Food Trucks Can Now Park in More Reston Locations

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by Andrea Swalec October 8, 2014 at 10:30 am 1,075 15 Comments

Reston residents and workers can expect to see food trucks in more places.

Food trucks can now do business at shopping centers, office buildings and construction sites, after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved new rules on Tuesday.

The changes dropped the fees for vendors from more than $16,000 to just $100, making it easier for the trucks to do business. Fairfax County Chairman Sharon Bulova said locals will see more of this “complement to Fairfax County’s dining experiences.”

“I expect to see more of them operating at popular destinations such as Tysons, Mosaic District, Reston Town Center and the newly renovated Springfield Mall,” Bulova said in a statement.

The trucks can park at a single location for a maximum of four hours and must have property owners’ written consent to operate there. As many as three trucks can operate at a single location.

Vendors may only set up shop at developed industrial or commercial properties with a minimum of 25,000 square feet of floor area. The trucks are still forbidden from being parked on public roads.

Mike M

Did the victim have a description of the perps?

What did they take? Were they after something in particular? Are these controversial questions?

It seems you censored these questions last night. But I think they are pretty basic elements of reporting crime. No?
- Andrea Swalec
  
  Hi, Mike. You’re referring to the mugging story yesterday afternoon? I asked police for additional information yesterday and will update the story when it’s provided.
  - Mike M
    
    TY! Not sure how I put this comment on this story.
- ?
  
  Did someone attack a food truck?
  - Mike M
    
    No. As noted I commented in the wrong section.
east297

And what do the restaurants paying big rents at town center think about food trucks?
- Bill
  
  The restaurants paying big rents should appreciate the traffic. Competition is good!!!!
  - Rob Norwood
    
    This is a very good point. Restaurants tend to have more business when surrounded by other restaurants. Neighborhoods with a high restaurant density become destination neighborhoods for commerce.
- thebratwurstking
  
  The restaurants also have much bigger volume in sales, longer opening hours AND are able to serve alcohol, which has a huge profit margin.
Mike M

Laura, thanks for the clarification. I am definitely due for a stint at the re-education camps.
Rob Norwood

“The trucks are still forbidden from being parked on public roads.” As long as there is legal and safe parking, this seems absurd.
- thebratwurstking
  
  Well said…
thebratwurstking

Unfortunately, this article is factually inaccurate as well as misleading. There has never been a $16,000 fee paid by any food truck, nor had any of us have to go through any hearing process, even though it lists the same information on the county website. All trucks had to pay $35.00 annually for a solicitor’s license as well as $40.00 for the also annual food establishment permit.

While the opportunity to serve in commercial properties sounds nice, every food truck will have to fork over $100.00 for each location and most likely will have to pay the additional $100.00 that is required from the business property potentially hosting a truck. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely, that any truck will be allowed in the listed shopping malls, or for that matter, many other commercial properties. Any feasible property that already has a tenant providing food, usually has a contract with their landlord, prohibiting any competition. On rare occasions, see Food Truck Thursday at Reston Town Center, exceptions are possible, however, this particular program is only open to a couple of trucks once a month.

Lastly, it has been stated repeatedly, that food trucks may not park on public roads to sell food. The reason given is that this is prohibited by state law. Oddly enough, that does not seem to affect the food trucks in Arlington. Last time I checked, that is also in Virginia. So go figure…

Anyhow, it is what it is for now, hopefully, the Arlington example leaves room for some modifications in the future. We are lucky enough to have recently obtained one of the few permits in a county park and will start serving at Baron Cameron Park next week. While this comes at a steep price for any food operator (15% of your gross sales go to the county on top of all other taxes we already pay) but that is the cost of doing business in Fairfax County these days.

Hope this sheds a little light on our daily reality. Also hope to see you at The Bratwurst King food truck in the near future.
- Mike M
  
  I always wanted to meet the bratwurst king. I’d like to introduce you to the beer queen. Now THAT would be a marriage made in heaven. Roll out the barrel!
  - thebratwurstking
    
    sounds interesting, but I get the feeling my wife might not approve

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