The SoCal MFVA archive.

Top 10 Best Food Trucks in Los Angeles.

The Best Food Trucks team has compiled a list of the Best Food Trucks in Los Angeles. Using data derived from the Best Food Trucks app, they’ve based their list on sales, reviews and requests. From Pizza’s to BBQ, there…

The $25 Food Truck Meal

The $25 food truck meal. Have you ever been at a festival with food trucks and wondered, “How on earth is my burger, fries and a drink over $20?” Answer: it is not the food truck. Event organizers are now charging up to…

Food Truck Events: Working with Organizers

Food Truck Events Working with special events organizers can be one of the more profitable segments of your business. A special event, or a food truck event that is well organized and attended can make the difference bet…

Kitchens for Food Trucks

Slauson Commissary offers food trucks prep kitchens! Full prep mobile food facilities in California are amazingly self sufficient. When used in conjunction with a commissary (which is the law: CA Code 114295) they can op…

Capital City Food Truck Convention!

How do I start a food truck? The Capital City Food Truck Convention is a two day mobile vending conference for food truck operators, suppliers and public health officials that will be held on March 12th and 13th of 2016.…

Supporting Independents

Food trucks paving the way The New York times recently released a 52 places to go in 2014 list. Downtown Los Angeles ranked number five in the world of must-see places. Say that last line out loud because it’s hard to be…

How to Book a Food Truck: Company Lunches

A great post from our friends at the Peaches Smokehouse & Southern Kitchen Truck Are you thinking about bringing food trucks out to your company for lunch? Or maybe you’ve been tasked with booking trucks but don’t kn…

How did food trucks become so popular?

How did food trucks become so popular in Los Angeles? How did food trucks become so popular in Los Angeles? Is it the price? How about the food? The modern food truck industry seems to have come out of no where. One seco…

Getting on the Road: Starting a Food Truck

Starting a Food Truck The popularity of food trucks has continued to grow! As such, new food trucks continue to open throughout the United States ( and the world ). Every new food truck has an opportunity to add to their…

No Time Limits for Food Trucks in Los Angeles

Lately I’ve been receiving some disturbing complaints about overzealous enforcement officers claiming that the City of Los Angeles has time limits on how long a food truck can vend. It is true that in the Los Angeles Mun…

Best Practices Guide for Food Trucks in Los Angeles

Best Practices Guide download copy- BPSCMFVA You must obey the posted parking restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on stopping, loading, and parking from either posted signs or painted curbs [ LAMC 8…

Catering your next event

Food trucks are a great option for your private party! Their ability to cook onsite ensures that your food is made to order. We can connect you up with food trucks of any cuisine and take the hassle out of organizing foo…

Larry Bressler: Rest in Peace

Larry Bressler became a dear friend of mine since the 1 st day we met in July 2010. We met one morning when I showed up for a scheduled tour of Chefs Center, of which Larry was the General Manager. Upon meeting we realiz…

Food Trucks Scheduled at Your Workplace

We can provide your office/work space with food trucks. The SoCalMFVA was the first group to organize and bring food trucks to office buildings in Los Angeles. We have continued to schedule food trucks for lunch time ser…

Food Truck Lots

Food Trucks Serving Los Angeles Los Angeles food truck lots continue to be a popular destination for Los Angelenos. From the one truck lunch lot in front of an office building to the evening event lot in a hip neighborho…

History of Food Trucks (check out 2010)

History of Food Trucks

RIVERSIDE COUNTY:

Supervisors ease food truck restrictions BY JEFF HORSEMAN Food trucks, a streetscape fixture in other parts of Southern California, can open daily and roam throughout Riverside County after county supervisors eased decad…

Eating LA

Eating LA event, December 15, 2013 The SoCalMFVA is very excited to be a part of the Eating LA event: 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica 90404 on Sunday, December 15, noon-5pm. The Eating LA marketplace features a variety o…

Making the Food Truck Industry Easier

The SoCalMFVA has helped to change anti-food truck laws and policies in over 20 municipalities. We have worked with cities, counties and the State to ensure food trucks are able to do business free from regulatory constr…

How One Association is Leading A Food Truck Revolution

By: Katie Bascuas The mobile food industry hasn’t necessarily been welcomed with open arms in many U.S. cities. Food truck operators in places like Washington, DC , and San Francisco are often fighting complicated regula…

Food Truck Associations

Organizing 101 Over the past three years the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association has assisted 11 other food truck associations form. We have provided guidance, bylaws and help with 501(c)(6) filings for non profit stat…

Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels of Long Beach and Rock for Vets Sponsor First Annual Variety Show & Concert Fundraiser Set for June 29, 2013 At the Scottish Rite “Ernest Borgnine Theatre” Proceeds Will Help Feed Homebound Long Beach…

Airtel Plaza Food Truck Lot

The Airtel Plaza Food Truck lot is BACK!!!! The best happy hour and the best trucks in the Valley every Wednesday night starting June 5th! Check the Schedule here: https://lotmom.com/lots/profile/42 June 5th Trucks will…

Food Truck Fundraisers

Food Truck Fundraisers for non-profits The SoCalMFVA can help you get your school, church or nonprofit organization plan a food truck fundraiser. We have assisted many nonprofits in booking trucks, handling regulations,…

Food trucks can now roll through Lawndale

By Brian Charles, Staff Writer @JBrianCharles on Twitter Daily Breeze Posted: DailyBreeze.com Check Lawndale off as another city that has abandoned an antiquated ordinance restricting food trucks. The city joins Torrance…

Classifieds

We have added a classifieds section to our site. We thought it would be nice if trucks and people servicing trucks had a place to post their jobs, goods and services. The Association does not endorse any of the items or…

Bringing Food Trucks to you

Food Trucks The SoCalMFVA was the first group to organize and bring food trucks to office buildings in Los Angeles. We have continued to schedule trucks for lunch time service around the Los Angeles area. We ensure that…

Protectionism

It seems like every day I read another article about a city somewhere in the United States that has decided that their constituents needs are best served by limiting competition through unfair food truck laws. It always…

Brief: Food trucks meet retail

Reposted from the Santa Monica Daily Press The California Heritage Museum is debuting a new weekly community event entitled Tuesday Night Food Truck Bazaar. There will be 10 food trucks serving everything from fish tacos…

SoCalMFVA in 2012

Making Strides for the Food Truck Rights 2012 was a busy year for SoCalMFVA. We faced challenges from everywhere, the state, the County and many of the 88 cities within LA County. We met all those challenges and ended th…

Americans Support Food Freedom by a Wide Margin

-by Baylen Linnekin (posted from Reason Magazine) A new poll finds Americans oppose food bans by a 5-1 margin and food taxes by a 2-1 margin. Supporters of food freedom should take note—and maybe even a victory lap. A ne…

New Scheduling System: LotMom

We are retiring our Google Calendar schedule in favor of a more robust system. Starting next week all of our lot schedules will be on LotMom . Following your favorite trucks just got easier. With lotmom, we can serve you…

The Airtel Plaza Hotel lot/Van Nuys Airport lot

The association and The Airtel Plaza Hotel are proud to present “Runway Eats!” for dinner every Wednesday, 5pm to 9pm at 7277 Valjean Ave, Van Nuys, California 91406. This is our very first gourmet food truck lot in the…

The Beach Eats Lot

The Beach Eats lot in Marina Del Rey is a welcome addition to the Marina Del Rey scene. Patrons come from all over the Westside to enjoy food from the seven scheduled trucks. The partnership with the County of Los Angele…

Another Restroom Letter update

BE SURE TO READ THE FOOTNOTES!!! Bolded for your viewing ease! Don’t forget to thank an Association member for fighting for the rights of all mobile vendors, food trucks and carts alike! Restroom Facilities: A truck doin…

Rest in Peace, David Shin of THE YUMMY ONE

Their best dish! A dear friend and member of the SOCALMFVA, David Shin of The Yummy One food truck, just passed away several weeks ago. Mr. Shin was an excellent entrepreneur, chef and a fellow member. He is survived by…

New Bathroom Letter Policies

After 10 months of negotiation, the Health Department has changed some of their policies concerning bathroom access. The requirement for the bathroom letter, is no more. The members remained committed to changing these p…

California Heritage Museum Partnership

Summer is back and the Main Street Lot at the California Heritage Museum is going strong. Every Tuesday night from 5-9:30pm, 10-12 trucks line up in the parking lot of the California Heritage Museum and the Victorian (26…

AB 1678 Will Not Proceed Further in 2012

On March 28, 2012 Assemblymember Monning wisely decided that AB 1678 should not proceed any further in the 2012 legislative process. In a statement released by his office Assemblymember Monning said, “ The challenge befo…

AB 1678: Not Good for California

Please start by signing our petition: http://tinyurl.com/AB1678 On February 14, 2012 Assemblymember Bill Monning (Carmel) introduced AB 1678, which would prohibit mobile vending 1500 feet from an elementary or secondary…

Manhattan Beach

Last week, the Manhattan Beach City Council passed new food truck regulations that were fair, equitable and in compliance with California State law. The new ordinance removed their previous 30 minute time limit and focus…

Protecting Public Health

Over the past six months, we’ve been giving the Los Angeles Health Department’s Vehicle Inspection Program ( VIP ) examples of deficiencies in their enforcement policies. After reviewing “inspection” reports we found tha…

The First Heated Gourmet Food Truck Lot in Los Angeles

(Santa Monica) – With winter season just around the corner, the wildly popular Santa Monica food truck lot is busy making preparations to make itself even more enticing to customers. Since the start of the new year, it h…

Association Wins Major Ruling in Monrovia Case

Oct 14, 2011 Earlier this year, the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association, represented by the law firm of Dermer Behrendt, sued the City of Monrovia alleging that Monrovia’s recently enacted mobile-vending ordinance was…

Grading the Graders

In the beginning of 2011 the Health Department rolled out the new grading ordinance for trucks. Most of the Nouveau segment of the industry has been graded. There have been some ups and downs and some inconsistencies, an…

Tamales, L.A.’s Original street food

The downtown food-truck scene of today was preceded by more than a century by the horse-drawn tamale carts of the late 1800s. September 08, 2011|By Gustavo Arellano |Special to the Los Angeles Times Southern California’s…

How Does the End of Borders Books Relate to Food Trucks? I’m Glad You Asked.

Competition from food trucks is good for the market place The blogosphere and mainstream media has been recycling the same, poorly-reason analysis about how “unfair” competition from Gourmet Food Trucks is “bad for the l…

Rosendahl’s Resolution for Restrictions

Councilman Bill Rosendahl introduced a motion (11-1157) on July 1, 2011, to restrict the height and length of vehicles on Olympic and Sawtelle Boulavards. This motion was introduced under the guise of public safety. This…

Advocacy Made Easy

Food Truck advocacy can be a frustrating endeavor. Old regulations, no regulations or overburdensome regulations create a regulatory patchwork that makes you want to pull you hair out. For example, in Los Angeles County,…

Truck Stop!

We’ve got a new lot! Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood will now be hosting trucks for lunch at their Truck Stop ( twitter: @truckstop1520). The lot is located at: 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028. Monday – Friday:…

Food Truck Season

It’s Food Truck Season! Warm weather + Food Trucks + Beach Location = The Santa Monica Main St Lot! It’s supposed to be 78º today in Santa Monica and there are some great trucks scheduled. Nom Nom Truck Coolhaus Dosa Tru…

California Heritage Museum

Arts are always hardest hit during economic downturns. Funding, charitable donations and in the case of museums, attendance, slow to a grinding halt. The SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association has a terrific relationship…

Food Truck FastPass

The guys over at FoodTruck FastPass are creating mobile phone applications for Food Trucks, which work with their wireless printers. These printers print a receipt once the order has been paid for. The application orderi…

SCMFVA Trucks Sue the City of Monrovia

For Immediate Release Contact: Jeff Dermer, Law Offices of Dermer Behrendt March 29, 2011 Phone: 310-279-4151 “Food Trucks Sue City of Monrovia For Civil Rights Violations.” (Los Angeles) – The Law Offices of Dermer Behr…

Food Truck Task Farce….

Last Wednesday the Los Angeles City Council, Transportation Committee met to discuss a CLA (Chief Legislative Analysis) report concerning food trucks in Los Angeles. http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-2357_RPT_C…

Stephen Box for LA City Council

Today we sent out the press release below. I would like to add that this race in Los Angeles will have a national impact. Regulations are being enacted and revised across the US to limit and restrict the food truck movem…

Member Meet ups

Starting next week, the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors’ Association will have two member meet ups a month on the second and fourth Tuesday at 5pm. They will be held at the Victorian in Santa Monica: 2640 Main St. 90405. If yo…

Hurray for the DCMFVA

Hurray for the DCMFVA! Last week I had the pleasure of witnessing the DC Mobile Food Vendors’ Association elect its board. A few members of DCMFVA reached out to me in December asking for regulatory advice. After some co…

7th and Figueroa

Come down and check out the 7th and Figueroa plaza downtown. Read about it here: http://blogdowntown.com/2011/01/6005-food-trucks-offer-a-solution-to-restaurant Check the schedule http://tinyurl.com/7thandfig

One Year

One year ago today, we had our first SoCal Mobile Food Vendors’ Association meeting. We discussed the need for advocacy for this quickly growing industry. The next day 12 trucks got together and agreed to form the SoCalM…

Main St is back!

The Main Street Lot is back! With all the rain in Los Angeles, the food trucks have been hard to find. The Main Street lot has outdoor and indoor tables and chairs, with a festive full service bar to serve you! If picnic…

New Members

We are working hard to get new members signed up. Please give us until the first week of the new year to process your applications. We have been working hard to ensure regulatory fairness in both LA and Orange County. Th…

First Friday-Relocated

The recent decision of the Abbot Kinney Merchant’s Association has spurred the trucks into action. This Friday the trucks will be on 87th and Truxton. If you get a chance come hang say hi! Thanks to No Reservations Cater…

Abbot Kinney/First Friday

We are disappointed to learn of the Abbot Kinney Merchant’s Association’s decision. Obviously, this affects the ability of our members to operate, limits consumer choice, and detracts from the overall experience of the e…

Main Street Lot

The Tuesday night lot on Main Street has been a resounding success so far. Every Tuesday 10 trucks park in the California Heritage Museum lot at 2612 Main Street in Santa Monica. This event is both family and dog friendl…

More on Regulations

This morning I read an interesting article on the Wednesday’s city council meeting. http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2010/11/food_trucks_will_require_speci.php In the article Bill Rosendahl says,”It is a work in progre…

ELECTION- BETSY BUTLER

Get out there and elect Betsy Butler tomorrow. We need State representation to make sure that the food truck industry isn’t regulated out of existence on the State level. Betsy Butler is committed to working with this gr…

Email:

I email the SCMFVA attorneys often about issues pertaining to the food truck industry. In this email Jeffrey was responding to my post about competition. I liked his email so much I told our him that I was going to post…

INTERN WANTED!

The SoCalMFVA is expanding and we need an intern. We’re looking for someone who is VERY good with Google Apps, WordPress blogs and various social media sites. This is an unpaid internship that requires 12 hours of work a…

Competition

Every time I have a discussion about food trucks, the subject of competition, unfair or otherwise, comes up. In my latest discussion on KPCC, I spent a lot of time talking about the ridiculous notion that LA should enact…

Betsy Butler

The SCMFVA is supporting Betsy Butler for the 53rd Assembly District which covers Venice, Marina del Rey, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Playa del Rey, Mar Vista, parts of Westchester, Lomita and Torrance…

Museum Lot- MAIN ST

And here we go! TONIGHT! 9/28 5:30-10pm! The Association had it’s first meeting on January 2nd of this year. We opened our first food truck lot in Santa Monica on January 4th. The next day it was shut down by zoning enfo…

Prospective New Members

Prospective New Members, I’m sorry about the delay in processing your membership. The Association has been slammed with various issues. We’ll be reaching out to everyone by week’s end to tell you about the benefits of th…

Running Out of Time

Yesterday, the SoCalMFVA went to court to defend a member in a traffic court hearing. The member had received a ticket for violating the 30 minute time limit condition of his Santa Monica permit. We prepared for the tria…

A-OK!

The Association met with the Los Angeles County Health Department yesterday to discuss a new ordinance involving grading for trucks. The County Health Department will be introducing the new County ordinance in September.…

Food Truck lots coming to SM

Last week the Santa Monica Planning Department released a report that said that they would be issuing Temporary Use Permits for Food Truck Lots in Santa Monica. This was the first issue taken on by the Association, and I…

Hollywood Production Center

We got a new lot, and it starts on Monday!!! Hollywood Production Center Lot: (M-F 11am-3pm): 1149 N. Gower St Los Angeles, CA 90038 Schedule: http://tinyurl.com/hpclot This will be our first lot in Hollywood. It will be…

Little Tokyo Lot starts tomorrow!

Spread the word!

LITTLE TOKYO LOT OPENS 7/21… FINALLY

After months of talk, we are finally opening the Little Tokyo Lot on this Wednesday July 21st. It’s a small lot at 120 Judge John Aiso St. that will have two trucks a day for lunch (11am-4pm). The schedule can be found h…

SUMMER EVENTS!!!

ARTWALK!!!

Artwalk gets organized! The SoCalMFVA has partnered with the Artwalk organizers to bring you a Food Truck Lot during Artwalk. There will be 18 trucks in a cool little pavilion below street grade on 4th and Main. Addition…

DUARTE FOOD FAIR

This weekend is the Duarte Food Fair. Rarely do we have Food Truck Events so far east, so this will be an excellent chance for Eastsiders to come out and enjoy some delicious food truck food. The event is for a good caus…

It's on!

Please come join us tomorrow for a Bike Ride with Tom LaBonge. This will be the perfect opportunity to rub elbows with a City Official and let him know your opinion on the food trucks. It’s not everyday we citizens get a…

They're at it again…

For the past three weeks, I’ve been waiting to get a meeting with LaBonge’s office. Erin Glenn of the Luncheros organization (traditional taco truck advocate) was promised by LaBonge’s staff that he would meet with us be…

Duarte Food Fair

Duarte High School is having a Gourmet Food Truck Fair on June 26th from 11am-6pm. The event is $5 and it raises money for a school field trip. Finally, the East Side get’s their own Food Truck Event. Surfer Taco, Del’s…

Congrats to Betsy Butler

Congratulations Betsy Butler for winning the Democratic primary. We appreciate your support for the food truck industry! http://laist.com/2010/06/09/food_trucks_candidate_wins_primary.php

Summer food!

Things have been busy at the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors’ Association. The Silver Lake Jubilee was an amazing success and we would like to thank the Los Angeles Arts and Athletics Alliance (LAAAA) for including the SoCalMF…

Lots of lots

I’ve been getting quite a few emails suggesting lots in various places. A lot of the requests are from people in the Valley. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time to make the trip out there to investigate. It’s hard…

What's going on?

This Summer is going to be a big one for Food Trucks. Good weather plus amazing food, equals happy Los Angelinos… We’re continuing to look for new locations, lots and events for the trucks to be a part of. Our Century Lo…

Thank You!

Over the past 10 days the food truck supporters and followers have really come through for the food truck industry with emails and calls to Councilman Koretz. Paul Koretz commented on our campaign in an interview with LA…

You don't call… You don't write…

Last Thursday, we started our email campaign to let Paul Koretz know how many supporters the Food Truck industry in Los Angeles has. So far, he has not responded to anyone. The only emails back are generic auto-response…

Making an Impact

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to write Councilman Paul Koretz. City Council offices take opposition emails very seriously, and it will be interesting to see how they handle the outpouring of support. So f…

Food Truck Foes

It always makes me nervous when City, State, or Federal officials take the side of one business, or industry over another. Competition is a healthy part of the marketplace and the real beneficiaries of competition are th…

Choices

The growing food truck trend is providing customers/followers with reasonably priced food all over the city. People are no longer limited to the restaurant options in their immediate area. This is especially beneficial t…

The Association

Lots of lots! The Association is working towards opening a lot in your part of the city as quickly as we can. If you have lot site suggestions, please fill out our contact form and let us know. The Association is continu…

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