Memphis, TN Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed zones
- OG, CMU-1/2/3, CBD, CMP-1/2, EMP, WD, IH
- Event buffer
- 1,000 ft from special events/farmers' markets
- Stadium buffer
- 300 ft from FedEx Forum/AutoZone Park
- Residential/park
- special use permit required
- Enforced by
- Shelby County Code Enforcement + police
Summary
Memphis confines mobile food preparation vehicles to specific zoning districts under City Code § 9-52-93, Office General, Commercial Mixed Use 1-3, Central Business, Campus Master Plan, Employment, Warehouse and Distribution, Heavy Industrial, and several special-purpose overlay districts, plus school sites with written authorization, and bars them from residential zones without a special use permit.
A.Mobile food preparation vehicles are allowed to operate on sites and city streets, alleys and other public thoroughfares within the Office General (OG); Commercial Mixed Use 1, 2 and 3 (CMU-1, CMU-2 and CMU-3); Central Business (CBD); Campus Master Plan -1 and -2 (CMP-1 and CMP-2); Employment (EMP); Warehouse and Distribution (WD) and Heavy Industrial (IH) zoning districts... B.Mobile food preparation vehicles must operate at least 1,000 feet from permitted special events locations and permitted farmer's market locations and the mobile food preparation vehicle shall not operate within two hours before or after a scheduled, permitted event or farmer's market... Mobile food preparation vehicles may not operate within 300 feet of FedEx Forum or Autozone Park when events are being conducted or within two hours before or after such event.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Charter: Supplement 4).
Full Breakdown
Section 9-52-93(A) lists the exact districts where a mobile food preparation vehicle may operate on sites, streets, alleys and other public thoroughfares: Office General (OG); Commercial Mixed Use 1, 2 and 3 (CMU-1/2/3); Central Business (CBD); Campus Master Plan-1 and -2 (CMP-1/CMP-2); Employment (EMP); Warehouse and Distribution (WD); Heavy Industrial (IH); the South Central Business Improvement Special Purpose District (SCBID); and the Mixed Use, Neighborhood Center Overlay, Uptown Hospital and Uptown Light Industrial districts of the Uptown Special Purpose District. Trucks may also work public or private school sites in residential zones if the school gives written authorization.
Subsection B layers distance and timing rules on top of the zoning list: a truck must stay at least 1,000 feet from a permitted special-events location or farmers' market and cannot operate within two hours before or after a scheduled, permitted event or market unless the organizers give specific authority; near FedEx Forum or AutoZone Park, trucks cannot operate within 300 feet during events or within two hours of one. 6, except where a vendor has a park management agreement setting the times, locations and fees for that specific park. Shelby County Code Enforcement and law enforcement jointly police the section.
Violations & Fines
A mobile food preparation vehicle operating outside the § 9-52-93(A) zoning list, inside the 1,000-foot special-event or farmers'-market buffer, within 300 feet of FedEx Forum or AutoZone Park during an event, or in a residential district without a special use permit is subject to enforcement jointly by Shelby County Code Enforcement and law enforcement, and can lose its underlying § 9-52-86 permit through the § 9-52-7 suspension process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck park in a Memphis residential neighborhood?
How close can a food truck park to FedEx Forum?
Can a food truck set up next to a farmers' market?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Memphis
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