JACKSONVILLE, FL – They’re trendy, they’re tasty, and they’re seemingly lining up to park in Jacksonville.

Food trucks are booming in larger cities such as Atlanta, and local vendors have been inquiring about how to set up shop in Jacksonville. Now the City Council plans to consider whether and how to let that happen.

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Photo by: Trent Penny

Food trucks have in recent years become popular with customers, and with foodie entrepreneurs who are attracted to the idea of being able to prepare and sell food with lower overhead cost and without being tied to a specific location, following customers to wherever they happen to be hungry. Many rely on social media to let their fans know where to find their favored fare. The trend has spawned Food Network show The Great Food Truck Race; in its latest season, aspiring entrepreneurs competed in such Southern cities as Fayetteville, Ark., and Nashville to win prize money and their own food truck.

As the food truck invasion has hit Alabama, some local governments have looked to regulate the vehicles. Birmingham officials have been working on such an ordinance for months.

In Jacksonville, building inspector Mark Williams said requests “come in spurts — we may have three this week and then we may have none for a long time.” Since he took over as building inspector in 2007, he estimates he’s had at least 20 requests to operate within the city.

City officials are unclear how to handle the requests under the city’s law, said Williams, and he is now looking for direction from the City Council as to how the city should regulate and/or license the mobile establishments.

Find the entire article by Paige Rentz at annistonstar.com <here>