Apple Valley, MN Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Chapter 118 separates two things. A VENDING CART is a portable or non-permanent structure, enclosure or stand, or a non-motorized vehicle self-propelled by the operator, from which food or beverage is served to the public. A MOBILE FOOD UNIT is a vehicle mounted unit, motorized or trailered. Section 118.01 licenses carts one by one, and § 155.362(A) in the zoning code bars vending carts and mobile food units from selling directly to the general public anywhere in the city except as part of a permitted outdoor commercial promotion, as a registered vendor at a community festival or permitted temporary outdoor event, or at a private event where food is given to guests without direct sales.

Applications go to the Department of Community Development with plans and specifications, proof that the Minnesota Department of Health approved those plans, and proof of application for a food distributor license from that department. The city can issue the license on conditions, and if the cart is not available for inspection within 60 days after the application is filed, the license is revoked. The license runs February 1 through January 31, renewal applications are accepted January 1 through January 15, and the annual fee is the one in § 35.27. A licensee who moves to a different location mid-season pays one-half the annual fee. Section 118.06 caps licenses at four, and the City Council can alter that number at its sole discretion.

Section 118.07 sets the operating conditions. Carts sell only the food and nonalcoholic beverage items listed in the application, use no bells, horns or whistles to attract customers, and cannot operate before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. No cart can park, stand or stop in any street except to cross at designated crossings, and no sale can be made to a person in a motor vehicle stopped in a public street. Everyone handling food must wear shirts, and each cart returns to a licensed permanent location at least once daily. Under § 118.08 a cart cannot exceed four feet in width, eight feet in length and eight feet in height, with an awning overhang of not more than 12 inches, and it must carry a decal and a sign no smaller than 12 inches by 12 inches.