After much deliberation and a nearly split city council vote, Long Beach followed in the steps of many other cities Tuesday night and passed an ordinance allowing MEHKOs to operate. Most importantly, residents will not have to notify their landlord or get their permission in order to have a MEHKO.
A MEHKO is a Micro-Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation — plainly stated, it’s a business built out of someone’s kitchen at home. Much like Long Beach’s Cottage Food License, which allows residents to make and sell baked goods and non-perishables out of their home, the MEHKO broadens what food can be sold and how.
MEHKO operators can make meals or drinks in their home and sell them outside, at a farmers market, with a cart, or have someone pick up their order. Others create a mini restaurant within their home, usually on a backyard patio…