The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed an update to the city’s sidewalk food cart ordinance on Thursday that will expand the locations where carts can operate and allow license holders to sell at up to three spots.
The revised ordinance is one of a series of steps the city is taking to address the proliferation of unlicensed food vendors in recent years — many of them immigrants who don’t have a permit to work legally in the U.S.
Some of the most visible street vendors were Ecuadorian immigrants selling fruit from highway medians. Others sold hot foods at local parks as they tried to dodge city enforcement.
The city stepped up education and enforcement, and the council approved funding in December to start a program to help street vendors legally set up their businesses.
“We really want to get [the ordinance approved] ahead of the summer months so our vendors can get out on the street,” said Council Member Jason Chavez, who spearheaded the changes, along with Council Member Aurin Chowdhury.
After the meeting council members were greeted by more than two dozen street vendors who attended Thursday’s meeting.
“Thanks to you guys,” said Gloria Gonzalez. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Gonzalez had been selling tamales in Minneapolis before having her operations shut down by city inspectors.
She said right before she stopped vending she had bought a new cart to better serve clients. Now Gonzalez said she’ll be able to tweak it and use it again once she gets her permit.
Jovita Morales, leader of the Minnesota Immigrant Movement, said the updated ordinance is a step forward for unlicensed vendors, who have been meeting regularly since last fall, after some were hit with repeated fines.
“We passed it, but this is just the start,” she said to the vendors. “We need to study, get permits and see how we’re going to save money to buy your carts.”
More neighborhoods
The updated ordinance will expand the areas where street carts are allowed from downtown and a few commercial corridors, like Lake Street and Chicago Avenue, to most of the city’s goods and services corridors.
Some of the new locations include Penn Avenue in north Minneapolis, Lyndale Avenue South, which runs past the Walker and through Uptown, and Central Avenue, a thriving northeast Minneapolis commercial corridor.
Chowdhury and Chavez said the city now needs to make sure permit fees for street vendors are affordable and vendors are in compliance.
They said a nonprofit organization has been selected to help vendors work towards compliance.
The nonprofit will be using $150,000 in funds the City Council included in this year’s budget to launch a street vendor grant and compliance program.
The ordinance requires licensees to maintain a permanent location within city limits where they prepare all food and beverages sold at the cart. They need to return their carts daily to that spot for cleaning to remain in compliance.
After Thursday’s meeting Chowdhury put out a call to the public saying vendors would still be needing additional help.
“[They need] accessible commissary kitchens to prepare their foods, we need support in getting sidewalk carts themselves, financial support to make sure the vendors have access to the equipment they need,” Chowdhury said.
Council members at Thursday’s meeting expressed excitement about the possibility of getting to see street vendors in their wards selling food.
“I can get an agua fresca,” Chowdhury said. “I’m also excited to see other foods from different community members that have been interested in offering these amenities.”
Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents parts of north Minneapolis, said she looked forward to trying new street foods.
“Licensed North Side street vendors are really excited about the changes,” Vetaw said.
Chavez said there will be a transitional period where vendors are surveyed on what foods they sell so they can be added to the approved foods list.
Currently, the list is limited to hotdogs, hand-dipped ice cream and packaged food.
“I’m excited that these food carts are going to come all over our city to show the cultural food that we have in this city and [they will be] making sure that more people have access to delicious food,” Chavez said.
Vendors will need to have their locations and equipment approved. All street cart vendors will need to use an approved nonmotorized cart that can be propelled and operated by a single person.
They are not allowed to operate within 200 feet of a public school or park. They can, however, get a daily permit from the Park and Recreation Board, which limits the number of vendors per park. Daily permits are $35 on weekdays and $100 on the weekends.
Hours for sidewalk cart vendors are also being changed to better resemble those for food trucks. Carts can operate from 6 a.m. to midnight, except those near residential buildings, which are limited from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Neighbors concerned over growing street vendors presence
Although the ordinance had many supporters present at City Council, there were also people opposed to the expansion of street vendor locations who submitted written comments.
According to some of the public comments submitted to the city, some residents were concerned with the growing presence of vendors at Powderhorn Park.
The park has been a hotspot for Ecuadorian vendors who sell hot food. Sarah Rorvick, a Ward 9 resident, submitted a comment online saying nearby vendors have been causing traffic congestion and mentioned several “large smoking grills billowing smoke in front of houses” in the area.
Powderhorn Park was the top spot for vendor citations, with 17 fines being handed out there from January 2023 through December 2024.
Complaints from the public mentioned vendors blocking access to sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks and instances of speeding and unsafe cooking operations.
“There was a group of children playing soccer in the street right next to this van and the two cauldrons of boiling oil. That was a bad burn accident just waiting to happen,” read one of the other submitted comments.
Chavez also introduced a motion on Thursday to set a minimum overhang length of at least 12 inches for awning connected to the carts vendors will use.
City code does not specify the length of awning or require the covering, according to Chavez, but the amendment was made because of feedback at the public hearing.
Chavez said the awning is meant to shield food, vendors and customers during adverse weather.
Chowdhury also introduced a motion to shrink the buffer zone between carts and K-12 public schools from 500 to 200 feet to be in line with the rules for food trucks.
Both motions were approved.
Mayor Jacob Frey had previously signaled his support of the revised ordinance and reiterated that in a statement Thursday.
He said the revised ordinance balances public health and safety while expanding food options in Minneapolis.
“This ordinance empowers new entrepreneurs, particularly immigrants and people of color, to grow their businesses and secure a better future for their families,” he said.
