Durham, NC Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

City Code Chapter 54, Article II governs "right-of-way sales activities", selling from a cart, cooler, table, or motor vehicle on public sidewalks, alleys, or on-street parking. Section 54-88 bans such sales outright unless a seller qualifies for the Section 54-91 exemption, limited to food and to newspapers or other First Amendment-protected material. Qualifying sales gear may sit on a paved sidewalk, the core downtown park, or a paved on-street parking space, never in a loading zone, and one sales vehicle cannot occupy more than one parking space.

Subsection (e) requires at least four feet of unobstructed pedestrian space on sidewalks and paths, rising to five feet if there is no five-by-five passing space within 200 feet, and gear must sit at least ten feet from street intersections, crosswalks, bus shelters, taxi stands, building entrances, fire stations, police stations, and fire hydrants, and at least 20 feet from any bank, credit union, savings and loan entrance, or ATM. Gear from different sellers must stay ten feet apart. Subsection (d) bars customer seating and tables unless paired with a wheeled cart or vehicle, limiting any seat to one per salesperson and barring customer use of it.

Subsection (f) adds a 50-foot buffer from a restaurant's principal entrance for food vendors, extending to 50 feet from any outdoor dining table if the restaurant holds its own Section 54-110 permit. Sellers must keep marked trash and recycling containers within 15 feet of the vehicle, clear litter hourly, and remove unattended gear after ten minutes. Subsection (n) requires every food seller to register and pay a council-set fee, with registration expiring each June 30, and to show the receipt to any city employee or officer on request.