Shane Parson and Andy Sanchez won Ceres Planning Commission approval on Monday to set up a 16,000-square-foot 18-vehicle food vendor court in southwest Ceres.
The Conditional Use Permit allows the “grub hub” on a 0.75-acre parcel within the industrial park south of Service Road and east of Farm Supply Drive. The proposed site is adjacent to Kase Manufacturing, a cannabis facility.
“We’d like to really figure out what you’re looking for in this type of an operation because I have another location I’d like to put one in,” Parson told the commission. “This would be my second location; I have probably one of the largest ones in Merced County right now for a grub hub.”
He said a grub hub would be a great asset to the community, especially on the west side where “there’s not a lot of food options.”
The grub hub will include a covered seating area, a turf and gravel area, and a grassy area for customers to play games like corn hole. A 36-stall parking lot for customers and employees, seven of which will have electric vehicle charging stations, is in the plans. The compound will be enclosed by a wrought iron fence along the front, and chain-link fencing along the side and rear.
The proposed hours of operation will be limited to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
The site will have concrete pathway around a turfed area to access the various mobile food vendors. Mobile food vendors will park on a gravel or similar surface and lined up with the concrete pathway for customers to access the order/pick-up windows without leaving the concrete path to ensure ADA accessibility to every vendor.
The site will be lit during dusk and night operating hours.
A permanent public restroom facility is proposed for customers and mobile food vendor employees.
No alcohol sales or consumption will be allowed.
The city is requiring the installation of a high quality monitoring cameras for the exterior of the building so that police can monitor.
No live bands will be allowed but recorded music can be played as long as it isn’t excessive and disrupting others.
Commissioner Gary Condit raised concerns about nearby residents not having been notified of the project. The law requires the city to only notify property owners within a 300-foot radius and not necessarily renters.
Ceres resident John Warren expressed concerns about the grub hub set up next to a cannabis business and about gravel being used as a surface upon which the trucks would park.
Rosalinda Vierra, a member of the Ceres City Council who lives in southwest Ceres, voiced concerns about residents to the north of Service Road not being notified and unaware of the hearing. But she also stated that residents want to see more food options in that area of Ceres.
Hardeep Gil of the Flyer’s station advocated for the grub hub approval saying “literally there’s nowhere to eat on that side of town” other than Mr. Taquito and McDonald’s.
“Everybody we know is all for it,” said Gil. “They want something over there.”
Condit said he didn’t feel comfortable approving the grub hub until neighbors to the north are notified to allow them to weigh in. But having the city go beyond the legal requirement to notify only property owners could take a while and delay the project considerably, the city attorney advised. Condit then supported the project after Commissioner Bob Kachel motioned to approve the project after stating his opinion that residents across Service Road would not be impacted by noise.
The commission voted 5-0 for approval.
