LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Legislators are taking another look at the law that allows street food vendors to operate in Nevada.
Since Clark County began requiring licenses nearly a year ago, six people have obtained their licenses. In order to lawfully sell from a food stand, you need to get approval from the Southern Nevada Health District.
Vendors say it’s not a simple process, and Nevada State Senator Fabian Doñate agrees.
“We need to be able to reform the licensing requirements that are applied through state law, and the health district needs to be a part of that process, because even they recognize that it’s been a challenge,” Doñate said.
During the ongoing legislative session he’s introduced a bill to try and change that. The aim of the bill is to simplify the process of getting a sidewalk food vending cart health approval.
A licensed vendor, Jesse Fink, bought a cart brand new, but he had to upgrade the propane lines, improve the burners and upgrade the sink to Nevada standards. It took him around a year to get it to health district standards. Fink thinks the bill would help other entrepreneurs like himself.
“It was like a super big challenge to bring my cart up to their standards,” Fink said. “I understand the need for all of it for you know, the safety of the public and all that stuff. But it was just very difficult to figure out what was required along the way.”
Doñate wrote the law legalizing street food vendors in Nevada back in 2023. The new bill would require the health district to create a list of pre-approved carts that, when purchased, instantly receive the district’s approval — cutting down the time and money vendors have to spend to start their business.
Fink said it would make the process easier. He agrees with the health district’s safety requirements, however, he said it is too complicated for sidewalk vendors to figure out what those requirements are.
“You have to make so many phone calls and wait for, emails to come back and try to figure it out along the way,” Fink said. “But every step, even if the steps are kind of clear that you have to take, there’s still like three steps in between them that you got to figure out how to get there.”
Doñate’s bill would also require an easily accessible website that lists the health requirements for sidewalk vendors.
