Richmond street food vendors now have place of their own

A new street vendor food plaza aimed at legitimizing unregulated sellers celebrates its official launch downtown today.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for noon today at the city parking lot on Macdonald between15th Street and Marina Way.

The pilot program informally launched on Sept. 21 and is open on Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the city’s website. Vendors can also sell at the city’s Civic Center and Marina Bay Farmers Markets.

In July, the Richmond City Council adopted an ordinance adding new sidewalk vending regulations to the Richmond Municipal Code in response to concerns raised by local businesses on 23rd Street who said the sidewalk food sellers were taking their customers.

The ordinance was passed 5-0 with Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez and District 4 councilmember Soheila Bana absent.

Gonzalo Ochoa, who owns and operates G&O Tires and is president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, told Richmondside last summer that unregulated vending has been an issue for a number of years, saying that some vendors have diverted customers from tax-paying businesses.

“We (brick-and mortar-businesses) are here and pay taxes. When the food vendors start coming out they take all the business,” he said. “One vendor can take three customers away from a business, how are they going to pay the bills? The city needs to pay attention.”

Richmond’s Economic Development Department,  Community Development and Public Works hosted three bilingual community meetings in August, September and October to explain the program, licensing requirements and enforcement.

According to the city’s website, potential vendors must verify themselves on the city’s website, fill out the Contra Costa County Health Application and County Health Commercial Kitchen Use Form, apply for a Richmond business license and sign an agreement with the city.

The vendor fee is $103.66 a year. A business selling without being properly licensed is subject to fines beginning at $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for every subsequent violation. Those found to be selling without any kind of permit will be fined $250 the first time, $500 the second time and $1,000 for every subsequent violation. 

Vendors who can’t afford to pay be fee can apply for a hardship waiver and can pay off fines via community service.

Anna Lopez, a street vendor who started selling Salvadoran pupusas and tamales this year, said that selling food on 23rd Street supplements her income as a house cleaner. She moved to the city from Santa Rosa in 2019 because the rent was more affordable.

“I go with my sister to clean houses about two times a week,” she said. “But I still have to pay my rent which is in total about $2,400 a month.”

According to Lopez, she makes just enough to keep investing some of her vending incomeback into the business.

“It’s not a lot,” she said. “But it’s better than asking for government assistance which I don’t like to do. It’s easier for me to cook and sell.”

Lopez, who at the time of her interview with Richmondside during the summer did not have a permit, added that she had been approached by someone from the city who gave her a phone number to call for help getting her license but said she had trouble understanding the process.

“They said I could also go to Martinez to make the process quicker. My nephew works for the city and said he could take me to Martinez but he’s been busy,” she said.

Lopez said she understands the risks of selling without a permit and has heardstories of other street vendors who have had food confiscated by Contra Costa County code enforcement. She said she hopes that she can get her permit now that the city has a clear process in place.

“If there’s an opportunity, of course (I would want to be legitimate),” she said. “If there’s a chance to pay to have that privilege so that we aren’t looked at like people who don’t want to have the permit or obey the laws of Richmond.”