Columbia, SC Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Chapter 11, Article VII, Division 3 defines and restricts where sidewalk vending may occur. Section 11-252 defines a vending district as the zone or area specifically designated for vending franchises, meaning vending is confined to locations council has affirmatively designated, not any public sidewalk citywide. Section 11-258 then lists the prohibited locations within a vending district: no cart may sit within 50 feet of the principal public entrance to a food service business not owned by the vendor that sells merchandise approved for the vendor, at any location lacking a clear pedestrian passageway of at least four feet, within ten feet of any building entranceway, within 50 feet of a police or fire station driveway or within 25 feet of any other driveway, at any spot obstructing pedestrian crosswalks or intersection sight lines, or within 25 feet of a bus stop sign.

Section 11-256(d) reinforces the competitive-distance rule by presuming that the owner of a food service business selling the same approved merchandise within 50 feet of that business's principal entrance can best serve the public interest for that location, giving existing brick-and-mortar food businesses practical priority over new cart applicants nearby.