(@seattlemontsterdogs)

Friday, November 22nd is a night that will live in infamy for the taco, BBQ, and hot dog tables of Pike/Pine.

That’s the night Taqueria Alamos, an unnamed BBQ stand, Tacos & Hot Dogs Seattle, and the LA Style Street Food tent at Broadway and Pine were shut down.

King County health inspectors say more will follow.

“We’re particularly concerned about unpermitted vendors using makeshift red push carts and pop-up tables to sell hot dogs and tacos around the stadiums, concert venues, and the Capitol Hill and University District neighborhoods in Seattle,” a Public Health – Seattle & King County spokesperson tells CHS about the shutdowns.

“Our food inspectors have made repeated attempts to address their unsafe operations and guide them through the permitting process. However, they have resisted our direction and continue to operate in ways that are unsafe to the public.”

King County officials cite “a big increase” in the volume of unpermitted mobile food vendors operating in the area. They say the problems stretch across every city but are especially concentrated around Seattle’s nightlife zones and Pike/Pine.

There has also been a big increase in enforcement. Pike/Pine retailers, bars, and restaurants have been working with District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth to address the surge in unpermitted food vendors they say are creating public safety issues including improper disposal of waste, garbage left behind by workers and customers, and what some venues say are unsafe crowds forming outside their businesses. Health officials say the setups typically lack hand washing, clean water, or refrigeration.

Hollingsworth has included unpermitted food vendors alongside larger issues like street disorder and public drug use as she has led public safety investments targeting the Capitol Hill core. In November, Hollingsworth said The Seattle Police Department officers are too busy with higher priority issues but that the hot potato issue for officials was finally receiving the attention it needs as the county health department agreed to increase its enforcement efforts.

The shutdowns are piling up. King County said it had closed 134 unpermitted mobile food vendors though November. “In 2023, we shut down 27 vendors,” a county spokesperson said.

King County officials cite Maricopa County, Arizona, as one fresh example of a recent public warning issued after an investigation reported “numerous illnesses associated with unpermitted taco operations.”

The nailed vendors typically break down their operations and move along without further intervention. Many move to new locations — or wait a few nights and return. Avoiding red tape, however, is an incentive.

“Our goal is to help vendors come into compliance with the food code in order to prevent the spread of foodborne illness. Our food safety team takes an educational approach to enforcement,” the county representative said. “When Public Health is alerted to an unpermitted vendor, we visit to educate the vendor about the permitting process and suspend the vendor’s operations to prevent the risk of foodborne illnesses.”

The county says it is also working to help vendors grow permitted businesses.

“Efforts include: holding community meetings, meeting one-on-one with vendors to help them understand how to become permitted, holding informational sessions for new and aspiring street food vendors, offering interpretation in all languages, lowering financial barriers, launching a mobile food vendor advisory group, and developing a commissary
kitchen dashboard to help people looking to get into mobile food vending find a commissary kitchen,” the county says. “We’ve recently been holding free, multilingual information sessions to help aspiring vendors navigate the permitting process.”

The tables and tents have grown beyond hot dog carts. Many of the shutdowns beyond Pike/Pine involve vendors providing food and street dining experiences typical to cultures from around the world — a tamales vendors busted in November at Broadway and Cherry, the “unpermitted cut melon and steamed corn vendor” on Alaskan Way, the “mango cart” operator on Denny Way.

The county hopes potential customers will also help with the crackdown. It has issued a health advisory and is stepping up what is says are “public awareness” efforts so that customers “can know how to spot permitted food vendors and understand the health risks of eating at an unpermitted vendor.”

The corners of Pike/Pine and the Capitol Hill core, meanwhile, remain lucrative with permitted vendors like Hawk Dogs and Monster Dogs growing into neighborhood institutions. Some will even go fully legit – CHS reported here as the Hawk Dogs-backed Mediterranean joint Casablanca Express opened on E Pike next to the Comet.

Public Health, with some pressure from D3’s Hollingsworth, says it will continue the heightened enforcement.

“Mobile food vendors play an essential role in our communities,” the spokesperson said. “We want to help vendors be successful while ensuring safe food for the public.”

You can view Public Health’s recent enforcement and closures here.

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