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Nolensville food‑truck owner urges rollback of $250 mobile‑permit fee
Summary
A local food‑truck operator told commissioners the June ordinance raising the mobile‑food permit to $250 has reduced vendors serving Nolensville; he asked the town to restore lower fees, clarify permit categories and exempt single‑event private catering.
At the Board of Commissioners work session, food‑truck owner Dallas Shaw (speaker 7) asked the town to revisit a mobile‑food ordinance adopted in June that set a flat $250 permit fee.
"I'm Dallas Shaw, owner of Hoss's Loaded Burgers," Shaw told the board during citizen comments, saying he helped the town craft a prior mobile‑food ordinance in 2021 and now represents trucks that regularly serve Nolensville neighborhoods. He said the current $250 flat fee "is seen as being too expensive and cost prohibitive" compared with neighboring communities, where renewal fees are often $50 or lower and some jurisdictions charge nothing for short‑term events.
Shaw added that a $50 temporary‑event fee can equal 10–15% of sales for a single neighborhood event, and that national trucks have been reluctant to travel to Nolensville as a result. He also urged the town to align its definitions for "canteen truck," "ice cream truck," and "mobile food truck," which he said overlap and confuse operators.
Shaw asked that food trucks hired for single private parties be exempted from the yearly/mobile permit requirement if the service is a one‑time catering event. He offered to work with staff on ordinance clarifications and said he provided contact information on the citizen‑comment sign‑up form.
The board listened but did not take immediate action; commissioners thanked Shaw and directed staff to retain his contact information for follow‑up if ordinance changes are considered.
