Near record numbers of tourists travelled to the National Mall over the July 4th weekend, according to the latest numbers from D.C.’s tourism agency.

The surge in visitors celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday this summer has meant big business for the mall’s food trucks, serving locals and tourists alike a hot dog to munch on or ice cream to cool off.

But there is a growing fleet of unlicensed food trucks taking over prime concessionary space on the National Mall. Those unlicensed trucks can overcharge and in many cases are violating health standards.

The U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection have been trying to take more regular enforcement actions , but the trucks persist.

Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman investigated the “food truck mafia” around the mall for the magazine . She spoke with WAMU host Spencer Bryant about some of the dangers involved with these trucks and offered tips on how to find legitimate operators or flag illegal ones.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Who are the “food truck mafia” and how do these businesses work?

So, if you’ve ever been down to the National Mall, you’ve seen these trucks: They’re everywhere. They don’t list their prices. They serve the same junkie food. You’ve probably heard stories of people overpaying for their ice cream cone or cheesesteak, what have you.

But what a lot of people don’t realize is that many of these trucks are unlicensed. So, they’re not inspected by the health department. There are a lot of food safety risks. They’re not inspected by the fire department, and they don’t have a propane permit [and] maybe carrying excessive amounts of propane, [which] would be a big fire risk. Many of them share the same ownership. It’s a coordinated network and in fact, U.S. Park Police calls it “organized crime.”

So what kind of safety risks are there with these unlicensed trucks?

Yeah, there are quite a few. I spent a lot of time down by the mall and just some of the things that I saw firsthand.

One, generators not running. If you’re down there, you can hear the generators. So if you don’t hear a generator, that’s a red flag because that means the food is not being refrigerated. Investigators have shared stories about finding moldy milk; trash covering the dashboard; rats that have moved into some of these vehicles; not having enough hot water, not having water at all. So, that’s a pretty bad recipe.

And then on the fire and, because they’re not being inspected by the fire department, there have been trucks that have literally exploded right on Constitution Avenue. There were two people sent to the hospital with critical injuries in 2024, because one of these unlicensed food trucks caught on fire.

So, there are very real risks.

What steps can customers take to avoid and or report them?

Yeah, absolutely. There are some common sense things you can look for.

One, do they list their prices, right? Two, look at the state of the truck. You can see a lot with your own eyes if it looks dirty, if it looks like it’s in disarray or falling apart; that’s probably not a good sign.

I mentioned the generators, you know, listen to make sure the generator is running. Also, these trucks are supposed to have stickers from D.C. licensing agencies. If you go to our story about the food trucks, you’ll see a guide to what those stickers look like. They’re on the side of the truck and the front window, and they will show that it has been inspected by D.C. Licensing and Consumer Protection and the D.C. Health Department. So that’s always a good thing to look for.

One other tip I’d say: always ask the price before, because you don’t know what you’re gonna get charged if you don’t.

I personally got ripped off for journalism. I ordered a small ice cream cone from one of these trucks. I did not ask for the price. And do you want to guess what I got charged?

$16.50 for one small ice cream cone.

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