Sandgate Foreshores Park has emerged as one of Brisbane’s most popular food truck destinations, recording 142 bookings since the city’s revamped Food Trucks and Coffee Carts in Parks program launched in July 2025, bringing a steady stream of vendors and fresh dining options to the foreshore.
The program has expanded the number of approved trading sites across Brisbane from 13 to 98 in just eight months, with nearly 2,900 vendor bookings and more than 17,000 hours of trade logged city-wide. Sandgate Foreshores Park ranks among the top five most-booked locations in the entire city, sitting alongside Wynnum Wading Pool, Elanora Park in Wynnum, Les Atkinson Park in Sunnybank and Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park as the program’s busiest sites.
Sixty-four vendors have signed up to the program since its July launch, operating across parks and drive-up sites on roads managed by the city authority. The Brisbane Food Trucks website, which includes an interactive map and food-type search function, allows residents to see which trucks are trading on any given day.
How the Program Works
The program operates on a three-tier fee structure. Vendors pay an annual licence fee of $450, $1,650 or $2,200 depending on the tier they choose, with higher tiers unlocking access to better-positioned and more in-demand trading sites. All vendors also pay a $160 annual application fee. A new online portal allows traders to book sites up to six weeks in advance, and multiple vendors can trade at the same high-demand location on the same day.
The system replaced an earlier Parks Activation program that operated with far fewer approved sites. Under the previous arrangement, vendors could secure longer-term permits at fixed locations, giving regular customers a consistent and predictable place to find their favourite truck. The new model prioritises flexibility and broader access across the city but has drawn mixed responses from the vendor community.
Vendors Divided on the New System
While some operators have welcomed the expanded network, others have raised concerns about the practical impact of the changes on their businesses. A coffee cart operator who trades at Minnippi Parklands in Carina found the new system incompatible with a repeat-customer model, noting that the booking structure limited him to trading once a week for three hours at a time, down from six days a week under the previous arrangement. After raising the issue directly, he was permitted to continue under the earlier programme.
Another vendor who joined on the entry-level $450 tier found that the sites available at that price point were too quiet to generate viable trade, reporting just one sale during an entire three-hour session at one location. He later received a pro-rata refund on his licence. A recurring concern among vendors has been the lack of booking security at popular spots. Because any eligible vendor can book an available site, regulars who build a customer base at a particular location have no guarantee they can return to it.
Vendors have also flagged a gap in the website’s functionality. The current platform shows only which trucks are trading on a given day rather than a full directory of all participating vendors, as the previous system did. The city authority has indicated it is working to add a complete vendor listing to the site.
What This Means for Sandgate Residents
For Sandgate residents, the food truck boom at Foreshores Park represents an increase in dining options to everyday life by the water. The foreshore has long been a gathering place for families, dog walkers, morning joggers and weekend picnickers, and the regular presence of food trucks adds a layer of spontaneous hospitality that the suburb has not always had on its doorstep. Rather than packing a picnic or driving to a cafe, residents can now find freshly made food and coffee waiting for them at the park on a regular basis.
The volume of bookings, 142 since July, also signals that vendors see Sandgate as commercially worthwhile, which bodes well for the consistency and variety of what turns up at the foreshore over time. As the program matures and the city authority works through the teething issues raised by vendors, Sandgate stands to benefit further, particularly if the booking security concerns are addressed and more operators feel confident committing to the location regularly.
Residents can check which food trucks are currently trading at Sandgate Foreshores Park and other locations across Brisbane at bnefoodtrucks.com.au or by searching “Brisbane Food Trucks and Coffee Carts” at brisbane.qld.gov.au.
Published 15-March-2026.
Featured Image Credit: Google Maps
