A customer transaction at Kuki’s food truck. While it is less expensive – and perhaps easier – for chefs to start a food truck career than to open a traditional restaurant, there are some hurdles prospective owners might not expect.
ON A DREARY MORNING IN SALINAS IN A PARKING LOT BEHIND MONTEREY COUNTY’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU, two food trucks wait for inspection. Both are from San Jose, both specialize in tortillas. The owners are seeking approval to work in Monterey County.
Ismael Chavira, the inspector from Environmental Health, greets Eduardo Alvarez, owner of Tortilleria La Familiar, and checks his paperwork. Physical inspection of the truck takes about 30 minutes.
Alvarez operates two food trucks and has worked in San Jose for the past two years. “I was just trying to bring a little bit of Mexico over here to Salinas,” Alvarez says. He hasn’t decided where he will be setting up, but notes he will start as soon as he receives his license.
Food and fire inspections are required annually for any food vendor who operates in the county; those that operate within city limits may require additional licensing. At the county level, the consumer protection team at Environmental Health inspects every food vendor, from the paletero selling popsicles on the streets to home kitchens, food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants. Among other things, inspectors check if the space is sanitary, that there are protocols to avoid cross-contamination and that refrigeration is at the proper temperature.
The annual county permit for vehicles that prepare hot meals onsite runs $1,060. Cart operators pay $501. As of April 2025, the county had issued 266 food truck permits. Eighty-two of them are currently permitted to operate in Salinas, while only eight are in Monterey. A roaming permit for the City of Salinas costs just over $1,000. (Temporary permits can be provided for special events, such as music festivals.)
Steven Bracisco, owner of the Salinas-based pop-up SMS Clam Chowder Hut, recently purchased a food truck. His tent makes regular appearances at Oldtown Salinas and Carmel Valley farmers markets, and he also sets up in Sand City, outside of Post No Bills. Bracisco says the process took some time, “but it wasn’t as bad as everybody else was telling me because I bought the food truck used and I picked it up out of Santa Cruz.
Steven Bracisco, owner and chef at SMS Clam Chowder Hut, preps some ingredients at his commissary location in Carmel, then makes clam chowder in the food truck from scratch.
“Trying to buy a food truck or a food trailer, and coming in from scratch – if you don’t know what you’re doing, I think the process would be a lot harder,” Bracisco adds.
Food trucks are subject to requirements that are not necessarily intuitive for a new owner. If serving at a location for more than an hour, for example, there must be bathroom access within 200 feet. The owner must have a non-mobile kitchen to store and prepare ingredients, as well as a place to park the truck when not in use.
America Leon, an environmental health specialist with the county, points out that providing a menu to the department is critical because it can change equipment requirements. If the owner uses a deep fryer in the truck, for example, a kitchen hood to remove smoke, steam and grease is required.
Many truck operators use a commissary kitchen to prep some ingredients; Leon says finding a commissary location is a step many entrepreneurs find challenging. A standing kitchen is important because many food trucks shut off power for extended periods, and owners need a space to prepare meals, store fresh ingredients and dispose of trash and dirty water.
But paperwork is the most daunting task. “I think it can be overwhelming where to start, because they see all these forms online,” Leon says. “Or sometimes they just get a big packet.” (Environmental Health staff members are able to help guide operators when it comes to completing paperwork.)
The process is lengthier when vendors opt to buy a new truck because they also need to pass a state inspection, required for new or out-of-state food trucks to make sure plumbing, electrical and equipment meet safety and health standards.
“Because of that extra step that they go to the state, it could be a few months to get them fully permitted,” Leon says, noting they must pass the state inspection before the county inspection.
The department recommends that people call them before investing thousands of dollars in an out-of-state food truck because there is a chance it won’t pass state requirements.
There can be other unexpected roadblocks, as well. Permits with the County of Monterey and City of Salinas cover a fiscal year. Permits in the City of Monterey, meanwhile, are issued per calendar year.
Monterey has had a food truck ordinance since 2015, and it offers three types of mobile vending permits: long and short-term, as well as on private property. Food trucks can work from 8am-8pm at various busy streets including Del Monte Avenue, Cass Street and Harris Court. Lighthouse Avenue is off-limits.
“The street widths are fairly narrow and to have a mobile food vending truck there was considered to be a safety hazard,” explains Kimberly Cole, Monterey’s community development director.
In 2021, the City of Salinas approved a food truck ordinance increasing the number of stationary food trucks from 32 to 52, and removing its cap limits for mobile food trucks. Currently, the city has 46 designated and 36 roaming food trucks. The city also offers permits for food trucks on private property, but costly code compliance deters the practice.
Besides state and county permits, food truck vendors also need a business license and vendor permit with the city where they operate.
Since the ordinance was established, Salinas has made amendments to increase the hours of operation – from 8am-8pm to 6am-10pm – and allowable time at a single location from four to six hours. Every year, they also raffle spots for established vending opportunities.
Salinas Assistant Engineer Fernando Rizo says they have relocated at least three food trucks from dangerous or poorly performing areas. If such claims are supported, city officials ask vendors to propose three alternative locations; each is reviewed and once it’s approved, they send a letter to property owners and invite public response.
Jesus Perez, owner of three La Paloma trucks, says in Spanish that he requested the relocation of one truck from Cherokee Drive by Northgate Park to Abbott Street.
“I endured a year there thinking [sales] will get better,” Perez says, noting his spot was too close to a residential area, and sales weren’t as good as he hoped.
Once the city’s new ordinance was in effect, he was able to get a roaming permit. “It wasn’t easy to get a permit before,” he says.
According to Rizo, most of the complaints the city receives aren’t related to food safety, but rather for noise – especially near residential areas. “Unfortunately, food truck vendors don’t have control over their patrons,” he adds.
Besides annual inspections, the health department performs checks throughout the year. They review how food trucks are currently operating or to investigate complaints.
“If we receive any complaints about any food trucks, we will go out there unannounced and do an inspection,” Leon says.
EVEN AS THE REGULATORY WORLD TURNS, CONSUMER INTEREST IN FOOD TRUCKS CONTINUES TO GROW. Salinas is currently working on an online map identifying the locations and routes of food trucks in the city. There have been food truck-specific events on Market Street and at the Salinas airport. This year, What’s Grubbin’ Salinas began gathering once a month at the train station.
La Paloma owner Jesus Perez was able to get a roaming permit, thanks to a new ordinance in Salinas. A truck he stationed for a year by Northgate Park did not draw as much business as he had expected.
In Marina, a mobile food vending ordinance has been in effect for less than two years. There are four active mobile food vending permits and about a dozen sidewalk permits, and they can operate from 7am-11pm away from high-traffic areas such as Imjin Parkway or Reservation Road.
Marisa Huntley, Marina’s code enforcement officer, says few vendors means less competition. “It’s good business for them because we have very few,” she says.
Before this ordinance, vendors obtained a solicitors permit and the Marina Police Department managed the program instead of the city’s Community Development Department. “It was a little bit more difficult,” says Huntley, “because through the police department, you have to get a background check, fingerprints and ID card, etc.” But if the process goes smoothly, vendors can obtain a permit the same day.
Guido Persicone, Marina’s Community Development Department director, says most food trucks and sidewalk vendors aren’t English speakers so they decided to make the process as simple as possible, with applications in English and Spanish.
(Other jurisdictions, including Monterey County and Salinas, offer applications in English and Spanish.)
Persicone notes the vending permit costs the city close to $1,200 to process, but truck owners are charged $250-$475 per year. “If you charge the full amount, no one is going to apply for the permit,” he says.
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