Norfolk, VA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Section 42-38 opens by declaring "No vendor shall operate in any area of the city other than the following," then lists three: property where the zoning ordinance allows vending activity, the footprint of a special event area established under Section 42-48, or the public right-of-way itself under three more conditions. Within the right-of-way, Section 42-38(c)(1) restricts food vendors and merchandise vendors to a designated sidewalk location sited under Section 42-37(b), while Section 42-38(c)(2) sends food truck vendors to a designated parking location sited under Section 42-37(a), which must stay clear of loading zones, fire lanes, and the same ten-foot buffer around intersections and stops.

Ice cream truck vendors get a third option under Section 42-38(c)(3): a designated parking location, or any other part of the right-of-way as long as the truck never sits for more than five minutes and never occupies a metered space. Section 42-48 suspends several of these location rules, along with the vendor-license and utility-hookup requirements, for vendors operating inside a city council- or city manager-designated special event area for the event's duration. Because the vending article treats these location rules as license conditions, Section 42-50(b) lets the city manager suspend or revoke a vendor's license, and bar a new one for a set period, for any vendor found operating outside the zone their license covers.