California’s Street Food Vendors Score Big with Latest Statewide Law

On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to modernize state code and regulations surrounding street vending. Senate Bill 972 is a landmark law designed to make it easier for vendors to sell food on streets throughout the state. Long Beach state Sen. Lena Gonzalez authored SB 972, which is a massive update to the California Retail Food Code. The bill offers a more streamlined path to acquiring a permit and prohibits criminal penalties from health departments or law enforcement.

In 2018, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act that decriminalized street vending. However, the bill required that street food vendors have equipment more in line with food trucks and catering businesses than pushcart operations, like fresh fruit or taco stands. Over the last year, street food vendors faced uncertain futures as the 20-year-old El Salvador Corridor street food market closed and city officials shut down the Avenue 26 night market in Lincoln Heights.

New location for Avenue 26 night market

Speaking of street food, CBS-2 reports that the Avenue 26 night market started operating out of the Pico Rivera Sports Arena last month

Baby Blues BBQ seeking new location

After a fire in late August, Venice’s Baby Blues BBQ is seeking a new location, writes Yo Venice.

Getting into the Magic Castle

Time Out LA answers one of the most pressing questions in Southern California: How does one get inside the members-only Magic Castle?

A Saturday night sushi feast for the Obamas

Former President Barack Obama dined at Hamasaku in West LA on Saturday night with daughters Sasha and Malia. The Daily Mail wrote a story about the evening, namely how Obama’s SUV parked in a disabled parking spot for the two-hour duration of dinner. A spokesperson for the restaurant tells Eater that the parking lot is managed by a valet company, and thus up to their discretion how cars are parked.

Hamasaku