Saigon’s second street food zone was opened recently near the Reunification Palace on Monday, following the success of the first licensed zone on Nguyen Van Chiem Street.
Located in Bach Tung Diep Park on Ly Tu Trong Street, the second food street houses 15 food stands manned by 30 vendors. It operates from 6am to 9am and from 11am to 2pm, reports VnExpress.
The new street food zone is reserved for low-income vendors, who can legally sell food without a fee. There is also space for tables and benches should guests decide to opt for a sit-down meal instead of takeaway.
Prior to the opening of the zone, District 1 administration offered food safety training to vendors and will conduct health inspections regularly at both zones.
Following the positive feedback after the first street food zone opened in August, vendors at the new zone are optimistic about their business prospects.
Both licensed street food zones were opened as a spin-off of the district’s sidewalk cleanup campaign. However, the zones in planning so far can only accommodate a portion of Saigon’s street food vendors.
According to officials, those not included in the street food zone initiative can bring their businesses online via the Facebook page Am thuc Quan 1 (Food of District 1). However, some of these vendors are reluctant to try out this new business model as their vendors are either too heavily reliant on foot traffic or too small to be viable online.
The sidewalk cleanup campaign was launched in February by the Deputy Head of the District 1 administration Doan Ngoc Hai. The campaign, with a zero-tolerance policy towards any vehicle or vendor that takes up space on sidewalks, threatens the livelihood of thousands of sidewalk hawkers in the area.
