Alexandria, VA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Under Title 9, Chapter 15 of the City Code (general code, not the zoning ordinance), a permitted food truck vendor may vend only at locations the chapter lists in Sec. 9-15-13: on private property where the vendor is legally parked and holds the property owner's written permission (displayed on request); at a farmer's market on public or private property with the market manager's written permission; on city-owned public property, including parks, parking lots and community buildings with 'sufficient space for the parking of vehicles,' subject to the city manager's permission; on Alexandria City Public Schools property with the superintendent's permission; or at a designated on-street vending location established under Sec.

9-15-15. Sec. , and no truck may vend longer than six continuous hours at a stop. Trucks cannot claim exclusive rights to any public-property spot, must fit within a marked parking space, cannot block lighting, trees, overhead wires or utilities, and cannot obstruct ingress, egress, drive aisles or fire lanes. Vending to a pedestrian standing in the street is barred unless the street is closed under a special event or street-closure permit, and trucks may not sell to occupants of a vehicle stopped at a light or in a moving lane.

A truck cannot be left unattended while vending, and no deliveries from another vehicle are allowed while it vends at a designated on-street location. All food trucks must display their required licenses, tags and permits (Sec. 9-15-9) and hold a food truck vendor permit issued by the city manager (Sec. 9-15-8), with narrow exemptions for special-event, special-use-permitted, private-residence and short-term stop trucks.