Round Rock city officials have a new plan when it comes to food trucks and trailers—let the food come to the customers. The city of Round Rock is working on an ordinance that would allow mobile food vendors to operate for limited times in locations at which people are already congregating, said Brad Wiseman, director of planning for the city of Round Rock. Wiseman said under the proposed ordinance, mobile food vendors with a permit could operate in high-volume areas such as special events, corporate campuses, the outlet malls or the university campuses. He said bars without a kitchen could also be a site for food trucks or trailers to operate within the area. Wiseman said the city has seen “tremendous” interest from the Round Rock Premium Outlets to have food trucks and trailers operate in the promenade as a supplement to the existing food court. He said previously the city authorized mobile food vendors to operate at the outlets through special event permits. Wiseman said city staffers are currently drafting the ordinance, and they hope to present it to council by the end of December. This proposed ordinance comes two years after the city ended a pilot program that allowed a food trailer park downtown. Wiseman said this proposed ordinance differs from the pilot program because mobile food vendors would not be able to set up at one spot indefinitely. He said under the proposed ordinance some businesses might allow a food truck or trailer to stay at one spot during a weekend, but not seven days a week. “What we’re talking about doing now is separate and distinct from before,” he said. “What we had before was a typical food trailer park on a vacant lot like what you see in Austin.” Wiseman said the food trailer park downtown operated from September 2012 to fall 2013. He said council did not move forward after the initial year because fewer food truck and trailer operators were operating at the lot over time, and it was not popular among residents. City Council Member Craig Morgan said the location did not offer much foot traffic, which limited business for the mobile food vendors. “It was in tough area to get to,” he said. “You still had to park and get to it. It just didn’t mesh.” Wiseman said city officials also had concerns about the attractiveness of allowing food trucks and trailers to operate indefinitely in a vacant lot downtown. “It was done as an impetus to get more folks downtown,” he said. “There were some high ambitions, and it didn’t live up to those ambitions. So after a while council said, ‘Let’s let it go away.’” Morgan said he is hopeful this new proposed ordinance would be more successful than the food trailer park. He said he would like to see the new proposed ordinance be flexible for unforeseen circumstances. “You’re not going to write an ordinance that will cover every situation,” Morgan said. “I think the food truck business is a phenomenon for cities growing like us. You have to create some flexibility as [the mobile food industry] evolves.” David Hulama, co-owner of Bluebonnet Beer Co. in Round Rock, said he has had food trucks to his business with the city’s permission. “Our normal hours are from 5 [p.m.] to 8 [p.m.] Friday through Saturday, which is smack dab in the middle of happy hour and the dinner hour,” Hulama said. “Some of the customers mentioned to us, ‘Man, it would be great to get food out here.’” Hulama said he hopes the ordinance passes to benefit food trucks and trailers as well as established local businesses.