California's Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) permits allow home cooks to legally operate food businesses from their homes. The law, enacted in 2018, requires counties to opt-in. So far, 17 counties, including Los Angeles, have done that.
Heidi Pickman of California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), outlines the steps home cooks must take to obtain a permit. These include passing a food safety test, developing a menu, creating standard operating procedures, and passing a home inspection. Los Angeles will waive the licensing fee for the first 500 cooks.
The Cook Academy, a free eight-week class offered by COOK Alliance, prepares cooks for this business, with eligible graduates receiving a $3,000 grant. MEHKO businesses can earn up to $100,000 annually, a significant reduction in startup costs compared to traditional restaurants.
Pickman says the average startup cost to open a brick & mortar establishment is $400,000, whereas a food truck requires $50,000 of capital. Commercial kitchen rentals, when available, set operators back $45,000. A MEHKO business has a low overhead of a few thousand dollars for permits, equipment, and food inventory, resulting in a more feasible path toward entrepreneurship.