Swampscott probes meat tent

Erin Hickey

July 1, 2026 by Erin Hickey

SWAMPSCOTT — A pop-up meat tent that drew plenty of online speculation last week is prompting officials to review whether the town’s permitting process adequately addresses temporary businesses operating on private property. 

Essential Foods Direct briefly set up shop in a Paradise Road parking lot near CVS, advertising heavily discounted meat packages — including promotions for “20 ribeyes for $40.” The offers quickly generated buzz on social media, with many residents questioning the operation and whether it had received the proper approvals to sell in town. 

Those questions reached the Board of Health Tuesday night, where Public Health Director Jeff Vaughan said that, from a food safety standpoint, the operation appeared to meet necessary requirements. 

Vaughan said he visited the site after learning the company would be selling food in Swampscott. 

“I went down there and took a look at them,” Vaughan said. “They had a freezer truck; they had a huge tent … and there was a long line.” 

He said the company, based in the Chicago area, provided documentation showing where the products had originated and that the meat remained properly frozen throughout the inspection. 

“They had all the documentation … it’s not like it was just some fly-by-night thing,” Vaughan said. “From my point of view, it was a safe food product. They had everything they needed to do for that … the truck was freezing … they took the stuff out, and it was literally hard as a rock.” 

Vaughan said that while the meat tent may not have been the most conventional business in town, the Health Department’s permitting scope was limited to food safety concerns, for which the business appeared to be in compliance.

“It was a weird one,” he said. “They gave me documentation on where it was coming from and that it was certified … So it was hard for me to say, ‘geez, I can’t let you do this.’” 

The remaining questions, officials said, have less to do with food safety than with whether Swampscott’s existing permitting processes are sufficient enough for temporary retail operations on privately owned property. 

Select Board member Wayne Spritz, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the meat truck ordeal has prompted him to review whether there are any gaps in local regulations. 

“I’m trying to figure out in the back end what was done and what needs to be done and what holes there may be in the system,” Spritz said. “So that it needs to come before either the Select Board or through at least the clerk’s office as to whether or not they actually established an operational business.” 

He said the goal is not only to determine whether the proper permits were issued, but also to reassure residents that the concerns raised during the controversy are continuing to receive attention.

“I just want the public to be aware that they’ve been heard and we’re looking into this even after the fact,” Spritz said. “They did have a sublease — it’s my understanding — for that period of time. So the question that comes before us is whether or not they had the right permit … not just to serve food, but just to be in operation.” 

Spritz said he hopes to raise the issue at an upcoming Select Board meeting so officials can continue reviewing the permitting process to determine whether additional local requirements — which he pointed out are written into the bylaws in some communities — or clearer regulations are needed for this type of temporary business in Swampscott. 

As for Essential Foods Direct, Vaughan said Swampscott wasn’t the only community where the company attracted attention. 

“They tried to go into Salem last week, and I think they just had like super zoning going on,” he said. “So I think they just went down and said ‘get the hell out of here.’”