Food Trucks on an Ordinary Tuesday? What Johns Creek's Boardwalk Pilot Would Change

On July 3, 2024, food trucks lined up at The Boardwalk at Town Center for Johns Creek's Independence Day Celebration. A crowd gathered at their windows, and the photo ran in the Johns Creek Herald. Once the fireworks were over, the trucks left. Until now that has been the rule in every city park. Vendors could sell only during a city-sponsored or city-permitted event, according to Appen Media's Johns Creek Herald.

A proposed ordinance would change that at one place only. A 12-month Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program would let food trucks and pushcarts operate at The Boardwalk at Town Center, 11362 Lakefield Drive, on days with no event on the calendar. City staff call it Johns Creek's first authorization of independent mobile food vending on city park property. They chose to start it as a limited test on a single site before the council considers any other city land. The ordinance and a separate resolution setting its fees were both on the consent agenda for the October 26, 2026 City Council meeting.

The program is built as a test. The permit is cheap, the placement rules are strict, and the city has said what it plans to measure. The Boardwalk is the test case for every other park in Johns Creek.

Where a truck could park, and where it couldn't

The draft does not open the whole Town Center to vendors. Johns Creek Now reported that the pilot covers only The Boardwalk and city-owned land next to it. It does not cover other parks, streets or private property. The staff report and draft ordinance set the details:

• Approved spots only. Trucks may operate only at vending locations on a site plan approved by the Director of Recreation and Parks. The draft does not set a number of spots.
• Pushcarts stay on the trail. Pushcarts are limited to the 15-foot-wide Boardwalk Trail.
• Off-limits areas. No vendor may set up on the ADA-compliant pedestrian route, within five feet of the pond or the constructed wetland, or anywhere that blocks emergency vehicles.
• No amplified sound. Vendors cannot use speakers or broadcasts to draw customers.
• No alcohol. A permit covers food and nonalcoholic drinks only.
• Park hours apply. Sales are allowed only on the days and hours written on each vendor's permit. Outside the Boardwalk's posted hours, sales are allowed only during a city-sponsored or city-permitted event.

Taken together, the rules fit a truck around the park. Vendors stay off the walking route and away from the water's edge, and they can't use speakers. The Boardwalk covers 20 acres of trails, lakeside pavilions and gathering spaces, and Appen notes it already draws visitors when nothing is scheduled. The pilot adds food to that existing traffic without reorganizing the space for it.

A $50 permit with a lot of paperwork behind it

City staff recommended a permit fee of $50 per quarter for each mobile food vendor during the pilot. The fee would be added to the existing Recreation and Parks fee schedule. Over the full 12-month pilot, that is $200 in city permit fees for one truck to keep an approved spot at the Boardwalk.

The fee is the smallest requirement. Each truck or pushcart needs its own city permit. That permit adds to, and does not replace, a Johns Creek occupation tax certificate, a Fulton County Board of Health permit, a Fire Marshal inspection and any other state or federal license. The draft also requires at least $1 million in liability coverage with the City named as an additional insured, 30 days' written notice before any cancellation, and a signed indemnity agreement.

The low fee and the long list of requirements fit together. A cheap permit makes it easy for vendors to try the site, and the insurance, health and fire rules keep the ones who show up accountable. That combination suits a city that wants to learn how many vendors are interested. Anyone thinking of applying should read the ordinance packet itself. This summary is general information, not legal or financial advice, so vendors should confirm their own permits and coverage with the city and their own advisors.

Why the test is at Town Center

City Manager Kimberly Greer explained the location to the Johns Creek Herald with a practical point.

"If this goes horribly wrong, our code department and police department are headquartered [at Town Center on Lakefield Drive], so we would have the opportunity to quickly respond. If it's successful, we absolutely see the opportunity to expand this to other parks."

The second sentence of that quote is why residents who never visit the Boardwalk should still follow the pilot. Community Development Director Ben Song told the Herald that staff will track how many vendors apply, what kinds of vendors operate, customer demand and how successful vendors are. He said the first six months should show "the frequency and the types of vendors who may want to locate in the area." Under the draft, the program expires automatically after 12 months unless the council extends it or makes it permanent.

Council members supported the idea in part because it fits the rest of Town Center, including the Medley mixed-use development next door. "It's everything we originally talked about with the Town Center committee," Council Member Larry DiBiase said, according to the Herald. Medley's restaurant plans run on a much longer timeline. Rough Draft Atlanta reported in September that Buckhead Life Restaurant Group plans a Chops Lobster Bar in Medley's planned 150-room Marriott Tribute hotel, with an opening announced for 2028. For more on how the Boardwalk, Medley and the Medlock Bridge tunnel connect, see our fall guide to the new heart of Johns Creek.

What Sugar Hill and Roswell did differently

The Herald reported that staff looked at Sugar Hill and Roswell when they wrote the program. Both of those cities built their programs around a set schedule. Sugar Hill's Thursday Night Bites at The Landing brings rotating food trucks on select Thursdays from 5 to 8:30 p.m. In 2013, the AJC reported that Roswell's River Food Truck Weekends put three trucks at Don White Park on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to dusk.

Johns Creek's draft sets no recurring night and no fixed lineup. Each vendor's days and hours are written into its own permit. The Boardwalk's schedule will depend on which vendors apply and when they choose to come. That is the same thing Song said staff plan to measure.

Event nights work the way they always have

The pilot covers ordinary days. City-sponsored and city-permitted events already allow vendors, and the holiday calendar at and around Town Center is already set.

The Diwali Celebration already lists food and retail vendors on the Boardwalk. That is the event-day model that has been in place all along. The question for the next 12 months is whether food will be there on the other days too. Greer has said that a successful pilot could bring the same permits to other city parks.

New food on an ordinary weekday is the kind of detail that shapes how a home's surroundings feel. It's also the kind of detail I put into the neighborhood story when I prepare a Johns Creek listing. If you want to talk about how Town Center's changes affect your home, or you'd like a hand finding your way around the Boardwalk this season, Heather Cummings is glad to help. You'll find more on the area on our Johns Creek neighborhood page. Let's Connect.