Street Vendors Grapple With 10PM Stay-At-Home Order
By Samanta Helou-Hernandez
Published Nov 22, 2020 5:25 PM
Juana has sold Guatemalan carne asada & caldo de gallina in Westlake for 12 yrs. When the pandemic started, she didn’t work for nearly 8 months. Her customers kept asking her to come back. Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist
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As of Friday, Angelenos are required to be inside their homes between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 a.m. We spoke to some local street vendors to find out how the new regulation might affect their business.
Josh and his family sell tacos and burritos in East Hollywood from Tues-Sun. On weekends, they sell food to late night workers until 1am. But with the curfew, they’re forced to close at 9:30pm. This means losing almost four hours of business. @LAistpic.twitter.com/JkcLLDOCJJ
Josh and his family make tacos and burritos at their taco stall in East Hollywood the night that curfew began in Los Angeles. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Perla is a cook at a lonchera in Downtown. Business is already slow at night and the new curfew doesn’t help. “We’re going to have to stretch the money to pay the rent because we pay rent for the space and the truck.” @LAistpic.twitter.com/487xCBigcm
After losing their jobs due to COVID-19, Joselin & her family started selling Jalisco-style tacos in East LA. They’ve been selling for a week and stay open until 11:30.”We are nervous because we don’t know if we should close or not or wait until someone tell us something (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
People lined up to buy tacos at El Taquero Poblano, in Boyle Heights an hour before curfew. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Vasquez and her two employees were getting ready to close shop while I spoke with them. “I open at 4pm and leave at 10pm, but with the curfew, I came at 2:30pm and I’m leaving at 8:40pm. I want to leave before 10pm so I don’t have any problems.” @LAistpic.twitter.com/HP9ISSU0lS
Perla is a cook at a lonchera in Downtown. Business is already slow at night and the new curfew doesn’t help. “We’re going to have to stretch the money to pay the rent because we pay rent for the space and the truck.” (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Juana serves costumers from her stall in Westlake. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Caridad Vasquez has sold Mexican food in Boyle Heights for 15yrs. She’s a street-vending activist and a founder of the Legalize Street Vending campaign. “I didn’t work for 6 months, it affected me a lot economically…I had anxiety and depression because I wasn’t working. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Street vendors in Westlake 3 hours before curfew began at 10pm. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Josh and his family make tacos and burritos at their taco stall in East Hollywood the night that curfew began in Los Angeles. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
Street vendors in Westlake 3 hours before curfew began at 10pm. (Samanta Helou-Hernandez For LAist)
