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

5, Prohibition from Using Public Streets, starts from a general rule: it is unlawful for any transient merchant, itinerant vendor, itinerant merchant, peddler, hawker or solicitor to sell, buy or offer goods, wares or services on any portion of a public right-of-way in Linden. The same section then carves out mobile retail food establishments specifically, allowing them to solicit sales of the goods and services normally offered by a food truck on the public right-of-way or City property, but only under a strict dwell-time limit: no mobile retail food establishment may stand at the same location, on any public right-of-way or City property, for more than 15 minutes.

The ordinance defines '"same location"' broadly for this purpose, covering the physical spot where the truck has stopped or is standing across all public rights-of-way or City property within 200 yards of the vehicle, which prevents a truck from beating the 15-minute clock by simply rolling a few car lengths down the same block. 1, bars any transient merchant, itinerant vendor, peddler, hawker or solicitor, including food trucks, from selling in any municipal building or on municipal property without the express permission of the City Council, so a truck cannot set up in a City parking lot or municipal plaza on its own initiative. 6 and the Board of Health's mobile food truck fee.