NORTH WILDWOOD – Ice cream and coffee vendors on city beaches will sport a different look this summer, as an ordinance introduced on Tuesday, Jan. 16, requires them to wear uniforms.

The ordinance says that anyone vending coffee products or ice cream on city beaches “shall be clothed in matching uniform which clearly identify the name of the concessionaire and the name of the individual vendor.”

According to Mayor Patrick Rosenello, there was no problem that led to the proposed requirement to have vendors wearing uniforms; quite the contrary.

“Our iced coffee vendor did a good job in having their people in uniforms and their carts done with professional signs,” Rosenello wrote in response to a question about the ordinance.

A second provision of the ordinance is that vendors “have the prices of its products clearly displayed on his/her cart,” with the prices having been printed from a computer or by some other technological means.

“No hand-written signs or labels are permitted,” the ordinance says.

In praising the appearance of the iced coffee vendor’s crew, Rosenello said there was no problem with the ice cream vendors, but moving forward, the city would like to have the same level of professional service and appearance from all beach vendors.

“We just wanted to make sure everything was up to the same standards,” the mayor said.

Joseph Byrne currently holds the iced coffee vending license in North Wildwood. There is no licensed ice cream vendor. Bid requests for ice cream vending will go out in late February, according to the city clerk’s office.

Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.