Cranston, RI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Except as hereinafter provided, all hawkers and peddlers desiring to sell, or offer for sale as hawkers and peddlers, any articles or substances within the city, and all persons desiring to sell or offer for sale any goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles or substances, on any street in the city, shall first obtain a license therefor, to be issued by the safety services and licenses committee, and to that end shall make application to such committee for such license therefor, respectively, as may be desired. Upon the recommendation or approval of the chief of police in writing, the safety services and licenses committee may issue a license accordingly to such person, respectively, to sell the articles and substances hereinbefore mentioned in such manner as shall be specified in such license, upon any street in the city, or to hawkers and peddlers authorizing them to sell, or offer for sale as hawkers and peddlers, any articles or substances within the city for the period from the date of such license until the last day of March next following such date. Such licenses may be issued subject to conditions imposed by such committee, and made subject to the regulations of the committee.

B. "Mobile food establishments" licensed pursuant to 5.44 are not hawkers or peddlers and are explicitly exempted from this chapter. (Prior code § 21-1; Ord. 2019-37, § 1, 9/23/2019)