29 Oct Mobile Vendor Program Transforms Empty Lot into Entrepreneurial Grounds

Richmond City Council member Cesar Zepeda, from left, Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez and Michoacán Burgers owner Gloria Angelica Lopez at the Oct. 24 grand opening of the Mobile Vendor Plaza.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

In the heart of Richmond, city organizations have turned an underutilized parking lot into its first community food hub under the Mobile Vendor Program, giving street vendors an authorized place to sell their wares.

The MVP was established in June as the City Council moved to regulate street vendors following complaints earlier in the year from the 23^rd Street Merchants Association.

On Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the parking lot on Macdonald Avenue between Marina Way and 15th Street next to the Richmond BART station, you can find a variety of food vendors.

The selection features jerk chicken, Asian fusion, Latin American, carnival desserts, burgers and more. All vendors take cash, and most of them take debit or electronic payment.

The program, which began Sept. 21, celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Vendors and their tents lined the mostly shadeless parking lot as well as picnic tables under canopies. Hay, pumpkin decorations and a mic stand under a canopy worked as a stage.

Michoacán Burgers owner Gloria Angelica Lopez, who gave a speech during the ribbon cutting, encouraged more people to apply for the vendor program and said she offers her support to them.

“It is possible to start their own business, and, well, they are no longer going to be on the streets. We are going to be in a safe, fixed place and with a very good schedule,” Lopez said. “We are just looking for an opportunity where we could create our business.”

She hopes to use that safe space to give her clients a better experience and engage with locals from different Richmond neighborhoods “and one day, have our own restaurant,” she said.

This MVP program is “groundbreaking” because it brings people out of the shadows in a business sense and allowing them the opportunity to earn their license and permits, said Richmond Farmers Market director and MVP program operator Thomas Cloman.

“The city and its leadership took what many would have called almost a nuisance and created a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to prepare themselves for long term business owners,” Cloman said. “In our second phase of the vendor program we’re going to be developing marketing strategies with them and helping them with what we call the backroom part of their business.”

So far, 33 vendors have signed up and gone through the onboarding process. Cloman expects to fill the Macdonald Avenue parking lot up with 25 vendors.

Additionally, the goal of the program is to create these food hubs in different parts of the city with different vendors in collaboration with city staff, he said.

Michele DiMaggio, a Contra Costa Health supervisor, and her staff worked with the vendors to provide education and guidance in the permit application process.

“I know our application can be difficult. We are trying to make it easier,” DiMaggio said.

She also took the microphone to show her appreciation for the program to the crowd of patrons.

“This is an accomplishment. I’ve worked for the county health for about 23 years now, and this is the first time I’ve actually seen and experienced a great partnership.”

In addition to the Mobile Vendor Plaza on Macdonald Avenue, Richmond also hosts street vendors at its two farmers markets: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Fridays at Civic Center Plaza and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sundays at Marina Bay Park.

Those interested in joining the Mobile Vendor Program will need to fill out an application and intake form, followed by a county health application and commercial kitchen use form. They will need to apply for a sidewalk vending permit with the city as well. If all the forms are approved, vendors will have to enter into a Program Agreement with the city. People can contact Cloman at chkheart@aol.com or (510) 406-1360 or city staff at (510) 307-8000 for more information.