According to North Carolina law, mobile food vendors must prepare their goods in a commissary kitchen that’s been inspected by the health department or other regulatory authority where the kitchen is located.
The vendor is then required to provide that authority with a list of all the counties they intend to operate in.
Lastly, the vendor, assuming they’ve passed inspection, must provide the health department or other regulatory authority of any county they intend to operate in with a list of locations they intend to use for business.
The laws are, in fact, quite specific and intricate. For your reading pleasure, here’s the entirety of the regulations covering food vendors in North Carolina: http://ehs.ncpublichealth.com/docs/rules/294306-26-2600.pdf
Date posted: April 7, 2016
User-contributed question by:
Gregg King
What type of other license would a hot dog vendor need from the state, city, or county?
Here’s a response from the author:
Launching a hot dog cart requires clearing a few bureaucratic hurdles first. Satisfying the demands of area health department codes is only one step. Various municipalities also have their own regulations, and those can vary greatly depending on where an entrepreneur hopes to set up shop. The city of Wilmington, for example, has two designated parcels of public property along the Riverwalk where carts may operate. Interested vendors must compete for a contract through the city’s Downtown Services office. If a vendor has an arrangement with a private property owner to operate at another location in the city, they must still be in compliance with zoning restrictions. For the most accurate information, contact your local code enforcement office.