Franklin, TN Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Franklin's mobile food vending location framework was adopted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on August 28, 2023 (6-0 vote) and is codified at Franklin Municipal Code Title 9 (Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc.), Chapter 11 (Mobile Food Vending). Location rules: (1) Mobile food units shall operate ONLY on developed AND occupied property within the BUSINESS and INDUSTRIAL zoning districts as established under the Franklin Zoning Ordinance (effective 1/13/2026 under Ord. 2025-25). Pure residential zones are NOT permitted vending sites for mobile food units, with the narrow exception that residents may host a food unit on private residential property as the catering vendor for a private event. (2) Operating hours: operations shall cease by 9:00 PM, excluding events on private property where residents host food units as the catering vendor. (3) Permit / sticker: a Franklin Mobile Food Vendor Permit (or Mobile Food Vendor Location-Specific Permit) from Building & Neighborhood Services is required before any operation on any qualifying site. (4) City-wide cap: the pilot framework limits the city-wide program to twelve (12) mobile food units operating per year. (5) Private property: even on private property in a business or industrial zone, the operator needs the landowner's written permission, the Franklin permit, the state fire permit, and the TDH food permit. (6) City rights-of-way: vending in the right-of-way generally requires a separate encroachment / event permit; the Sign Code (Chapter 15) prohibits any sign in the ROW. (7) City parks: Franklin parks are city-owned property under Title 11 (Municipal Offenses) and parks rules; concessionaire agreements typically govern park food sales, so a mobile vendor needs Parks Department approval before operating in a park. (8) Special events (Main Street Festival, Pumpkinfest, Dickens of a Christmas, etc.) operate under their own special-event permit which may set its own vendor allocation. There is NO city-published fixed buffer distance from brick-and-mortar restaurants in Chapter 11. Enforcement: Building & Neighborhood Services (615-794-7012), Franklin Fire Marshal, Franklin Municipal Court — each day a violation continues is a separate offense.