LA County's New Home Cooking Program

[Nomad]

Are you a cook, do you want to start a cloud kitchen business? There is a good news for home cooks based in LA County. Starting in November 2024, you will be allowed to sell home cooked foods under Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) program. This program aims to bring new unregulated chefs and vendors under the law by offering them permits, which also aligns with the state laws.

However, there is a price to pay. You will have to pay an application fee of $597 and an annual health permit fee of $347. You are also limited on gross annual sales of $100,000 and capped at selling 30 meals per day or 90 meals per week.

You can read the details here.

 

[Farmaholic]

. . . You will have to pay an application fee of $597 and an annual health permit fee of $347. You are also limited on gross annual sales of $100,000 . . .

I wonder how many folks come close to selling that amount? The application fee seems a little high, but maybe it'll be worth to someone who has a lot of customers.

 

[JoeT]

I bet lots of people will continue to break the permitting rules. Once you factor in the cost of supplies and labor, it doesn't seem like they'd be making enough to justify the expensive startup costs.

 

[Nomad]

I wonder how many folks come close to selling that amount? The application fee seems a little high, but maybe it'll be worth to someone who has a lot of customers.

That's the real problem. When you are selling home cooked food, it is not easy to generate a lot of sales without spending a lot of money on SEO and digital marketing. Even though they have capped sales at $100K, I do not think it is easier to reach that target. The permit fees are really high for this kind of business model.

 

[Jake]

This is pretty cool, but I feel the $100,000 limit to sales is, well, limiting. But I imagine not all of these cloud kitchens will make that, especially with them limited to the amount of meals they can sell.

I wonder how many folks come close to selling that amount? The application fee seems a little high, but maybe it'll be worth to someone who has a lot of customers.

I feel like the application fee isn't too bad, as long as it's a one time thing. I think it'd pay off as long as you start to get good sales.

Also, I wonder in order to get away with making more than $100,000, they can offer some food for donations. I wonder if that would be legal.