Bergenfield, NJ Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Section 344-29E(4) of the Borough Code, part of the Sanitary Code's mobile retail food establishment rules amended in 2020 by Ord. No. 20-2573, prohibits mobile food vendors, defined in § 344-29A as anyone selling non-prepackaged food or drink from a truck, van, trailer or pushcart, from serving customers along any public street in Bergenfield, including from a metered or nonmetered parking space, and from any public sidewalk or right-of-way. The prohibition applies borough-wide and is separate from the vendor's underlying $150 annual Department of Health license and the $50, 90-day zoning permit required for the M and B-2 zoned private properties where vending is otherwise allowed under § 344-29E(1).

The only relief valve is a case-by-case exception granted by the Borough Administrator "when the public interest requires," the same limited standard used elsewhere in § 344-29E for special events such as fairs, festivals or carnivals capped at five days. Absent that discretionary approval, a vendor parked at a curb, in a metered spot, or set up on a sidewalk is operating unlawfully even with a valid Department of Health license and a zoning permit for a different property, because the license and permit authorize a specific private site, not the public right-of-way. Enforcement runs through the Department of Health, Building Department, Fire Department, Police Department and Borough Administrator, all empowered under § 344-29G to inspect and enforce the section.