A woman prepares food inside a commercial kitchen at DTLA Kitchens.
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Courtesy of Yuri Amsellem
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Topline:
A look into the world of ghost kitchens, the low-key anonymous spaces your takeout may be coming from. There might be lockers, robots and tablets. And there won’t be any seats.
Why it matters: Many ghost kitchens say they’re attempting to change the food business by offering a low-cost way for smaller vendors to enter the restaurant world. But it can be hard for a new restaurant to build a following off of apps alone. Plus, ghost kitchens are changing how and where we spend our mealtimes.
Why now: Ghost kitchens are continuing to expand across LA as more and more Angelenos use food delivery apps as a quicker, more automated alternative to the brick-and-mortars eateries they once frequented.
Recently, I was working from home in Eagle Rock, hungry, but trying to meet my LAist deadlines. I decided to quickly go get lunch at a sushi place I’d been recommended, Rice and Nori.
Since I’m new to the area and rely on Google Maps for everything, I followed it to an address on Colorado Avenue in Pasadena.
But when I got there, I found myself in front of a liquor store and what looked like a small auto shop. You know, the classic red and black bold lettering with racer stripes along the exterior. Nothing like a restaurant.
But Google Maps insisted that this auto-shop-maybe-it's-a-warehouse was, in fact, where my lunch was being prepared. And on the sign above the door, it said Allied Food To-Go. So I took a deep breath and walked in.
What I found was something like an Amazon locker meets Hot Dog on a Stick. There was no hostess and no tables — no seating at all in fact. Instead, there were white lockers on the left all the way up to the ceiling, and a desk with a tablet on top.
I was confused as to where I was. There was an employee placing food into the lockers, assisted by what seemed to be a robot, but since talking to strangers is on my top 10 list of things I hate to do, I decided to just navigate this one on my own.
Food is picked up via lockers at CloudKitchen locations.
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Lucy Jaffee
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LAist
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The tablet had 15 restaurant options to choose from, and after scrolling past lots of birria and Mediterranean food, I found Rice and Nori on the last screen and picked what I wanted.
I awkwardly stood by the lockers, middle school flashbacks flooding in, wondering what would happen next.
Two robots at Allied Food To-Go ready to deliver food to the lockers.
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Lucy Jaffee
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LAist
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A few minutes later — a text! Apparently my order was ready in locker D2. I pressed a button on my phone and it opened automatically, like the gates of heaven, and there I found my spicy tuna onigiri and edamame. (I’d been looking in the other direction, but I’m pretty sure one of the robots put it there. Later, I found out they have names, Rosie and Johnny).
By now, the space was filling with delivery drivers hustling to grab orders. Still confused, still hungry, I sped off in my car to process what just happened.
Is this normal for Pasadena? Again, I’m new.
What is a ghost kitchen?
Back at home, I googled Allied Food To-Go and discovered it’s a ghost kitchen, a commercial kitchen where multiple vendors make food that’s ordered online for pickup or delivery. Perfect for the digital age, customers and drivers usually pick up their orders using a tablet — no interaction with an employee is necessary.
Allied Food To-Go is just one location of CloudKitchens, a larger company that operates multi-vendor ghost kitchens in cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and New York (Co-founder of Uber Travis Kalanick invested a few years ago). In L.A. according to its website, CloudKitchens currently operates 11 ghost kitchens in places like Long Beach and Koreatown.
I tried to contact CloudKitchens but they couldn’t be reached. I only got through to one location in Echo Park, who declined to comment.
How does it work?
Ghost kitchens took off due to the pandemic when many restaurant owners shifted to delivery-only operations to reach customers out of public safety concerns. By leaving their storefronts and switching to a less costly ghost kitchen, they could also cut costs — making this new set-up popular post-pandemic too.
I wanted to understand more, so I tracked down George Shenefelt, a partner at Rice and Nori. He told me that they’d initially partnered with CloudKitchens to experiment with other concepts (but haven’t thus far) because their locations had become too busy for the kitchen to make anything besides their staples.
Most ghost kitchens function the same way. Food vendors pay rent to the ghost kitchen operator, whether it be a company like CloudKitchens or an individual, to use the space. The prices vary according to the size of the space, type of equipment and whether additional storage is needed, according to CloudKitchens’ website.
The exterior of DTLA Kitchens, an independent commercial kitchen located in southeast Los Angeles.
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Courtesy of Yuri Amsellem
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Another fee is added for utilities and general operating costs, such as the employees (or robots) needed to transport food from the kitchen to customers.
Vendors are given individual or shared kitchen spaces to prepare and produce their food. Their workstations are usually adjacent to other local vendors renting in the same ghost kitchen.
On a food delivery app, these all show up as different restaurants, but their locations will be the same. The only way to tell if it's from a ghost kitchen is to look up the vendor’s address or drive there.
Since ordering delivery is the reality for most of us at the end of a long day, chances are you’ll never stumble into a ghost kitchen like I did.
Struggling without a storefront
While ghost kitchens can be a good way for restaurants to cut costs, they come with several downsides. Shenefelt says he has found staffing the ghost kitchen to be challenging.
“It kind of feels like a prison,” he said. The space has no windows and is only around 200 square feet, turning off many employees looking for more interactive work experiences.
Another major drawback is that without a storefront, a new restaurant can struggle to find customers. Rice and Nori has been around since 2018, has two locations and an Instagram following. But others are not so well-established.
Janet Kang originally started Pizza Baby as a ghost kitchen but broke her lease last September because sales were too low. Between paying for rent and utility costs, she had no extra money available for marketing to draw in customers.
She said it’s a “matter of money,” whether using a ghost kitchen ultimately turns out to be profitable. “Do you have enough cash reserve to stick around long enough to get noticed?”
The inside of a commercial kitchen for rent at DTLA Kitchens.
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Courtesy of Yuri Amsellem
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Winston Shipp, founder of ¡Quesadilla Mía! shared a similar experience. He started in the pandemic renting a space at a delivery-only CloudKitchen. But few knew of their brand.
“You are at the mercy of people searching on apps looking for food,” said Shipp. He also left CloudKitchen and now rents a kitchen for a limited number of hours per week, rather than having a permanent space in a ghost kitchen.
Shipp sees ghost kitchens as ideal options for already-successful restaurants looking to move delivery away from their brick-and-mortar locations. Kitchen staff can better focus on dine-in customers and prevent long lines and wait times.
However, Yuri Amsellem, owner of DTLA Kitchens, a commercial kitchen that is used as a ghost kitchen and for other ventures like filming in southeast LA, sees ghost kitchens as a “great start” for small businesses. “We are incubators,” he told LAist, where vendors will eventually expand into their own brick-and-mortar locations.
Should I order from one?
If you need a reliable lunch option when hunger strikes, ghost kitchens are the way to go. With no dine-in customers to distract the kitchen, your food will arrive quickly to your doorstep. Or, you can pick it up from an automatic locker.
But if you’re new to a restaurant and need some advice on what to order, opt for a brick-and-mortar. Employees can impart their knowledge about flavor, the level of spice, or whether the dish you want contains traces of gluten, among other preferences.
Five sushi hand rolls from Rice and Nori, with fillings ranging from cucumber to spicy salmon, wrapped in your choice of seaweed or soy paper.
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Courtesy of George Shenefelt
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Plus, it's hard to beat an excellent mealtime ambiance.
So, would I go back to a ghost kitchen?
Maybe.
My Rice and Nori order from Allied Food To-Go was delicious and the food quality was not compromised. It was packed in sealed containers with extra soy sauce and chopsticks.
But at the end of the day, I prefer a meal shared with friends amid a lively restaurant. No ghost kitchen can replace that.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published June 23, 2026 6:09 PM
A for-sale sign hangs outside a $1.6 million house on L.A.’s Westside.
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David Wagner
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LAist
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Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council decided Tuesday to put off the full effects of a major new state housing law by allowing low-rise apartment buildings in some neighborhoods where such housing has long been banned.
The details: All council members voted in favor of those plans except for Traci Park, who was absent from the meeting. California’s Senate Bill 79 is set to take effect July 1.
What is SB 79? The law overrides local limits on housing development by allowing apartment buildings between five and nine stories tall near train stations and rapid bus stops. However, cities are allowed to postpone those changes until 2030 by developing their own incremental plans for more housing. L.A. elected leaders have chosen to delay. They’re doing so through the city’s new Low-Rise Ordinance, which aims to allow buildings up to four stories tall in 57 neighborhoods near transit lines.
Why it matters: L.A. lawmakers have tried many approaches to bring down L.A.’s high rents. But they have consistently voted to stop apartment developers from encroaching on the nearly three-quarters of city residential land reserved for single-family homes. Pushed by state lawmakers, city leaders are now having to accept some changes in single-family neighborhoods located near public transit lines.
Read more... to learn whether new apartment buildings could be allowed in your neighborhood.
All council members voted in favor of those plans except for Traci Park, who was absent from the meeting.
California’s Senate Bill 79 is set to take effect July 1. The law overrides local limits on housing development by allowing apartment buildings between five and nine stories tall near train stations and rapid bus stops.
However, cities are allowed to postpone those changes until 2030 by developing their own incremental plans for more housing. L.A. elected leaders have chosen to delay. They’re doing so through the city’s new Low-Rise Ordinance, which aims to allow buildings up to four stories tall in 57 neighborhoods near transit lines.
Why it matters
L.A. lawmakers have tried many approaches to bring down L.A.’s high rents. But they have consistently voted to stop apartment developers from encroaching on the nearly three-quarters of city residential land reserved for single-family homes.
Pushed by state lawmakers, city leaders are now having to accept some changes in single-family neighborhoods located near public transit lines.
The reaction
Some local officials and homeowners have expressed frustration over new state limits on their ability to stop development in low-density zones. But advocates for more development said the council’s decision will help address high rents by allowing more housing in areas that have long been off-limits to new apartments.
“The City Council voted to open up high-resource single-family neighborhoods near transit stations,” said Scott Epstein, policy director with Abundant Housing L.A. “This reform is long overdue and will help build a future where Angelenos of all incomes can find homes in the neighborhoods of their choice.”
Where will the projects be allowed?
Officials with the city’s planning department said residents can see whether Low-Rise Ordinance projects will be allowed in their neighborhood by clicking on this interactive map and making two selections from the “layer list” menu: “Opportunity Station Sites Eligible for Low Rise” and “Sites Eligible for Low Rise Outside of Opportunity Station.”
The map shows that some of the areas eligible for new apartment buildings under this plan include Westside neighborhoods within a half-mile of the E Line’s Westwood/Rancho Park station, pockets of the San Fernando Valley near G Line stops, and parts of Eagle Rock along Colorado Boulevard’s planned North Hollywood to Pasadena rapid bus line.
Is this a done deal?
Both plans — the decision to delay full SB 79 implementation, and the new Low-Rise Ordinance — now go to Mayor Karen Bass for final approval. Council members are also considering some tweaks they say would help Low-Rise Ordinance projects get built.
Those changes would include letting developers build denser projects if they reserve more units for low-income renters, as well as rules that would let developers build ground-level parking instead of costlier underground parking. The council’s planning committee voted Tuesday to forward those suggestions to the full City Council for further debate.
A drone is on display at a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting earlier this year. You might spot one overhead this Fourth of July.
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Martin Romero
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The LA Local
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Topline:
SoCal is adopting a new form of surveillance to monitor illegal firework use: drones.
Why now: The devices are now an easier way to patrol local neighborhoods after a call to the police department has been made, allowing officers to determine if someone should be sent to the scene or a citation should be given.
Read on… for more information about this system.
There’s a new tool to fight illegal fireworks this Fourth of July: drones.
“A drone’s real-time aerial view can help officers assess situations faster, improve safety, support faster response times and ensure the right resources are sent where they’re needed most,” the Anaheim Police Department stated in an Instagram post.
Anaheim's department is the latest law enforcement agency using the technology to quickly identify illegal fireworks use. The Downey City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night on potential new fines and new rules that would allow local law enforcement to use drones to patrol neighborhoods for illegal fireworks usage.
How it works
Here's how the tech is put to use: Seconds after authorities receive a call reporting illegal fireworks activity, drones can take to the air, hovering above neighborhoods and businesses to find a specific location and an offender. The surveillance devices are equipped with night vision and zoom lenses that allow first responders to record high definition videos right from their Real Time Crime Center at the station.
Then, officers can determine whether to send out a patrol car or issue a citation for the incident.
Why it matters
The city’s drone usage comes as law enforcement agencies across Southern California brace for the annual flood of complaints about illegal firework use at this time of the year. Drones make the most effective use of time and resources, experts say.
“We'll typically see about 2,000 calls and about 300 related to fireworks,” Anaheim’s chief communications officer Mike Lyster explained about the Fourth of July. “It really is a better use of resources on what is always a very, very busy holiday for us.”
Drones allow officials to collect enough evidence to issue these citations. In Anaheim, the punishment starts at $1,000 and climbs to $3,000 by the third offense. But authorities say the goal is to curb illegal fireworks use altogether due to the risk of injury and wildfires.
Lyster hopes that people will think twice about using illegal fireworks this holiday — not just because of the fines — but because of its negative impact on local communities.
“The Palisades fire was ultimately started by illegal fireworks, and sadly, not in our city, but in our neighboring city, a young Anaheim girl died in an illegal fireworks incident last year,” Lyster said.
Where are drones already in use?
More cities are testing this method in order to crack down on illegal firework use. Sacramento, San Bernardino and Riverside are just a few of the other areas that have adopted this technology in recent years.
How do I know what's legal?
If you have any questions about what is legal or not in your community, a quick Google search can help.
Each county goes by different regulations for the types of fireworks you can use — if at all.
For example, parts of Anaheim allow “safe and sane” fireworks to be used only on the Fourth of July between 10 a.m and 10 p.m. This includes non-explosive, non-aerial devices like fountains, sparklers and smoke balls. State-approved fireworks will have a State Fire Marshal seal.
LAist staffer Anjanette Gile also contributed to this report.
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The LAist community engagement team spoke with Altadena residents outside Fair Oaks Burger in Altadena on January 17.
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Nubia Perez
/
LAist
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Topline:
Your neighborhood has a reporter. Have you met them yet? On Saturday, coffee shops across L.A. are turning into places where you can tell a journalist exactly what’s been bugging you about your block…while drink amazing coffee.
More details: From Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Inglewood to Long Beach, local reporters will be set up at neighborhood coffee shops from from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — to hear what’s on your mind. Got a tip about a pothole that’s been eating tires for years? A landlord the city keeps ignoring? A community hero nobody’s written about? We want to hear it all!
Connect with us: LAist has been meeting community members in person through LAist Listens tabling events by popping up at local businesses.
Read on ... for more on where LAist and other local news outlets will be across L.A.
Your neighborhood has a reporter. Have you met them yet?
On Saturday, coffee shops across L.A. are turning into places where you can tell a journalist exactly what’s been bugging you about your block … while drinking amazing coffee.
From Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Inglewood to Long Beach, local reporters will be set up at neighborhood coffee shops from from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — to hear what’s on your mind. Got a tip about a pothole that’s been eating tires for years? A landlord the city keeps ignoring? A community hero nobody’s written about? We want to hear it all!
It’s part of Local News Day LA, a pop-up series organized by The LA Local that connects you with your local reporter and give you a chance to become the source instead of just the reader.
LAist has been meeting community members in person through LAist Listens tabling events by popping up at local businesses.
See below for the full list of participating media outlets and coffee shops — The LA Local and our media partners hope you’ll join us:
LAist will be joining The LA Local and other local media partners for Local News Day LA on June 27.
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The LA Local
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Where to find a journalist
The LA Local – Koreatown, Pico Union, Westlake will be hosted by Open Market
The LA Local – Inglewood and South LA will be hosted by Asteroid Vinyl Cafe
Boyle Heights Beat will be hosted by Picaresca Cafe
CalMatters will be hosted by Yia Caffe
Calo News will be hosted by Cruzita’s Deli and Cafe
The Eastsider will be hosted by Rosebud Coffee (Highland Park location)
LAist will be hosted by Cafe Calle
Los Angeles Radio Collective will be hosted by Spoke Bicycle Cafe
LA Sentinel will be hosted by Patria Coffee
LA Taco will be hosted by Cafecito Organico (Silverlake location)
LA Public Press will be hosted by Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea
Long Beach Post will be hosted by Wrigley Coffee
Q Voice News will be hosted by Hot Java
USC Annenberg Media will be hosted by South LA Cafe (Western location)
Come enjoy a cup of coffee (or tea) with us while supplies last.
Bottles of Pantene conditioner are displayed at a Costco in San Diego.
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Kevin Carter
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Getty Images
)
Topline:
A coalition of 17 states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste.
The backstory: The lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down.
Why now: The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in part, to consumers.
What California officials say: Melanie Turner, a spokesperson for CalRecycle, said in an emailed statement that the agency does not comment on pending litigation and that it remained focused on implementing the law.
A coalition of 17 states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down. The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in part, to consumers.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country. If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities,” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who led the coalition, said in a news release.
The law, called the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, was enacted in 2022.
“Virtually every product packaged or shipped in plastic containers, as well as a significant number of other types of packaging materials that merely incorporate plastics, fall into the Act’s remarkable sweep,” the lawsuit said.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, which represents companies that import and distribute goods in California, also joined the lawsuit.
“California is not entitled to pronounce nationwide policies,” Eric Hoplin, the trade association’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Because the Act extends California’s regulatory reach far beyond its borders and brings within its sweep conduct wholly unconnected to California, the Act violates principles of federalism, the horizontal separation of powers, and due process.”
The lawsuit argues the law violates both the U.S. and California constitutions. It asks the court to declare California’s law invalid and unenforceable, and halt its implementation.
The lawsuit names as defendants Zoe Heller, director of California’s recycling agency known as CalRecycle, and the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit involved with implementing the law.
Melanie Turner, a spokesperson for CalRecycle, said in an emailed statement that the agency does not comment on pending litigation and that it remained focused on implementing the law.
The alliance said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit and closely monitoring developments while at the same time working to implement the law’s “ambitious goals.”
In a May news release announcing regulations under the law, state officials said the changes would fight plastics pollution while protecting the interests of taxpayers and local governments.
“California is shifting the responsibility of managing single-use plastic and packaging onto the producers. New packaging reforms lower waste costs for communities and decrease garbage and pollution across the state,” Environmental Protection Secretary Yana Garcia said in a statement. “This approach pushes producers to innovate and design packaging that truly supports a circular economy.”
Joining Nebraska in the lawsuit were 16 other states with Republican attorneys general: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.Environmental groups also have sued over the law. A coalition that included the Natural Resources Defense Council recently filed a complaint over what it said in a news release were “weakened” final regulations for the “landmark” law.
