What would summer be without the tinny jangle of the ice-cream truck? Answer: DeKalb County.
No, county leaders don’t hate cool treats. Or children. It’s just that county code makes it illegal to sell any food – ice cream is specifically listed – from any cart or vehicle on county streets.
Not that anyone seemed to know until one ice-cream truck driver complained to commissioners last week that police had cited him twice for daring to offer Nutty Buddys, Push Up Pops and Screwballs (there’s a gumball at the bottom!).
Said Commissioner Larry Johnson, “Is that why I never see the ice-cream truck anymore?"
In a word, yes. And although County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to take up the cause – and also consider allowing food trucks while they’re at it – it will be officially summer by the time things are sorted out.
Food trucks have enjoyed popularity in many cities, including Atlanta. Dozens of vendors offer their specialties at a permanent Atlanta Food Truck Park at Howell Mill Road and I-75, which recently reopened following a permitting hiccup with the city. The seven-day-a-week park features covered and open-air dining, plus 1.5 acres of green space with a playground, picnic area, bocce ball court and a lawn for movies and concerts.
DeKalb commissioners plan to meet with health department officials and representatives from the planning and police departments to draft a possible copycat here. That work returns to committee in 30 days – right on the cusp of summer.
“You could say this is moving fast, considering it hasn’t been allowed all along for years,” Commissioner Jeff Rader said.
Ryan Cira, environmental health manager at DeKalb County Board of Health, said his office will permit food trucks and the Good Humor Man alike, if the county allows it.
Still, Johnson said he might push for a way to stop lumping Korean tacos with Creamsicles. That way, maybe the county could move faster to allow the Pavlovian music he remembers blaring from atop the ice-cream trucks of his childhood in Chicago.
“That music, it makes the kids run to the truck and the parents panic at the money they’re going to be spending,” Johnson said. “That’s what summer is all about.”
About the Author
