When Los Angeles County native Laura Jardon opened the first Mexican vegan restaurant in Whittier in December 2018, she said she was excited to be able to offer her homemade recipes to people living in the area.
“We don’t have a big vegan community in Whittier, but it’s where I live and I felt passionate about sharing my food with my neighbors,” Jardon said. “I make everything from scratch, including the sauces, cheeses and proteins. Nothing is processed.”
Veggie Y Qué had a seating capacity of about 20, and Jardon said the restaurant was always very busy, attracting both vegans and non-vegans alike.
But in August 2023, she received the news that the landlord would not renew her lease.
“I was devastated,” she said. “I did not want to leave my location.”
While she could have found a space in the city of Los Angeles, the costs were prohibitive, leading her to resign herself to the fact that her days of owning a restaurant were over.
Jardon returned to her previous line of work as an employee benefits account manager, with the lingering feeling that she had let her community down.
“I love my job, but I felt like I lost a part of myself when I closed the restaurant,” she said.
Then in September, she came across a story about a recent California law that allows home cooks to obtain Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) permits so they can legally sell food they prepare at home to the public.
Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September 2018, the first in the nation law amended the California Health and Safety Code to establish MEHKOs as a new type of retail food facility, creating a county-by-county opt-in system for municipalities interested in participating in the program.
More than a dozen counties have started programs since the law took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, but the permits only became available to cooks in L.A. County on Nov. 1.
For Jardon, it’s a second chance to fulfill her passion.
“I was just about to close my corporation,” said Jardon. “I had given up on ever providing my food to my community again.”
“Now I have hope,” said Jardon, who is planning to operate her MEHKO on a part-time basis, while keeping her day job.
Learning how to operate
She’s currently enrolled in the COOK Academy, where she is learning how to successfully operate her MEHKO, which will have the same name as her restaurant.
The free training program is being offered by the COOK Alliance, a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to legitimizing home-based food entrepreneurs, as part of a larger MEHKO project with the CAMEO Network, a group of 400 statewide business service providers dedicated to furthering micro-business development in California.
The COOK Alliance championed and helped author the MEHKO law, with its passage supported by the San Francisco-based CAMEO Network and other community organizations. The initiative is expected to increase food diversity options around the state.
“This law is part of a greater food justice movement,” said CAMEO Network Chief Executive Officer Carolina Martinez. “Many people in L.A. County and around the state have been selling food prepared in their home kitchens in the shadows for years.”
“With the pandemic, a lot of restaurants also had to close their operations and this program offers them a chance to get back on their feet,” said Martinez.
To participate, home cooks must follow all safety protocols and regulations.
Those who receive permits are allowed to sell 30 meals per day and as many as 90 meals per week, with a cap of up to $100,000 in gross sales annually.
“The caps are designed to ensure food safety and to allow these businesses to peacefully co-exist with their neighbors and local brick-and-mortar restaurants,” said Roya Bagheri, executive director of the COOK Alliance.
“It’s a chance for these cooks to share their culture, while bringing in some extra income to help support their families and contributing to L.A.’s vibrant food landscape,” said Bagheri.
Since the application process opened up across the state, over 200 people have been accepted into the COOK Academy, which not only helps entrepreneurs navigate the permitting process, but also teaches them about financing, marketing and menu pricing.
Graduates are eligible to receive college credit, and the first 500 qualify for a $3,000 grant from CAMEO Network to help cover startup costs or scale their businesses.
The L.A. County Department of Public Health is also offering a subsidy to cover the $597 permitting application fee for up to 1,000 home cooks.
The permits are obtained through local county health departments. Individuals are not required to graduate from the COOK Academy to obtain a permit, however, the program does help prepare people for the application and inspection process.
Jardon is among the fourth group of home cooks who will graduate from the COOK Academy in mid-December.
Other graduates
Over 100 home cooks have already graduated. More than 20 are from L.A. County, including Shannon Brantley, who together with her husband Stuart, own Angel City Dumpling Co.
They obtained their permit on Nov. 6.
The first MEHKO in the county to begin operating, Angel City Dumping Co. features a variety of uniquely flavored dumplings such as southern fried chicken, beef birria and chicken shawarma along with traditional flavors like pork and green onion.
While Angel City Dumping Co. only recently received its license, Brantley technically started the business in January. However, the dumplings were frozen and sales were confined to family and friends and followers on Instagram.
“We wanted to expand, but we could not afford a commercial kitchen or a ghost kitchen,” said Brantley. “Thanks to the MEHKO program we can now sell our products to a much larger audience legally and hopefully branch out and grow into something larger.”
“My grandmother, Kathryn Tanner, was a prominent caterer in the L.A. community, so I’ve been cooking since I was a child,” said Brantley. “I’ve always been drawn to culturally diverse foods.”
The L.A. native said she’s excited to turn her passion into a future career with her husband Stuart. Although the recipes are hers, Brantley leaves the cooking to him.
Sporting the slogan, “Not Your Average Dumpling,” the company offers four non-frozen varieties each week.
“People can get two bites out of our dumplings,” she said.
While the bulk of the flavors are savory, there are also some sweet dumplings like strawberry shortcake and chocolate molten brownie.
Angel City Dumpling Co. currently offers pickup and home delivery options, via their website and hotplate.com.
As for Jardon, she expects to get her MEHKO up and running in January.
In her case, it was her journey into veganism that led her to come up with the recipes that enabled her to start a food business.
“I struggled to go vegan for over seven years as I didn’t find any resonance in veganism to my culture,” said Jardon, who officially went vegan in 2017.
“Until one day, I made the decision to make vegan Mexican, not the other way around,” she said. “That’s when I started to create all my favorite dishes with the same flavors I was used to, but vegan.”
When she begins operating, she will be offering some of her signature dishes including her former number one best seller ‘Veg Out of the Box’ tacos.
“It’s a vegan twist on the little tacos sold by Jack in the Box,” she said.
Other crowd pleasers include Al Pastor tacos and burritos, which feature a unique soy protein in a traditional Mexican Guajillo chili sauce with a hint of pineapple and Asada tacos and burritos, made with a traditionally marinated soy protein.
She will also sell Mexican breakfast items, such as Chilaquiles, breakfast Tortas and burritos.
While Jardon is not looking to operate her business on a full-time basis or lease another brick-and-mortar space, she does plan to set up seating in her yard for those who don’t want takeout.
“My plan is to make this a weekend thing,” said Jardon. “I am so grateful for this program because I will never again have to rely on a landlord to renew my lease to be able to sell my food.”
“This program literally brought my dream back to life,” said Jardon. “I can feel that fire in my heart again.”
