A burgeoning trend in the food industry is rolling into Abilene.
As of October, the city had permitted 19 mobile food vendors this year, said Glenn Bailey, manager of the Environmental Health Division in the city’s Planning and Development Services. In 2010, 14 such permits were issued.
The division, which handles the inspecting and permitting of all food vendors, also has receive more inquiries about mobile permits than usual.
Some of the currently permitted vendors also have a permanent presence, such as Texas Steak Express and the Salvation Army. The latter’s mobile kitchen has been permitted for years, Bailey said.
But, others are like Rob DeKarske, who launched ShortBus Hotdogs in May 2009 out of a 1992 small school bus converted into a mobile restaurant that prepares food to order on site.