Unpermitted food vendor violations have exploded in Seattle in 2024
Maybe you’ve seen one: the hot dog vendor outside the stadium with the cart wrapped in duct tape. The taco tent drawing long lines to the parking lot of an auto parts shop. The sandwich stand set up in the park.
Through Oct. 31, the Seattle-King County health department has shut down 98 unpermitted mobile food vendors in 2024. The number of violations this year is on pace to quadruple last year’s total — and already exceeds the previous five years combined.
Issues with unpermitted mobile food vendors extend beyond the threat of foodborne illness, which is a primary concern. The sharp uptick also has legal vendors frustrated as they try to break even in an increasingly challenging (and expensive) racket. Since unpermitted vendors rarely face lasting repercussions for operating without proper inspections, some legal vendors in Seattle are questioning why they play by the rules.
The health department is vowing to crack down, including a new rule designed to make it easier for the public to identify unpermitted vendors. But between red-tape angst, customer confusion, illicit tacos and stadium skirmishes between permitted and unpermitted hot dog vendors, the mobile food scene in Seattle feels volatile.
