Business Licenses and Permits

A local Philadelphia small business owner known to some as ‘The Cupcake Lady’ has resumed business operations after securing a temporary permit to operate at Love Park.  Her truck was confiscated by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses Tuesday for parking her vehicle near 33^rd Street and Market without the proper permit.  CBS Channel 3 News reported that she was also operating without a food license, business license, and vendor license on July 12^th.

Business licensing details should be considered in any business plan aimed at starting a new enterprise, or expanding an existing one.  For instance, in this case, if The Cupcake Lady previously sold cupcakes while walking through Love Park on foot, her vendor license would have cost $125.  However, according to the Philadelphia Code, expanding to a vendor truck would cause her vendor license fee to increase to $300 annually.  Secondly, The Cupcake Lady should survey the competition to determine whether room exists for her in the market.  Philadelphia Code Title 9, Section 203.7(c) stipulates that “No vendor or person shall:… stop, stand, park, place nor allow his conveyance closer than thirty feet from any other conveyance being used by any other vendor.”  The Cupcake Lady should also seek to determine the value of exposure to certain vendor designated areas.  For instance, Philadelphia designates a special street vendor district on 32^nd street between Market and Chestnut streets.  In the special district, only 10 vendors are permitted, and the Department of Licenses assigns the vendors to a particular location within the district.  Special district permit locations are assigned by giving priority to vendors according to the length of time they have conducted operations within the special district.

As I think about the licensing requirements a street vendor in Philadelphia must evaluate before conducting business, my mind drifts off to speculation about just how tasty The Cupcake Lady’s baked treats must be.  Since I call California home, I guess I’ll have to rely on the CBS Channel News report which indicated that on “Wednesday morning in Love Park, a line of about 50 people stood in line, waiting for a taste of…famous cupcakes topped with butter cream frosting.”

Steve Elias, Team Leader-Business License Research Team, Corporation Service Company

Story Source(s):

August 26^th Online Edition of CBS Channel 3 News