Food truck operators wasted no time wheeling their way to City Hall for a permit Wednesday, the day after Whiteville City Council voted to loosen its food truck ordinance.
And some applicants are even hoping for seconds, requesting not only one but two permits for separate food truck enterprises.
As of Friday, according to Planning Director Robert Lewis, the applicants and their to-be-registered businesses are:
Jimmy Spivey, for When Pigs Fly BBQ and Franks-N-Fries Food Truck;
DeLynn Hyatt, for Kona Ice and Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck;
Edward Joshua, for E&J Krab Shack;
Mahmoud Abdelnabi, for Zeko’s Italian Restaurant; and
According to the amended ordinance, food trucks are now allowed to operate on four days out of the week, during limited times and on specific types of property — as long as they’ve obtained a permit with the city first.
Previously, food trucks were only allowed to operate on public property during special events.
Lewis said he wasn’t surprised that so many permit applications were filed so soon after council’s decision to pave the way for more food trucks.
However, there are only 10 permits available for food trucks.
Given how so many food truck operators were “anxious to get started,” Lewis said he’s preparing to draft another change to the ordinance.
At a future meeting, the Whiteville Planning Board will possibly consider either increasing the number of permitted food trucks or even doing away with the limit altogether, Lewis said.
