ORLANDO, Fla. -- Even in the best relationships, you're not always going to agree, and for new business owner April Williams' case, that meant food.
So food trucks were a good option for Williams and her family.
- New Orlando program expedites small business permits
- 'Permitting Express' was launched 6 months ago
- Orlando couple to open A La Carte Street Food and Craft Beer
"He (my husband) can get what he wants, I can get what I want, our son can get what he wants. So we can all meet right in the middle," Williams said.
The former teacher and her husband decided to quit and put everything in to open up "A La Carte Street Food and Craft Beer" in Orlando's Milk District. The project, which she hopes will open in July, will consist of an Astroturf lawn, courtyard, fun lights and outdoor games.
The Central Florida couple's dream came true much faster than it would have about a year ago, thanks to a new Orlando program called Permitting Express. It's designed to get small businesses up and running faster. The program started six months ago, when small and big business permit requests were lumped together.
"You went through kind of the same processes, so we wanted to make it easier for the less complicated projects to get through permitting," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
Now, a specialized team of people help a hopeful small business owner through the permitting process and expedite things.
"Projects that are less than 5,000 square feet are automatically in Permitting Express, and we've had great success with it," Dyer said.
Williams and her husband are examples of that success.
"I believe it. We're close. We'll be there very soon thanks to that," she said.
With Williams' business, food trucks will be able to rent spaces, others will be switched out more frequently. They're also going to hire people over the coming weeks, giving the local economy a bit of a boost.
