Police, health and code enforcement officials in Orange County shut down at least five street vendors in Fullerton Thursday night as part of a broader countywide crackdown.
Video captured by a news photographer showed officials seizing cooking and food storage equipment and slabs of meat from vendors on South Harbor Boulevard, North Placentia Avenue and Yorba Linda Boulevard.
“Everyone was cordial, but they took the majority of my stuff,” said Peter Quezada, the owner of Baja Street Tacos.
Quezada insists he had obtained all of the necessary health and food handling permits, but also admits that he was not operating legally under current rules.
“When you go to knock on that last [legal] door and say ‘I need a spot,’ they say there’s no such thing … that you need to get a food truck or whatever,” he said. “Which I get, but I don’t have $100,000 to go buy a truck, so that’s why we do this.”
While popular and ubiquitous in the Los Angeles area, many street vendors are operating in a legal gray area, at best, if not entirely outside of the law.
An increasing number of Orange County cities, including Fullerton, Santa Ana and Orange, have begun cracking down on these businesses, insisting they not only pose health risks but also threaten traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB-972 which streamlines the process for vendors to obtain permits. Cities can still enact their own ordinances and issue fines for those who break the rules.
“Where there’s a demand, there’s always going to be a supply,” said Quezada. “I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong.”
