Both Austin and Houston should reduce, if not fully abolish, their distance requirements and streamline the inspection and permitting processes. Texas is a success in many regards, but its cities often find themselves at odds with taxpayers and business owners as they seek to expand regulation and taxes. NYC’s regulations got so bad that a black market for permitting of food trucks opened, arguably, out of necessity. Just a few years ago, New York City street vendors took to the streets not to sell, but to protest the onerous regulations. “Compared with all cities in the Index, complying with restrictions and operating a food truck in Austin is a middling experience – neither easy nor unusually hard,” read the report.
The main complaint was that the inspections are long, the available windows to do so are sparse, and the review process is slow. The problem there is getting it open in the first place. Vendors quoted in the report said that government could support food trucks by allowing them to be on city property if they acquire the proper permitting.Īustin, on the other hand, got pretty positive marks from vendors when it comes to operating their food truck. Houston also requires trucks to pay a $223.65 monthly electronic monitoring fee. For a business model built around moving to where the demand is, restrictive placement regulations can be a big deal for vendors.
When operating on private property, the owner must submit a notarized letter to the city citing they have on-site bathrooms, and the letter must be obtained for every new location one year in advance. That’s not the end of the regulatory nightmare. Regardless of whether the truck and vendor were in service that day, they have to visit the commissary to be serviced. These locations have shared kitchens, storage facilities, and can house the truck when not in operation. Even worse, trucks have to be 100 feet from any setup of tables and chairs.Īnother issue in Houston is that commissary rules require vendors to visit the commissary on a daily basis. This is because the city prohibits trucks within 100 feet from a restaurant or 60 feet from other food trucks, and the vendor is not allowed to park on the street despite being a street vendor. Two owners scored Houston at 2.9 and 2.8 out of 5.
Notably, when the study interviewed Houston food truck owners, they cited zoning as an issue – despite the city’s lack of a zoning code When considering insurance, licenses and permits, taxes, inspection, and registration, the cost to operate in both cities jumps to just over $22,000 annually. Austin does poorly in the “number of restrictions” that are required to operate within the city. Where Houston receives a bad score is in “number of trips” it takes to government agencies to attain all proper permits and documentation. The average cost in Austin for fees is over $1,100, while in Houston it’s nearly $1,800. On average, a food truck owner will have to complete 45 separate government procedures over 37 days and pay over $28,000 in fees for permits, licenses, and other compliance requirements.įor obtaining licensing and permits, Austin was scored 70 and Houston, 61. While that doesn’t seem too bad, they came in after cities like Portland, Denver, and Philadelphia – locations typically expected to have stricter regulatory burdens than Texas cities.
Out of the 20 cities studied by the Foundation, Houston and Austin came in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Their relatively low startup costs, flexible business model, and easy differentiation from each other makes them a popular option for entrepreneurial Americans who don’t have the capital to invest in a standard brick-and-mortar store or restaurant.įood trucks currently operate in over 300 cities, and as they continue to pop up and get more unique in their offerings, local governments look to regulate and generate tax revenue from them. But in the ten years since, they have grown into a $2 billion industry in the United States and became an economic catalyst for many Americans. Pre-2008, food trucks were virtually non-existent. Chamber of Commerce Foundation lays out how these regulations are stifling the growth of the ever-popular food truck industry. While Texas prides itself on a limited regulatory environment, Texas cities are some of the worst offenders of overregulation.