Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Diego
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
View Poll Results: Who thinks someone with a HUGE HEART will help Aloha Girl?
'Ae (YES!) 5 83.33%
A'ole (NO WAY) 1 16.67%
Voters: 6. You may not vote on this poll

Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:16 AM
 
7 posts, read 24,293 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Aloha, everyone

I'm opening a new mobile food cart San Diego and I'm desperately looking for a Health Department mandated kitchen. PLEASE HEAR ME OUT

The SD Health Department requires EVERY mobile food vendor to have a "commissary". This means somewhere to store and prepare food sold on their "mobile food facility". Since ALL of my food items are pre-packaged or canned, I don't actually need to use the commissary. BUT the HD still requires that I have permission from a "commissary" to use their facility to store and prepare my food. Isn't that silly?

I understand the intention of the guidelines. They don't want people storing and preparing food in their homes, then throwing it on a cart and selling it. They want to assure it is from a safe environment. But did I mention all of my items are pre-packaged or canned and require no preparation? I'm so frustrated This business has been my dream and I'm determined not to let this get in the way.

So, basically I'm reaching out for the graciousness of a sympathetic owner who has a Health Dept mandated kitchen, (i.e. restaurant, cafe, etc.) just to "agree" to let me "use" their facility. *wink* Here's a sample of a letter you would sign...that's it!

http://sandiegohealth.org/food/mobile_food.pdf Go to Page 5

Mahalo for taking the time to read this, I truly appreciate it and if you're reading this and maybe you even have a good friend or sister or whoever I would be forever indebted to you!

Malama pono
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:29 AM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
4,897 posts, read 8,315,282 times
Reputation: 1911
I'm sorry I can't help (I'm not in the industry) but San Diego unfortunately has some stupidly restrictive laws regarding mobile eateries mainly because they want to make life difficult for them to lessen competition with rent playing restaurants. Honestly, I think high end mobile places are the latest gastronomic trend in the country with places like Kogi in LA and numerous places in NYC and Chicago. The Miho Gastrotruck just got started up in San Diego (started by some very highly trained chefs who used to work at The Linkery but who struck out on their own) and we've had Mariscos German (best fish tacos in town hands down) for a few years but there isn't much else of note. It's a shame too because a mobile business gives young chefs a chance to start their own business, build a following, and experiement without investing a huge amount of money (a couple of hundred thousand instead of the millions a high end place costs).

Hopefully the city government will stop being so obstructionist with these local small businesses but we'll see.

Kogi BBQ | Korean BBQ-To-Go
MIHO Gastrotruck | Home
Marisco's German Taco Truck 3 | San Diego Mexican Food Reviews

Edit: I forgot Copper Chimney which does some great South Indian food out of a mobile truck: http://www.yelp.com/biz/copper-chimney-san-diego

Last edited by Oerdin; 06-03-2010 at 12:40 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:32 AM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
4,897 posts, read 8,315,282 times
Reputation: 1911
BTW what sort of food are you planning to sell and where? Oh, and you may consider posting a thread over at Chowhound.com's San Diego subforum as they have a few culinary professionals who post there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:42 AM
 
Location: Coastal San Diego
5,024 posts, read 7,570,523 times
Reputation: 4055
Send an email or call Steve Zolezzi at the Food & Beverage Assn of San Diego. His email address is: fbasd@foodnbeverage.org - office phone: 619-228-2291.

Explain your situation to him. He knows hundreds of local restaurant owners. He'll either find you a 'host kitchen' or offer a workaround idea.

Also, be sure to tell him you'd love to join his organization after you get your business up and running. His website is: Food&Beverage Association of San Diego

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:50 AM
 
7 posts, read 24,293 times
Reputation: 10
REAAAALLLLLY???!!!
Cruitr if this works out, you will be my new best friend.
You have no idea how much this helps. I've made countless calls to local restaurants, caterers, etc...all to no avail
MAHALO! I will contact Steve first thing tomorrow and you keep you posted...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:57 AM
 
7 posts, read 24,293 times
Reputation: 10
Chowhound (making mental note)...thank you Oerdin. Excellent idea!
Wow, you are the Mobile Food Connoisseur...you ought to write a blog
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 09:36 AM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
4,897 posts, read 8,315,282 times
Reputation: 1911
I just follow a bunch of blogs and like ferreting out great food.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 11:46 AM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
3,545 posts, read 6,029,485 times
Reputation: 4096
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oerdin View Post
I just follow a bunch of blogs and like ferreting out great food.
I'm going to check out MIHO Gastrotruck tomorrow. Tried to get to them on Sunday, but apparently they sold out in less than 2 hours and I missed 'em.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:01 PM
 
7 posts, read 24,293 times
Reputation: 10
I checked out their website and instantly started salivating. Would love to hear what you get!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 12:18 PM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
3,545 posts, read 6,029,485 times
Reputation: 4096
Quote:
Originally Posted by SD_Aloha Girl View Post
I checked out their website and instantly started salivating. Would love to hear what you get!
I'll let you know!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Diego
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top