The Vending Spot Vetting Checklist

Stage one: confirm you are allowed to park there

• Pull the mobile vending rules for that exact jurisdictionCity, county, and sometimes a business improvement district all have a say, and they do not agree. Good looks like a printed or saved copy of the current ordinance section that covers the block you want.
• Check the distance rules that apply to the blockMany cities set minimum distances from restaurant frontage, school property, hydrants, crosswalks, bus stops, and other vendors. Measure it yourself rather than trusting whoever offered you the spot.
• Confirm your health permit covers this countyCrossing a county line often means a separate mobile food permit and sometimes a separate plan review. Call the health department before you book, not after the schedule goes out.
• Get written permission if it is private propertyA verbal yes from a brewery manager does not survive a new manager. A short signed note naming the days, hours, and where you park is enough for most health departments and for you.
• Ask how parking enforcement treats that streetTime limits, street sweeping days, and event closures decide whether you can hold the spot through service. Ask a nearby business owner, because they know the pattern better than the city website does.
• Verify the fire clearance around the truckYou need clearance from structures, awnings, and other vehicles for a propane appliance, and some jurisdictions set an exact distance. If the only workable spot puts your exhaust under a canopy, the answer is no.

Stage two: walk the site before you commit

• Measure the pull in, the grade, and the overhead clearanceBring a tape and check the approach, any low branches or wires, and whether the surface lets you level. A truck that cannot get level has a fryer you should not be running.
• Find the power and ask who pays for itIf shore power exists, confirm the amperage, the plug type, and whether the circuit is shared with anything that trips. If there is no power, price the generator hours or battery capacity you will burn each service.
• Locate potable water and the legal gray water dumpKnow where you fill, how far the dump is, and whether it is approved. Dumping gray water at a spot without an approved disposal point is the fastest way to lose both the location and your permit.
• Look at where the line will physically standPeople need somewhere to queue that is not the traffic lane or the entrance to another business. A spot with nowhere to line up caps your throughput no matter how fast the kitchen is.
• Note the wind, the shade, and where your exhaust blowsAfternoon sun on the service side will cook your crew and your cold holding. Exhaust drifting into an office door or a patio will generate complaints that end the arrangement in a month.
• Check cell signal at the windowStand where the point of sale will be and test both card processing and your phone. A dead spot means cash only service or a hotspot you have to plan for, and it is better to know before opening day.

Stage three: test the demand before you buy the season

• Count foot traffic during your actual service windowSit there on the same weekday and hour you would be open and count people passing for fifteen minutes. Midday traffic in an office park looks nothing like the four in the afternoon walk through.
• List every food option within two blocksWalk it and write down the price point and speed of each one. You are not looking for empty ground, you are looking for a gap in what people can get in a thirty minute lunch.
• Ask three nearby workers when they take lunchShift patterns decide everything about a weekday lot. Two hospitals a mile apart can have completely different peaks, and matching your hours to the real break time is worth more than a better menu.
• Run two trial services on different weekdaysOne day tells you nothing because weather and novelty both distort it. Two days on different weekdays gives you a range and shows whether the second visit brought back familiar faces.
• Track tickets per hour, not just gross salesGross hides a slow steady day that never built a line. Tickets per hour tells you whether the spot can ever support the volume you need, which is the number that decides a season.
• Write down how many people asked when you would be backThat question is the single best leading indicator at a new spot. A location where a dozen people ask on day one will build, and one where nobody asks usually will not.

Stage four: lock it in and tell people

• Get the terms in writing before the third serviceName the days, the hours, the fee or percentage, who supplies power and water, and how either side ends it. One page is plenty, and it prevents the argument that would otherwise cost you the spot.
• Set a fixed weekly slot people can rememberThe same day and the same hours every week beats a better spot on a rotating schedule. Regulars build around a pattern, and a pattern is what turns a lot into a route.
• Post the exact pin, never just the neighborhoodA cross street and a map pin get people to the window. A neighborhood name gets them to a parking garage two blocks away, and half of them give up before they find you.
• Send the location and menu at the same hour every service dayConsistency is what trains customers to check. Whether you use CurbsideDrop or a notepad and three apps, pick a time and hold it so the message becomes part of their lunch decision.
• Log what each spot cleared and review the route monthlyKeep a simple line per service with the fee, the gross, and the ticket count. After a month the weak spots are obvious, and dropping one for a better day is the cheapest revenue increase you have.