Sandwich City Council establishes rules for food truck cafes

Food truck cafes can now operate in Sandwich as part of the city’s outdoor dining program.

At the July 3 Sandwich City Council meeting, aldermen amended the city’s outdoor dining ordinance to allow for food truck cafes. The city is defining a food truck cafe as a temporary dining extension consisting of a group of tables, chairs or other seating abutting a food truck where patrons can consume food and/or beverages prepared and provided by the owner/operator of the adjacent business.

Food truck cafes, along with sidewalk cafes and parklet cafes, are permitted from April 1 through Oct. 31. However, time extensions may be granted per the discretion of the city’s building official on a case-by-case basis.

Food truck cafes are permitted only on days and nights when a food truck is on the premises. They can stay open until 10 p.m.

In addition, no amplified entertainment is allowed in a food truck cafe unless authorized by the building official or designee as part of a special event. And the rules prohibit patio heaters from being used in a food truck cafe.

First Ward Alderman Rich Robinson was glad to see that extensions could be granted. He had wanted to give flexibility to the food truck cafes as to when they could operate.

“If someone wanted to do something on St. Patrick’s Day, they could,” he said. “If somebody wanted to do something for a Chicago Bears game, they could.”

Like other communities, Sandwich created an outdoor dining program because of the restrictions on indoor dining caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham noted, the new rules will allow food trucks to have outdoor seating and serve alcohol.

Those who serve alcohol must go through the state’s Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training program. Latham said that city officials will be watching to see how the food truck cafe program unfolds.

“It does provide a different opportunity,” he said. “It allows that business to provide extended service and yet be in compliance,” he said.