LA County allowing home mini-restaurants - here's how to apply

LOS ANGELES - Pretty soon you may be eating a gourmet meal inside a mini-restaurant inside someone's home in Los Angeles County. 

Officials on Monday announced LA County residents interested in operating food facilities from their homes or other private cooking spaces can apply online under the county's Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEKHO) program. 

Permits are expected to be issued by the Department of Public Health's Environmental Health Division starting Nov. 1. 

Once a permit is obtained, residents will be able to store, handle, prepare, and serve food in their homes as permissible by the California Health and Safety Code.  

In May, the County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance establishing its MEHKO program. It requires operators of such businesses to pay an application fee of $597, along with an annual health permit fee of $347, covering the costs of annual inspections and enforcement actions. The ordinance also sets a cap on gross annual sales of $100,000, with meals limited to 30 per day or 90 per week.

The board also approved a $600,000 subsidy program that will offer up to 1,000 eligible applicants a one-time 100% subsidy on the initial application fee of $597. The eligibility will be limited to new applicant MEHKOs with annual net revenues less than $50,000.

The ordinance will affect businesses across the county, except for those in Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon, which are overseen by those cities' individual health departments.

Under the ordinance, a MEHKO can also be approved to serve as a commissary for up to two food carts, or Compact Mobile Food Operations. In such cases, the kitchens will be limited to 80 meals per day and no more than 200 meals per week. The gross sales for a MEHKO operating as a commissary will be $150,000.

City News Service contributed to this report.