TXFVA

JULY 9, 2026

FROM THE TRENCHES...

Festival vendors hear a lot about commissions. Fifteen percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent. And yes, sometimes even forty percent of gross sales off the top. That number gets attention because every working food vendor knows the truth: gross sales are not profit. Before a vendor ever sees a dollar of actual earnings, they have already paid […]

JULY 3, 2026

UNCATEGORIZED

There comes a moment before every big event when the planning has to stop. Not because you’ve thought of everything — you never do — but because the thinking has quietly turned into hiding. We’ve all felt it. The spreadsheet is open for the fourth time that morning, the numbers haven’t changed, and somewhere underneath […]

JUNE 16, 2026

FROM THE TRENCHES...

Some festivals book one vendor per category. Some book whoever pays. The difference shows up a year later, in who comes back. For Planners: Curate Like You Mean It A lineup with five corndog stands splits one category's revenue five ways. A …

JUNE 13, 2026

OPERATIONS

Festival planners can protect vendor trust and event quality by avoiding free competing food giveaways and keeping chain restaurants out of mobile food vendor lanes.

JUNE 9, 2026

OPERATIONS

A Saturday market and a major festival push are not the same job. Long lines, narrow load-in windows, weather, power limits, health checks, and a crowd that expects the line to keep moving — that’s a different operation entirely. High-volume isn’t a marketing label. It’s a vendor who can repeat a high-output service model under […]

JUNE 4, 2026

PERMITS

Texas mobile food vendors have a new permit path to pay attention to. As of today, June 4, 2026, the Texas Department of State Health Services has made the Mobile Food Vendor application available through DSHS Online Licensing Services. The statewide licensing change takes effect July 1, 2026, and vendors should not wait until the […]

MAY 21, 2026

PERMITS

Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth — five cities, five very different rulebooks. Here’s what you need before you fire up the grill. Texas has no statewide mobile-food-vendor permit. Every city — and most counties — write their own rules, fees, and inspection schedules. The result is a patchwork that punishes vendors who assume […]

MAY 21, 2026

INSURANCE

Most event organizers demand a million-dollar policy. Most vendors don’t understand what’s actually covered. Here’s the breakdown. Walk into any Texas event coordinator’s office and you’ll hear the same sentence: ‘We need a Certificate of Insurance with $1,000,000 general liability and the venue named as additional insured.’ Most vendors nod, write the check, and never […]

MAY 21, 2026

COMPLIANCE

Every Texas food vendor needs one. Here’s exactly what it covers, who issues it, and how much you should actually pay. If you handle unpackaged food anywhere in Texas — from a brisket trailer in Lockhart to a snow-cone stand in McAllen — state law requires a Food Handler Certificate within 60 days of hire. […]

MAY 6, 2026

UNCATEGORIZED

Beef is up 14%, propane is volatile, and labor is the tightest it's been in a decade. Here's how Texas vendors are protecting their margins.

THE JOURNAL IS FREE. THE TOOLS AREN'T.

START WITH THE PERMIT GUIDE WE FEED TEXAS