AnonymousBy Natalia Govoni
He pulled out a mango, stabbed it with a stick, and expertly peeled and sliced into it. Within moments it looked like a beautiful flower. Spraying lemon juice and sprinkling it with a red powder, he presented it to the delight of his customer. A couple stood a few feet away sharing their mango on a stick. Another woman walked away munching on chicharrons she pulled from a bag that she had purchased from a sidewalk vendor.
You’ve probably seen them if you’ve been down by the beach or along Milpas. The food carts or “sidewalk vendors” who lift, push, and park their wheeled carts moving from location to location on the sidewalks of Santa Barbara. They sell bottled drinks, flavored ice, sliced papaya, fruit drinks and more. Some are friendlier than others.
Last weekend I enlisted my girlfriend in a mission to better understand their business. At the end of the day, I shut down my boutique and we met at the dolphin fountain. We proceeded to go from cart to cart speaking with the vendors. Most spoke Spanish with enough English words to complete a transaction and answer basic questions. Fortunately, my Spanish took us into some enlightening conversations.
The state of California calls these “microenterprises”. They are on a mission to “legitimize” them. They’ve been around for a few years so I’m not sure what “legitimizing” entails.
I asked one: “What obstacles do you run into with your business here in Santa Barbara with regard to licenses and permits?”
“Hay no problemas, No molestar.” He said there are no problems, and no one bothers them. When it comes to their type of business the City of Santa Barbara is “mas amable“ and “generoso” meaning we are kind and generous as compared to Oxnard, Ventura, and Carpinteria. There are no restrictions. Therefore, when he has a choice, he drives the 30-40 minutes to Santa Barbara rather than staying closer to home. “Business is better here.” He reflected. Other vendors are more local. They all said they work 7-days a week.
For so many businesses that closed over the last 2 years, and those barely hanging on by the skin of their teeth, things are not as simple as for these vendors. I reflected on my own boutique. The expenses for bricks and mortar businesses are significantly higher. A business owner has so many things to pay for including: the business license, taxes, sellers permit, rent, internet, phone, electricity, advertising, increased costs of customer acquisition, merchandise and more. Other businesses have payroll and issues with finding and keeping responsible and competent employees. It’s making me feel penalized for my type of business. And, with Covid, it has made it more difficult for us.
When it comes to sidewalk vendors, they utilize the public right of way. There’s no overhead. There are no visible documents affirming public health and safety standards have been met. Their customer acquisition, rather than advertising or sending fliers, means following the visible flow of tourist traffic that Santa Barbara and its developers spent millions in building. These vendors can easily move to their customers and follow their movement.
Their expenses are minimal, only gas, handmade carts, and supplies are out-of-pocket expenses. They told me they don’t collect taxes on sales, they don’t even have to pay for permits. They make juice at home. One handled the mango with his hands, another cut pineapple without a mask or gloves. There is no health department oversight.
Last week Santa Barbara proposed a $25 “tax receipt” and a year of “education” if they run afoul of non-existent enforcement. This intrigued me so I researched what other cities are doing in the state. For example, San Diego’s ordinance and enforcement begins with a verbal warning in month 1. If vendors are still not in compliance, they are fined accordingly: First Month: $100, Second Month: $200, Third Month: $500. However, the City of Santa Barbara plans to spend taxpayer money to educate the vendors for the first year without consequences for issues.
Not to mention, there are many who block sidewalks forcing people to walk in the bicycle lane and into oncoming traffic on Milpas Street. State Street only allows the vendors in the Promenade and only on the sidewalks during Fiesta. So, it seems things are different for different areas of town.
We followed one to his vehicle at the end of the day. His van was larger than my vehicle, newer and it made me wonder: with businesses suffering so much, why does this group get preference the rest do not? Are we trying to fix inequities by replacing them with new inequities at the expense of a different group just because we are “business owners?”
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The vendors that sell here need to be locals that live here. Let’s see how fast this comment gets deleted.
If I were a brick and mortar business owner in SB, I would have expressed much more “frustration” than this Poster! They are hurting local business owners, and city revenues. And YES, you WOULD think this way if they were stealing from your pockets, And I’d certainly hate to own a flower shop in town… Next, they’ll be selling bicycles, car tires, and batteries…
Nothing at all will change unless businesses unite and actively complain to officials, but then whoever is the Voice of organized businesses will be sure to be targeted, and shamed… In the end, it wouldn’t surprise me at all, if our local liberal leaders (let’s call them LLL) would vote that these illegal, non tax paying (many, not even locals), be forced to give free suckers the the drunks, addicts, homeless by choice, and others taking advantage of getting everything free (with us tax payers flipping the bill…)
Thanks, BO. I was afraid there would only be sane responses.
Have them pay all the fees a legitimate business does- no ostreet vending for a zillion years is what made SB unique- but to hell with that our leaders decided for us- talk about trafficking a guy in a truck picks up all the fresh fruit carts at the corners in the evening/ taxes what are those?
Sure, sidewalk vendors can get out of control, but that’s far from the case in SB. In fact they add to the ambience and likely enhance the tourism experience. This business owner sounds like she’s making excuses about why she’s not doing better. After all there are significant benefits to having a building. Instead of targeting hardworking sidewalk vendors and fear-mongering about germs etc., it might be a better idea to put more energy into your own business.
Welfare check
Doesn’t all the cash these vendors make add to the ‘underground economy’ Joyce Dudley so eagerly was enforcing? Joyce loves the ‘low hanging’ frutas so why isn’t her crack team of grant funded go getters going and getting?
I’m confused, does Natalia’s business sell mangos and bottled water? If not, how does this affect her business or provide competition in any way?
You are missing the points she is making in the article. She is NOT stating anything about it affecting competition, but rather about the playing field being fair. If brick and mortars, restaurants, bars, and wineries are all expected to have business licenses and seller’s permits, why are cart vendors not held to the same standard? And, why have they been permitted to sell food without any health and safety measures?
Selling food does need to comply with basic health standard; not block the sidewalks but I see no need for fines. The street vendors she spoke to” spoke Spanish and enough English to complete the transaction” as she puts it. Comparing businesses to vendors is like apples & oranges. Business owners for starters are fluent in English and typically are college grads. I personally think we need to support our street vendors, and also the egg confetti makers at Fiesta. We don’t need to fine them and make it so complicated these vendors can’t survive. Our county has the 2nd highest child poverty rate and ridiculously high cost of living. Our education system really fails to meet the basic needs for literacy by end of third and those that suffer the most are the most vulnerable students and black and brown students. Street vendors is part of the American way. Work hard and build on it. If this business owner is upset how good street vendors have it she is welcome to become one. As a community I feel we need to have many pathways to make a living. Also when incarcerated are done with their sentences it is extremely hard to get employed. Street vendors create a pathway to independence without a lot of education or hassle. That is good for our entire community because it brings down the recidivism rates which is good for all of us.
Other than completely blocking sidewalks (which I have never even seen) and having adequate food safety happening, I see zero reason to do anything about this. Let them work, compete (competition isn’t always fair O.P., just as life is not fair), and try to make a living.
It’s sounds like a lot of commenters want more regulation and enforcement by the city of SB. Is this really high on the list of SB’s issues? Really? You are aware that more regulation and enforcement will cost money, add to beauracracy, pension debt, etc right? These things don’t come for free.
Business owners are typically college grads? What business owners are you talking about? Many of your everyday business owners worked hard in the field to own that business. Many small business owners I know in this town did not go to college or dropped out to work full time. It does not take a college degree to work your way up in a business or learn a trade from the ground up. Wonder how many successful bar owners downtown have degrees? Or local contractors, electricians, plumbers, concrete companies, spa owners, bookstore owners, bakeries or any variety of successful business owners in this town. Street vendors are fine as long as they have permits. But people should not be able to come here and sell confetti eggs during fiesta. This practice of allowing people to set up blocks of tables along the parade route blocking the sidewalk and parade watching is absurd. They should be locals with small booths in the mercados. At least that would contain the mess these make.
The sidewalk vendors add to the ambiance? The ambiance of feeling like we’re in Tijuana? As a bicyclist, I do not appreciate the vendors who often operate in the bike lane on Cabrillo. These vendors need to be permitted.
I doubt fruit venders are unfair completion for boutiques and brick and mortar juice joints that sell $14 bottles to yoga moms. Some do have permits. Personally I think schools should should should welcome them, especially in minority areas. Also don’t get the relevance of the size of vehicle reference.
Many business are putting their inventory on the sidewalk, using public space.
I don’t get the concept of fruit sellers being such a threat of completion
Obviously, you are not on Milpas Street frequently because if so you would witness these vendors blocking the sidewalk at times. And, doing that is not fair to the pedestrians who want to use it for walking, running, or pushing baby strollers. The author is not denying them a right to make a living only that the rules be fair to everyone. If you had a business on the Milpas Corridor, I am certain that you would feel the same way but being that you obviously do not, it is easy to say, “Let them work, compete, and try to make a living,” all without the proper licenses and permits that every other business is required to possess.
Imagine you owned a flower business in town and watched the untaxed unpermitted and unregulated vendors on street corners selling their bouquets …. well, a bit of a heartbreak when you pay rent, utilities, permits and taxes. And don’t kid yourself these are locals just giving themselves an American leg up. There is a Fagan rounding up the urchins at the end of the day, who decides “ownership” of prime street corners. Same with the pushcarts, that get trucked out at dusk. Our obsession with equity always points to the downtrodden and oppressed, instead of looking to the people who play the game legally, who have suffered so much with lockdowns and regulations. Support honest legal businesses, support your locals who have invested in Santa Barbara brick-and-mortar and try to do things the right way. If you want food vendors, ask any restaurant owner what it is like for them to conform to health and safety codes, and be inspected. Fair play is equality under the law. Taxes and codes should apply to everyone or no one.
You are entirely missing the points in this article. The author is not stating anything about a threat of competition only that the rules be fair for everyone. Why should brick and mortars be required to have licenses and permits when the city is not requiring the same for sidewalk vendors? And, contrary to what you believe, they do not have permits and have been operating without them for a long time. Furthermore, according to this proposed ordinance, brick and mortars are prohibited from selling their inventory on the sidewalks.
And lastly, why should these cart vendors only be allowed in minority areas as that sounds discriminatory. They should also be allowed on Coast Vilage Road and State Street but yet you do not see these vendors there. They are only allowed on the sidewalks of State Street during Fiesta which is totally unfair and discriminatory.
If a business fears that street carts may hurt it, then that business is already a failure.
Wow – you people complain about all of the empty retail space on State Street and then you complain about businesses that avoid the stupidly high rents, and then you complain that the people who are smart enough to create their own commerce here are not “local”. And what the heck is the comment about the vendors who sell confetti eggs during fiesta? They should be locals with small booths in the mercados and contain the mess? NOTHING contains confetti egg mess. Sounds like a lot of people want to live in Disneyland – lots of rules, uniformity, everything pretty and sweep the rest under the magic carpet. SB is definitely suffering from a lack of common sense and good city planning.
Another example of the two tiered system we operate here in SB. Permits, licensees, insurance, forms, fees, are all for the suckers among us. Those who foolishly follow the rules and the law and willingly pay their fair share. And the others? From manual labor to journeyman tradesmen, from first-time house cleaners to fleet operators, small restaurants operators to the largest hotels and chains. There is an unofficial two tiered system in place that allows certain people to cheat the system to enrich themselves by skirting the law and the rules. We now have very large businesses built on falsehoods and cheats that are grandfathered into existence and allowed to operated without penalty. We all have neighbors who build without permits and all know contractors who operate their businesses without licensees, insurance, etc. We applaud the restauranteur while ignoring the fact that they’re getting rich off of cheap labor… From the Olympics, to the Whitehouse, from the World Series to the hoards of local businesses, cheating has become a part of our cultural DNA.
Whether it’s the tax avoidance by the cash businesses or just ignoring the entire regulatory and legal requirements needed to operate a business and employ people legally, America and SB are in the midst of a culture that is wilting from endemic cheating. One need not look past the fraudulently obtained PPP loans gifted to so many of our local busineseses for examples of this throughout the social economical ladder. There are cheaters at every level in every sector and they’re emboldened.
Make no mistake. The real issue here is the selective enforcement of laws that have long existed to protect individuals, the community and business operators. Without consequences, without universal enforcement we have created this culture of cheating and it’s eating at our soul and our future.
Lady justice is supposed to be blind, but apparently no one has called her out for being greedy. Kids grow up knowing these things. They learn quickly that its better to follow the actions of people rather than the words they speak…
You can thank your super-majority Dem government for this. Systematically removing all the laws that keep us from becoming a Third World country (state).
I would think that the first person who gets sick from these carts that gives a law suit to the city for not regulating and having health dept check in them will wake them up. I say one guy petting a dog no then cutting a mango lol no gloves no mask. They pay no taxes. Our tax dollars probably pay their rent food and medical and the contribute nothing just like most of the people keeping your yard clean. I went to hire a group and told them I would 1099 them and they said Nono no taxes. That’s making $25 per hour. Yet my son making $12 has to pay taxes we need to quit hiring these lawbreakers and just have them do what’s right. Has anyone on here tried to work illegally in any other country
Maybe your son should work at McDonald’s on fairview. They are paying $17 an hour to start.
What bubble are you living in thinking that these cart vendors add ambience and enhance the tourism experience?!?! First of all, many of the tourists do not even visit the Eastside District because it looks so unaesthetically appealing and offers nothing of interest. All you see are homeless, filthy sidewalks, sidewalk cart vendors, and trash thrown everywhere from the sidewalks to the streets and everywhere in between. So, who in their right mind would even consider touring this swampland?
So, I applaud this author for having the courage to address this issue and support her fellow business owners who also have to suffer with the unfairness and inequity. She is not inciting fearmongering rumors nor targeting sidewalk vendors, but rather stating the facts! Obviously, you do not know the difference!
Sure but are you willing to pay for this fairness? A rise in your business taxes to hire more cops and city staff to patrol this pretty harmless competitor in the name of fairness? I would think as a local business owner you’d be more focused on handling the homeless situation and crime on Milpas in front of your lingerie shop. Seems roving food carts are the least of your problem.
Again, that is not the issue!
Why should brick and mortars, restaurants, bars, etc… have business licenses and permits when they are not requesting them from sidewalk vendors? Rules are rules and they must be applied equally across the board to everyone! The Eastside Councilmember, Alejandra Gutierrez, is also advocating that these vendors be given ONE YEAR to run afoul without any consequences! This just adds more fuel to this fire because the City of SB is NEVER that kind and generous with other type of business who run afoul. In fact, they expect that you learn the rules and if not, you suffer the consequences in the form of fines. But, with this proposed ordinance, they are wanting to educate these vendors with staff employees. Since Councilmembers Alejandra Gutierrez, Meghan Harmon, and Oscar Gutierrez are such proponents of this ordinance, then they should be required to spend their time and dime in educating them!
Racists will be racists.
Yes, its probably a good idea to add some regulation here, but if this is such a great business model maybe the shop owner that is annoyed by this should get rid of the brick & mortar and get a cart? It really doesn’t sound like a great occupation to me.
Why should brick and mortars give up their space? I think the city of Santa Barbara should not require them to have licenses and permits just like the cart vendors. Then, the playing field would be much more equitable.
Hey, it’s free enterprise in a capitalist market economy. It’s no more unfair than Costco or Amazon. It’s only ‘unfair’ when the product is cheaper and/or better than what the brick & mortar folks sell.
As far as health & safety goes, if you don’t like what you see, just keep walking. You don’t have that choice in a restaurant where food is prepared out of sight.