18-07-2025
Indian River eyes revising, updating food-truck rules as Griddle and Grind moves back
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Griddle and Grind food truck owner Dane Jones was forced to move his truck in May from the parking lot of OTG Liquidation Center, 6920 U.S. Highway 1, to Sebastian. It's in an unincorporated area of the county, where food trucks are prohibited.
Now Jones is back in his original location and doing better than ever. The county allowed him to return and suspended his code-enforcement violation. At the same time, the county is trying to revise the outdated codes that forced Jones to move in the first place.
"The community support I have received for standing up to the county has been incredible," said Jones. "People come up to me daily and talk to me about it."
Nearly every day since returning, Griddle and Grind is selling out. Jones spends most afternoons shopping and restocking. Often his wife Lauren, after getting off a shift as a full-time nurse at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, has had to go shopping as well.
"We haven't had an off-season," said Dane Jones. "In part, it's because people are happy we stood up for ourselves.
Rewriting codes
Planning and Development Director Chris Balter presented the first ideas for updating the codes to county commissioners July 15.
"We had an old ordinance from 1990 which made it difficult for food trucks to operate within the (unincorporated) county, except under certain circumstances," said Balter. "We're trying to rectify that so that everyone can benefit from food trucks."
The draft allows food trucks to operate in areas zoned commercial and industrial from 7 a.m. to p.m., with one truck per site and no overnight parking.
Griddle and Grind is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The draft revision bars the trucks from having have tables, chairs, tents or signs; loud generators or utility hookups; and requires them to display their licenses and inspection reports and to operate on a paved surface.
"The code was written before food trucks became popular," explained Balter. "Thirty years later, we have to go back and modernize it."
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Jones disagrees with the ban on utility hookups and the mandate for paved surfaces.
"If the business I am parking at allows me to hook up to their utilities, I should be able to," he explained. "Also, there are a lot of unpaved parking lots in the county."
While the revision remains a draft, Jones will make his thoughts known.
"I'll let the county know and continue to monitor the issue," said Jones. "I'm just trying to make this a better environment for me and my colleagues."
Nick Slater is TCPalm's Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at and 224-830-2875.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Griddle and Grind food truck returns to operate in Indian River County
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