Grub before you shop: Food trucks allowed to keep operating in Capitola Mall parking lot

After an issue regarding proper permitting, Capitola Mall can keep its food trucks after all, the city’s planning commission decided Thursday night.

From keeping an eye on everything from businesses’ struggles to government finances, COVID Economy Watch is among eight Lookout initiatives documenting all aspects of the pandemic. For more, go to our COVID 2021 section, sign up for COVID Text Alerts and our COVID PM newsletter here, and leave feedback and ask questions at the end of this story.

On Jan. 20, food truck vendors were found by city staff to be operating without proper permits in the mall parking lot, so the city notified the mall management.

The permits approved Thursday night fix the issue, formalizing the arrangement and allowing food trucks to keep working there. The mall can have up to three mobile food vendors every day.

The trio of rotating vendors will be allowed to operate at the mall from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at four locations that are typically vacant:

• Parking spaces along 41st Avenue north and south of the main eastern entrance
• Parking spaces along Capitola Road between the main southern mall entrance and the Bank of America parcel
• Parking spaces along Clares Street south of the main western mall entrance

Taquizas Gabriel and Saucy’z food trucks had already been working out of Capitola Mall’s parking lot, but the lineup of vendors would vary, according to an application submitted by mall management.

In order to keep operating at the mall, vendors must agree to certain conditions, including the addition of city-approved barriers to protect customers from traffic, compliance with the city’s law on biodegradable and compostable food containers, and avoiding the use of portable signage and loudspeakers.

after Although the permit is good for 24 months, the planning commission will check in six months to see how the food truck operation has been going. Thursday night’s vote was unanimous.