Earlier this year, as District 1 People’s Committee Vice Chairman Doan Ngoc Hai ramped up his sidewalk-clearing campaign, Saigoneers wondered about the fate of the city’s street food vendors. Now, just as officials proposed in March, downtown Saigon is set to have its first designated street food zone.
According to Tuoi Tre, Nguyen Van Chiem Street behind Diamond Plaza will become a street food zone starting tomorrow. The area will be open to vendors and their customers from 6am to 9am and 11am to 2pm everyday, serving breakfast and lunch meals.
The street is set to accommodate 40 separate businesses, the news outlet reports, with each stall authorized to sell either food or drinks but not both in order to encourage business at multiple venues. Additionally, each business will be permitted to operate once a day and is responsible for cleaning its designated stall before the next vendor arrives. City officials have also noted that surveillance cameras will be installed, and street food businesses have readied themselves by investing in uniforms, nametags, dishware and other items ahead of next week’s launch.
City officials also have plans to create another street food zone in Bach Tung Diep Park on Ly Tu Trong Street, though there is no official launch date for this area. According to Tuoi Tre, the Bach Tung Diep street food zone will accommodate up to 70 vendors.
