A food kiosk or food booth (also food stand, temporary food service facility) is generally a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at a parade, near a stadium or otherwise. Sometimes the term also refers to the business operations and vendors that operate from such booths.

Background

There is evidence to suggest that certain foods have either originated from, or gained in popularity through food booths.A confectionery booth is depicted in an etching by

Christoph Weigel Johann Christoph Weigel, known as Christoph Weigel the Elder (9 November 1654 – 5 February 1725), was a German engraver, art dealer and publisher. He was born at Redwitz, Free imperial city of Eger in Egerland, and died in Nuremberg Nurem ...

(1654-1725) From One Hundred Fools c.1700. For example, the popularity of the

ice cream cone An ice cream cone, poke (Ireland/Scotland) or cornet (England) is a brittle, cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, made so ice cream can be carried and eaten without a bowl or spoon, for example, the Hong Kon ...

in North America is attributed to the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...

in 1904. According to legend, an ice cream seller had run out of clean dishes, and could not sell any more ice cream. Next door to the ice cream booth was the

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

booth, unsuccessful due to intense heat. The waffle maker offered to make cones by rolling up his waffles and the new product sold well, and was subsequently copied by other vendors.

Operations

A common practice is for modern food booths to operate as

concession stand A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, beach, swim ...

s at various kinds of special events. These may be operated by small independent vendors, catering companies, or by established

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s offering a subset of items featured from a more comprehensive menu. Alternatively, some food booths may be operated by local nonprofit organizations as a means of

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

. In some situations, nonprofit orgs may face slightly lower processing fees, or less stringent regulations and contractual requirements, making such operations relatively more advantageous.

Regulations

Depending on the jurisdiction, and local customs, operators of such booths ordinarily require a temporary food sales permit and government-issued

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

s. Typically operators also must demonstrate compliance with various regulations for sanitation, public health and

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from t ...

. Such regulations include, for example: * structural requirements for the construction and placement of booths * requirements or limitations regarding the hours and number of days of continuous operation * restrictions on the handling and preparation of ingredients(E.g., CURFFL §114317. et. seq.) * restrictions on the storage, transport and placement of ingredients * rules regarding availability and proximity of waste disposal facilities and toilets * rules governing conduct and cleanliness of operators * rules governing animals and the use of pest control measures * provisions imposing additional requirements if deemed necessary by an authorized on-site health inspector

On-site inspection

To oversee compliance with applicable regulations, many municipalities hire and deploy health inspectors, or provide general guidelines for inspection, in order to ensure food booths do not present an unreasonable risk of harm to customers.See e.g., Nevada State Health Division Bureau Of Health Protection Services Temporary Food Booth Self Inspection Shee

/ref> Hired inspectors are usually permitted to make unscheduled inspections of facilities with little or no advance notice to the proprietors. The rules regarding the frequency, scope and extent of routine on-site inspections vary depending on the jurisdiction. Also, some jurisdictions may establish priorities based on the type of food served, the type of organization involved, and other ancillary factors, such as any prior history of customer complaints.

Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. Carroll County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

References

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