The long wait for food trucks in Enfield is over.
The Department of Development Services announced April 28 that the permitting process to allow “mobile food vendors” to sell food at nine approved public sites around town is officially open.
The council deliberated on and studied the food truck issue for more than a year before passing an ordinance in August making it possible for food trucks to operate in town. The council passed rules and regulations regarding the permitting process in December.
The approved sites are the Town Hall parking lot at 820 Enfield St.; the South Street public parking lot on the corner of Pearl and South streets; the Barnes Boat Launch parking lot at 12 South River St.; Freshwater Pond Park on the south side of North Main Street only; the Brainerd Park parking lot at 133 Brainard Road; Hazardville Park, on the east side of School Street only; the Powder Hollow parking lot at the end of Dust House Road; the Green Manorville Park parking lot at 198 Taylor Road; and the Enfield Public Library parking lot at 104 Middle Road.
Director of Development Services Michael Ciriello said earlier this week that it was “pretty exciting” to have the process finally open. He said then that the town had yet to issue any permits, noting that would-be food truck vendors have several steps they have to take before a daily vendor permit can be issued.
In order to legally sell food in Enfield, food truck operators must first secure a food service license from the North Central District Health Department.
Next, they must obtain a mobile food vendor license from the town’s Building Inspection Department. The license, valid for one year, is $50 for out-of-town operators whose truck/trailer/vehicle is not registered in Enfield or who do not already maintain a licensed food service establishment in town. For local vendors who are already licensed in town, the license is free.
The separate resident and non-resident payment structure is part of a town effort to achieve some parity in the initiative for owners of brick-and-mortar restaurants in town, some of whom voiced concern that they would be adversely and unfairly impacted by allowing food trucks.
The third step in the process is completing a background check, which must be done with the Records Division of the Enfield Police Department.
Once those steps are complete, vendors must bring their documentation to Town Clerk Suzanne Olechnicki’s office, where they can apply for a daily vendor permit.
Daily vendor permits are divided into “dayparts,” from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 2 to 9 p.m. They cost $10 per daypart for vendors whose registered commercial kitchen is located in Enfield, and $20 per daypart for all other vendors.
Ciriello said that right now, daily vending permits are limited to two per daypart per site, so there won’t be any “food truck parks” in Enfield at this point, though he said that could change sometime in the future.
He said vendors can apply for a daily vendor permit up to 30 days in advance, and permits are available on a first-come, first-served basis. He said Olechnicki’s office is keeping a calendar with available dates, and it can’t hold dates for vendors prior to them applying for a permit.
Ciriello said that right now, the permitting process has to be done in person, as there is a glitch in the online permitting process. He said the town hopes to eventually be able to issue permits online.
Ciriello said that rather than hold up the process even further to work out the online kinks, it’s time to test the process.
“This is a good opportunity to see how it works,” he said. “We can fine tune it in the future.”
Ciriello said his office would look for feedback from vendors and participants in the process, as well as patrons of the food trucks.
“We’ll evaluate at the end of the season, and will look at how we can improve,” he said.
Ciriello said the Planning and Zoning Commission is considering regulations regarding mobile food vendors operating on private property.
For more information on the permitting process, call 860-253-6507, or visit the Development Services page on the town’s website.
