Honolulu County, HI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- ROH § 13-6A.3
- Covers
- Chinatown, College Walk, Sun Yat Sen Mall
- No on-site cooking
- prep must happen off-sidewalk
- Applies to
- existing store merchants only
Summary
In Chinatown, College Walk Mall, Sun Yat Sen Mall, and Historic Moiliili, a store's food peddling on the adjoining sidewalk can't include on-site cooking, cutting, or food prep.
A merchant of a store may peddle on a portion of an abutting sidewalk or mall only goods, wares, merchandise, foodstuffs, refreshments, or other kinds of property or services of the same or a similar character as available in the merchant's store... A merchant of a store shall not cook, cut, trim, or otherwise prepare food for sale or consumption on the portion of a sidewalk or mall usable by the merchant for peddling.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-10: Supplement 10, 12-2025 Ordinance No. 25-40 through Ordinance No. 25-56).
Full Breakdown
Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 13-6A.3 lets a ground-floor merchant peddle food or other goods matching their store's stock on the sidewalk or mall directly outside, in Chinatown, the College Walk Mall, the Sun Yat Sen Mall, and along the Historic Moiliili sidewalk. The section bars cooking, cutting, trimming, or otherwise preparing food for sale or consumption on that sidewalk space, and requires any food sold there to meet all State food-preparation and sanitation rules. Merchants also can't leave trash, boxes, or debris, or install permanent structures, on the portion of sidewalk they use. This applies only in those specific districts, not islandwide, and only to existing storefront merchants, not independent food trucks.
Violations & Fines
Violating the sidewalk peddling restrictions brings a $100 fine for a first offense, $250 for a repeat, or up to $1,000 and 30 days jail for a third.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Chinatown merchant cook food on the sidewalk outside their store?
Does this sidewalk food rule apply across all of Honolulu?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Honolulu County
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