Plano might be getting a food truck park.
City officials plan to vote this evening on a measure that would ease restrictions on mobile food vending, allowing trucks to operate permanently at a single location.
Currently, selling burritos from the window of a kitchen with wheels in Plano is significantly more complicated than running a traditional restaurant. Venders can only operate up to 45 days a year in the city, significantly limiting revenue. The new resolution would allow them to sell year round.
Dallas has gone through a dismantling of legislation that makes operating a food truck difficult, too, chipping away at parking and permitting requirements. Still, it's regarded as one of the most regulated cities in which to operate a food truck.
One of the easiest ways to operate within Dallas city limits is to do so on private property. Jason Boso uses this method, filling his Truck Yard with hundreds of customers at a time, but the number of food trucks operating here pales in comparison to nearby Austin, a city that was quick to embrace mobile vendors.
Fort Worth has operated a similar food truck park since December 2011. If food trucks are allowed to have a permanent presence in Plano there's a chance a similar outdoor food truck could crop up -- hopefully just in time for spring's warmer weather.
