St. Petersburg, FL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed ROW corridor
- Bayshore Dr–8th St, 5th Ave N–S
- Spacing from restaurants
- 100 ft minimum
- Spacing between carts
- 100 ft minimum
- Hours (right-of-way)
- 7 a.m.–1 a.m.
- Cart size cap
- 5.5 x 10 x 8 ft
- Insurance required
- $500,000 general liability
Summary
St. Petersburg limits right-of-way pushcart vending to a defined downtown corridor between Bayshore Drive and 8th Street and between 5th Avenue North and 5th Avenue South. Carts need a POD permit, must sit at least 100 feet from any restaurant and from other carts, and may only operate 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
The POD is authorized to issue permits for the retail sale of flowers, plants, fruits, vegetables, beverages, hot dogs, and other pre-cooked and pre-packaged foods including hamburgers, sandwiches, ice cream and snack type edibles, from pushcarts on rights-of-way lying between Bayshore Drive and 8th Street, and between 5th Avenue North and 5th Avenue South, including both sides of the rights-of-way of the boundary streets. Vendors shall comply with state, county and municipal health laws and ordinances. Cooking of raw food shall not be allowed on pushcarts, however, the heating of pre-cooked foods shall be allowed. Alcoholic beverages shall not be sold from a pushcart. A sale to any person in or on a vehicle is prohibited.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 54).
Full Breakdown
Pushcart vending is governed by St. 9. 2 allows retail sale of flowers, plants, produce, beverages, hot dogs and pre-cooked or pre-packaged foods from pushcarts as an accessory use in commercial districts, but bars carts from vacant or undeveloped land, requires the written permission of the property owner or nearest tenant, and keeps carts at least 100 feet from any previously permitted restaurant not on the same lot; carts may run only during the adjacent business's hours. 3 confines POD-issued pushcart permits to the corridor lying between Bayshore Drive and 8th Street and between 5th Avenue North and 5th Avenue South, and bans cooking raw food, alcohol sales, and sales to anyone in a vehicle.
6 keep carts out of medians, require at least 100 feet from any restaurant on the same block face, at least 100 feet between cart locations, no more than two locations per block face per side, at least 18 inches from the back of the curb with six feet left clear for pedestrians, and at least five feet from any crosswalk or fire hydrant. 4 caps a pushcart at 5½ feet wide, ten feet long and eight feet tall, prohibits motorized propulsion, and allows only a cooking apparatus for reheating pre-cooked food. 00 per occurrence naming the City as additional insured.
Violations & Fines
Selling from a pushcart outside these terms is a violation of § 16.50.450.1. As with other Code offenses, § 1-7(c) sets a fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with continuing violations counted as a separate offense each day; failing to maintain required insurance under § 16.50.450.9 can also trigger suspension or revocation of the pushcart permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What insurance does a pushcart vendor need?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Petersburg
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