NAMPA, Idaho — Nampa sent out a letter to all food trucks in the city in July and in October saying they would start to enforce city code surrounding mobile food vendors.
Mobile food vendors fall under the peddler and solicitor code in Nampa.
The code prohibits overnight parking, something a lot of food trucks do.
The Perking Spot in Nampa has served coffee for three years.
They moved their trailer into the parking lot off Caldwell Blvd. and Karcher Rd. The two owners Sonia Champlin and Rae-Ann Birney moved from Las Vegas to Nampa to start the business.
They say it will be impractical to move their trailer in and out every day.
“We all sit in the same place because we all have signed leases with the owners of the property that allow us to sit in their spot this way," Champlin told Idaho News 6.
The city says brick-and-mortar restaurants argue that brings an unfair advantage to the food trucks.
“By being mobile food trucks are supposed to be able to come and go, but what’s happening is there are several food trucks that are just staying in one place," Said Char Tim, the Nampa city clerk. “...the food trucks [are] not being required to go through the necessary permits that a brick and mortar restaurant has to go through."
The city is also working on a new proposal that will add a code for food trucks specifically.
As a part of the proposed plan, changes would include not being able to have a drive-thru.
The Perking Spot, says that for a coffee shop, that would be very hard. They say their customers like supporting them, in part because they are local. But if the convenience of a drive-through goes away, they would lose customers.
“It’s everything," said Champlin about the importance of their drive-thru service. "Everything that we have on this truck is locally bought, our food, our product, our coffee, like everything is local and people want to support that but people do need it quick and they do need to go to work so, it’s everything.”
The city says they are still taking public feedback on the proposed changes. For more information contact the Nampa city clerk's office.
