Decatur extends mobile food cart program

Decatur is seeking applications from vendors who want to open food carts at locations throughout the city.

The food cart program started last summer with three vendors and could grow to a dozen this year. One of the original three, Icing on the Cake, plans to continue operations.

The program is designed to support and encourage a different type of small business, said Shirley Baylis, Decatur’s business development manager.

“The goal here is not to get them to be in a brick and mortar, it’s to support small businesses that want to do something totally different,” Baylis said. “We want to be a city that offers a number of opportunities to small businesses.”

It’s also a way to offer new options in the foodie city, she said. Decatur already boasts several Michelin-rated restaurants and James Beard Award-winning chef Terry Koval, whose Deer and the Dove and B-Side operate on Decatur Square.

Applications can be submitted online until Feb. 29. Approved vendors will be notified in mid-March and will be licensed to do business by April 1. The cost for a one-year license is $50.