.

In 2024 the Birmingham City Council updated its Technical Code and began requiring inspections of food trucks conducted by the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and Birmingham Fire Station No. 6. It also initiated a prohibition on operating food trucks underneath the grandstands at Legion Field. The new requirements were shared during a public informational session at Sloss Furnaces on September 16.

Later that year the Council amended its ordinance again to reduce the permit fee and to allow food trucks to operate from any metered space in the city so long as they complied with other requirements, such as maintaining a 150-foot distance from other restaurants.

See Also

Commissary kitchens

Food truck lots and events

References

  • McWhorter, Andy (August 5, 2011) "The Rise of the food truck". Birmingham Weekly
  • Horn, Jason (November 6, 2011) "Birmingham food truck directory". Magic City Post
  • Carlton, Bob (December 6, 2012) "Lawyer for food truck operators urges Birmingham City Council to reconsider mobile food ordinance." The Birmingham News
  • Carlton, Bob (January 18, 2013) "Food truck operators form Greater Birmingham Street Food Coalition to promote, protect industry." The Birmingham News
  • "Best Food Trucks in the South" (January 31, 2013) Deep South
  • Crawford, Cindy F. (September 27, 2013) "Riding the food truck trend." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Godwin, Brent (November 12, 2013) "Ordinance could shake up local food truck scene." Birmingham Business Journal
  • "Your Ultimate Guide to Birmingham’s Food Truck Scene" (July 6, 2016) StyleBlueprint
  • Velasco, Eric (October 4, 2017) "Let's Taco 'bout Taco Trucks: A guide to the city's thriving taco truck scene." The Birmingham News
  • Robertson, Terri (January 9, 2019) "3 new food trucks to check out in Birmingham, including Bayou Bros." Bham Now
  • Parker, Illyshia (March 10, 2023) "Growing food truck scene outpacing available commissary kitchens." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Lewallen, Ayron (September 16, 2024) "Beginning Jan. 2, All Birmingham Food Trucks Must Undergo Fire Inspections." WVTM/The Birmingham Times
  • Gaddy, Daniel (December 3, 2024) "Food Trucks May Roam: Birmingham Council Expands Range for the Traveling Kitchens." BirminghamWatch
  • Wright, Barnett (December 4, 2024) "City of Birmingham Takes Steps to Keep up With the Proliferation of Food Trucks." The Birmingham Times

External links

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