New Street Vending Legislation Would Ban Sales at Some of LA’s Most Iconic Sites

Figuring it out

The city of Los Angeles is grappling with the ins and outs of legalizing street food, and the latest set of proposals to hit the city council offer the most in-depth look yet at just what a framework might look like. Unfortunately for some, if passed the legislation could mean the loss of sales around some of Los Angeles’s most important tourist sites.

Per the LA Times, the new proposals would seek to not only limit the number of vendors on a given block (two at a time, with mobile pushcarts limited to sales lasting less than seven minutes) and create barriers against setting up near schools, fire hydrants, parks, and restaurants, but it would outright ban street vending within 500 feet of places like Dodger Stadium, Staples Center, and elsewhere. What’s more, some in Hollywood are keen to ban all vending entirely from the Walk of Fame, a large swath of Hollywood that is seen as one of the more tourist-friendly places for street vendors to ply their trade. For now there’s still a lot to discuss and many nuances to dive into, but it seems the future of legalized street vending in LA certainly may not be one that works for everybody.

Expanding to the Valley

The team behind some of LA’s most popular restaurants (Hinoki + The Bird, Rosaliné) is expanding to the Valley, as Culinary Lab has taken over the former HaHa Comedy club in North Hollywood. Reps are mum on just what the future holds for the place, but some city-filed paperwork indicates one possible name: California Commons.

Coffee Commissary grows

Local outlet Coffee Commissary just keeps growing, expanding quietly into their new Glendale space just a week or so ago. Interestingly, the team has also partnered up with Mini Cooper at 14th and Santa Monica on the Westside to bring a kind of tiny version of their shop to life.

Talking to Miles

Chef Miles Thompson is doing great things at Michael’s in Santa Monica these days, and he sat down with Food GPS to chat about his love of cooking, his personal culinary rise, and the future of cooking at a restaurant as iconic as his.

Tsubaki’s wine time

Echo Park hotspot Tsubaki is doing a big dinner as part of the larger Raw Wine LA movement this weekend. The Sunday session will welcome in Domaine Plageoles for a multi-course dinner and pairing, with tickets going for $100.

Pie for all

In the Loup has a nice list out on where to get great pies, what with the holidays coming up and all. Nicole Rucker and Isa Fabro land spots, of course, as well as Otium, Friends and Family, and others.

It’s all coming together

Things are still shaping up at Sixth + Mill in the Arts District, as the casual outlet from the Officine Brera/Factory Kitchen team gets down to the dirty business of building a restaurant. Here’s a construction shot of the place being put together, with a hopeful opening on the early side of next year.