The City of Richmond is planning to install ‘mobile vendor plazas’ at three city locations to provide a place for sidewalk vendors to conduct their business in a regulated manner.
One of the mobile vendor plazas will operate Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the parking lot between Macondald Avenue and Marina Way; a second will be held Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 325 Civic Center Plaza; and the third will be held Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Marina Bay Park, in the parking lot off Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square.
The exact start dates for the mobile vendor plazas weren’t immediately known. The city is currently calling out to vendors to participate in the free program.
Mobile vendor plazas will be open to all mobile vendors. Vendors must be registered with the city with a Special Business Activity Permit. For more information and for the vendor application, visit here.
Richmond recently imposed new regulations requiring sidewalk vendors to obtain permits and face administrative fines if they violate city rules. The rules were implemented on the basis of ensuring public health and also fairness among vendors, many who operated without regulation on city sidewalks. Mobile vendor plazas are a way to provide an opportunity for merchants who can no longer operate in their previous location.
