The shaved ice machine buzzed in preparation for tasty slushies at the Little Beans Cafe on a recent afternoon.
The food cart is one of a few sidewalk vendors to have been licensed in the Las Vegas Valley after state lawmakers legalized the vendors during the 2023 Legislature.
The cart is owned and operated by Jeselia Rodriguez and her parents. The younger woman, an executive pastry chef by training, quit her job a year ago to spend more time with her mother and father, Graciela and Jesus Rodriguez.
“Before I would rarely see my parents,” Jeselia Rodriguez said Thursday about her previous grueling culinary job. “Now, it’s really nice to be able to step back and be back with them again.”
The daughter said she and her family have achieved a lifelong dream.
“Easy-Bake Ovens made money off of this family because we went through everything,” reflected Graciela Rodriguez about her daughter’s childhood. “Just being able to share this experience with her and have her around more is very rewarding.”
Licensing numbers low
Little Beans Cafe was the first sidewalk vendor operation licensed by the city of Las Vegas and one of two in North Las Vegas, according to the local governments.
The city of Henderson has issued one license, while Clark County has issued a half-dozen licenses for such businesses, according to officials. There are many other vendors operating in the shadows, underscoring the costs and hoops they have to jump over to legalize their businesses.
A second business, Backyard Boogie BBQ, was in the process of getting a license to operate in Las Vegas, a city spokesperson said.
The Southern Nevada Health District regulates the vendors.
Jeselia Rodriguez said Little Beans Cafe, previously known “Pops Street Eats,” spent more than $2,000 on licensing and fees alone. She said they pay nearly $400 a month for a commissary space, a state requirement in which the food has to be prepared at commercial kitchens.
Then there’s the costs related to buying the cart and other equipment, she noted.
“I definitely think there is enough for everybody,” Jeselia Rodriguez said about the need for more official businesses, noting that she understands why some haven’t taken the “gamble.”
“As someone who’s done the process myself, it’s a lot of money and some people don’t have the $200, the $400, the $1,000 to put into something,” Rodriguez said.
“I’m not saying that they shouldn’t also be held to the same (food safety) standards,” she added.
Public outreach and proposed changes
Minerva Gomez, business license section manager for Las Vegas, said the city has been working on community outreach in an attempt to increase the numbers of sidewalk vendors being licensed.
“A lot of them really get stuck with the Health District requirements,” including hundreds of dollars in fees and food handler licenses, she said.
Commissary requirements can be a hard pill to swallow, particularly for vendors that strictly sell items like corn on the cob, Gomez said. “They’re just dishing out money they don’t know when they’re going to get back,” she added about hesitant businesses.
Still, there are benefits to operating businesses the right way, she said.
“They don’t want to be looking over their shoulders,” Gomez said, referring to unlicensed vendors having to be on the lookout.“It’s stressful to work that way.”
“We know it’s hard,” but there is a path for compliance, she said.
Gomez said the county was exploring a business license proposal where vendors would just need to get one permit to operate throughout the valley.
It took the city about 18 months to iron out its requirements, Gomez said. Those requirements could continue to be tweaked depending on what state law dictates, she added.
If passed this session, Senate Bill 295 would increase outreach to sidewalk vendors, create a task force and allow the Health District to enter into contracts with push cart manufacturers for the sale of qualified equipment.
It would also allow certain non-hazardous food to be prepared in home kitchens, according to the bill.
Tacos, hot dogs, family
Clients can catch Little Beans Cafe’s offerings in two cities. On Thursday, it was stationed at Craig Ranch Park in North Las Vegas.
That city is friendly to sidewalk vendors, has more places to operate and provides permits to sell at parks, Jeselia Rodriguez said.
Las Vegas, she noted, makes the carts move every 30 minutes and restricts where they can operate.
The Little Beans cart has a hitch that can be moved by a vehicle or a dolly. Bags of chips adorn a display and there is a large variety of bottles with the fruit juices that pour onto its slushies.
It sells other items, such as tacos, hot dogs and custom noodles in a cup. The business also has an agreement with Vesta Coffee Roasters that allows it to operate a full coffee bar.
The business has daily regulars and has participated in charity drives and raffles, Jeselia Rodriguez said. The vendor community is strong in the valley, she added.
“We’re not a corporation, we’re just honest, hardworking people trying to do our best to make a living out here,” Rodriguez said.
Added her mother, Graciela: “We love to interact with people and we love to give back to the community. That’s helped us get to where we are now.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
