FOOD FIGHT.

• Author: Herman, Danielle
• Position: STATEWIDE: East

Following a late-summer lawsuit, it's business as usual for food-truck operators in Carolina Beach, which recently amended a controversial ordinance to welcome the vendors. Meanwhile Surf City, another coastal town about 45 miles up the coast in Pender and Onslow counties, is still wrestling with regulations for the industry.

Three Wilmington area food-truck vendors filed a lawsuit against Carolina Beach in August after the town passed a provision banning trucks not affiliated with local brick-and-mortar restaurants. A week later, the New Hanover County town with about 6,300 residents removed the provision. Vendors dropped the suit after the town officially amended the ordinance in October.

"[The food-truck owners] are very happy with this development," says Justin Pearson, a senior attorney at Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm that represented the truck owners. "The biggest issue for them is they wanted to be able to accept invitations from certain businesses in Carolina Beach that wanted to invite them onto their property."

The institute represented Harley Bruce of Poor Piggy's BBQ &. Catering Truck; Aaron and Monica Cannon of A&M's Red Food...