A recent confrontation between a restaurant owner and a taco vendor shows tensions are running high in Long Beach ahead of the City Council’s plan to vote on a pivotal street-vending ordinance that would regulate where they can set up shop.
The incident gained attention this week when a series of videos posted to Instagram showed a clash between La Taqueria Brand and Tacos La Juquilita Oaxaqueña, which was operating on the sidewalk in front of the shopping center that hosts the restaurant’s North Long Beach location.
Ricardo Villalobos, a partner of La Taqueria Brand, is seen grabbing the phone of one of the taco stand’s employees on Jan. 5, according to a video posted by the vendor, which received some 19,000 views. He was accused of smashing the phone shortly after. Another viral video posted appeared to show the vendor’s setup area blocked by yellow tape
In an email sent to the Long Beach Post on Jan. 10, Villalobos apologized for his actions.
“I genuinely regret any harm or distress caused, and I take full responsibility for my actions. What happened was entirely inappropriate, and I understand the impact it had on Tacos la Juquilita and our community,” Villalobos said in his email.
Villalobos said he was committed to covering the cost of the damaged phone. He also said he would donate a fully permitted vending cart to someone in the community who needed one.
After signing the lease in October 2022 and over a year of permitting and construction, La Taquera Brand, which has two other locations in the city, planned its grand opening for Jan. 11. But that celebration was canceled amid community outrage and backlash over the incident.
“This actions and communication is my direct responsibility and not from La Taqueria Brand,” Villalobos wrote.
Tacos La Juquilita Oaxaqueña did not respond to a request for comment about the incident, but in a video posted by the taco stand, a woman explained in Spanish that they have been setting up there long before the restaurant began construction.
She went on to accuse the owner of attempting to kick them off that area of the sidewalk.
Long Beach police responded to the incident on Jan. 5, “spoke with both parties, and successfully resolved their dispute,” Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Allison Gallagher said. Police did not elaborate further.
This is only the latest such confrontation that has made headlines in Long Beach. Last year, another incident between David Copley, co-owner of The Auld Dubliner, and workers from Hibachi Queens food truck, also circulated online.
The long-debated issue of where street vendors are allowed to operate will come to a head on Tuesday, Jan. 16, when the City Council plans to vote on an ordinance that would create a framework of strict rules and requirements.
The approval of two California Senate Bills — 946, first introduced by Sen. Lena Gonzalez and approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2018, and 972, approved in 2022, have decriminalized street vending on a state level. But now cities must create their own ordinances and parameters for vendors and have struggled to do so.
State law mandates that any rules put in place do not favor brick-and-mortar businesses over street vendors.
If Long Beach’s ordinance passes, enforcement of food vendor rules in the city will fall under the jurisdiction of the Health Department, Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Allison Gallagher said.
Currently, vendors like Tacos La Juquilita Oaxaqueña are not required to obtain a business permit like brick-and-mortars are. However, such vendors are still required to have a health permit and follow all state health code regulations.
According to Jennifer Rice Epstein, spokesperson for the Health Department, Tacos La Juquilita Oaxaqueña was not operating with a valid health permit, and last year, the department confiscated their food on three occasions.
Brick-and-mortar restaurant owners have spoken at City Council meetings in recent months voicing their concerns about the disparity between costs they accrue running their establishments including various taxes, insurance costs, permitting.
Advocates for street vendors say they are a necessary part of the city’s culture and cuisine and often are one of the only ways for low-income entrepreneurs to make a living.
The city does have guidelines already in place for permitting some types of carts like the one Villalobos has proposed to donate but they may only serve certain perishable food that is already cooked like a premade churro or pretzel.
The ordinance that will go before the council on Tuesday would include buffers like a 20-foot buffer between vendors, a 25-foot buffer from beach access points, and more. It will also require them to get permits and insurance, which the city estimates will cost nearly $1,000 per year, but Mayor Rex Richardson asked the city in November to make $1,500 available to each vendor to cover the costs for permits and insurance for the first year.
If the ordinance passes, street vendors violating the law could face administrative penalties that could cost hundreds of dollars for violating the buffers that will prohibit vendors from operating in some parts of the city, even with a permit, or operating without the required permits and insurance.
However, it is unclear how strictly the ordinance will be enforced.
In November, city officials said fines are not expected to be given out for the first three to six months after the council approves the law as city workers educate vendors about the new rules to operate in Long Beach.
The City Council will discuss the food vending ordinance on Jan. 16 at 5 p.m.
Reporter Jason Ruiz contributed to this report.