Chicago food carts cannot prepare food at their carts and may sell only prepackaged, sealed items, according to a Reason commentary. The rule can make assembling a hot dog in a bun or shaving ice and adding syrup a technical violation, amid a complex permit system.
Food-cart operators must prepare food in a shared kitchen, requiring a license that costs $330 for two years. Chicago has separate permits for motorized vendors that cannot prepare food on site, motorized vendors that can, and nonmotorized handcarts limited to preprepared, wrapped food. The commentary estimates that 80% of the city's food-cart operators are immigrants who may face language barriers with the rules.
Separately, a 2012 rule bars food trucks within 200 feet of brick-and-mortar restaurants; a lawsuit seeking to overturn it failed. The article says truck numbers fell nearly 50% in the years after the rule took effect, while Food Truck Nation reported in 2018 that only 3% of the Loop was legally available to them. Fines for breaking the distance rule are ten times those for parking in front of a fire hydrant. Food Truck Nation's estimate of 15 inspections per truck per year may include festival inspections, the commentary notes.
