City of Regina food truck permits down so far this spring

For people looking to go outside and head to a food truck in downtown Regina for lunch, they might have noticed fewer options in City Square Plaza.

The City of Regina has only handed out three permits for food trucks to operate in city roads and areas such as the plaza, Northwest Leisure Centre, Sandra Schmirler Leisure Centre and Rambler Park. Last year, the city had already handed six permits by May and 10 in total through the summer.

Shanie Lewgner, manager of urban planning for the City of Regina, said the long, drawn-out spring this year could be a reason for the slow start to food trucks.

“The weather’s finally warming up for us over the last couple of weeks so we’re hopeful we will start to see more applications coming in,” she said.

In order to get a permit, food vendors are required to have an inspection done by fire marshall. Since the fire marshall has performed eight inspections in 2018, Lewgner expects more applications to start rolling in shortly.

“We may be off to a slow start but there is indication we may pick up and be on-par with last year,” Lewgner said.

The price for the permits also increased in 2018 for the first time in three years, going up by $280 to $1,680.

Lewgner clarified private events, festivals and other public happenings — such as the Regina Farmers’ Market — have their own permits to hand out for mobile food vendors.

“They don’t actually need to obtain a mobile food vending permit from the city.”

She said the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District has five food vendors in their membership.