Why Keller may see many more food trucks rolling into the city north of Fort Worth
More food trucks may be rolling into Keller soon.
The City Council made changes to a local ordinance this week that could bring in more vendors and food truck courts, where multiple gather around the same spot.
To operate a food truck in Keller, vendors previously only had to pass a state fire inspection twice a year. The updates to the ordinance passed Tuesday lay down the rules for where and how mobile vendors can operate in commercial spaces, said Julie Smith with Keller’s community development.
The ordinance maintains the twice-yearly state inspection rules. Changes include a $50 annual registration fee to operate in the city, and rules preventing food trucks from being parked overnight or parked in the same location more than eight days a month without council approval.
Councilmember Shannon Dubberly told the Star-Telegram that Keller wanted to create an environment for people with unique business ideas, especially as the city of about 40,000 people works to redevelop its Old Town area.
Ross McMullin, the only council member to vote against the ordinance changes, argued there was too much regulation on local businesses.
Food trucks are gaining popularity across the nation and in Texas. According to census data, the number of food trucks in the state grew nearly 135% between 2013 and 2018 — the largest increase of anywhere in the country.
Keller, too, is growing fast along with most of Tarrant County and North Texas. The city’s population grew 15.5% between 2010 and 2020. And where there’s growth, there’s also been more visitors.
The city expected 8,000 to 10,000 visitors to its Fourth of July event, Dubberly said. More than 20,000 showed up.
Dubberly believes the city northeast of Fort Worth is at a disadvantage due to there not being an interstate highway through it. Developing Old Town and providing an opportunity to be a food truck destination are ways to draw crowds, he said. The council has heard ideas such as a food truck area with a pickleball court, Dubberly added.
Mayor Armin Mizani said the changes are part of the goal to make Keller a place that’s both family friendly and consumer-adapted.
Where food trucks may soon appear are on Bates Street in Old Town, where redevelopment plans include amenities for 14 food trucks by June 2023.
Though just a few businesses on Bates Street were open on a recent morning, traffic and construction buzzed as those who were open started their days.
Marie Kampe, who works at Jolly Plumbing in the Main Street Depot, lit up at the possibility of food trucks. She said having more food options would be “amazing” — especially street tacos.
Across the street at Mason’s Paint & Body, Victoria Arevalo, one of the car shop’s owners, said she’d be “thrilled” if trucks came during the week since they were all tired of eating the same things. She said they’ve been waiting for a nearby sushi shop to open.
She said that the only problem she could see with the food trucks was having to move cars around on weekdays. But then again, Arevalo said, they could work around that. Traffic on weekends wouldn’t affect them much either, because their business is closed.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 1:23 PM.
