Experience Authentic Home Cooking At California’s First Microenterprise Home Kitchens — By Whitney Maher Newly legal home restaurants are sweeping the Southern California region, a movement that was started just a few years ago and has completely revolutionized the state’s restaurant industry. Thanks to California Retail Food Code AB-626, residents in the Inland Empire and beyond have the legal right to host microenterprise home kitchen operations from the comfort of their own homes and backyards. After the bill was approved in 2018, homeowners opened up shop in their kitchens, offering takeout options, catering opportunities and dine-in restaurants in their homes. “The idea of microenterprise kitchens is still a new concept, but in just these past few years, they have grown in popularity among residents throughout Southern California,” said Taylor Cook, project manager at Raintree Investment Corp., which is developing Green Valley. “It’s a great idea for anyone looking to experience authentic homecooked meals from someone who might be in your own neighborhood.” The California nonprofit Cook Alliance was behind the efforts to legalizing AB-626. The organization sponsored the bill in hopes that it would support small businesses and help guide the country’s food industry back to healthy and natural food trends.
A number of microenterprise home kitchens operate just a few miles from Green Valley in Perris and offer takeout or delivery options to residents. Home kitchen options include Anna’s Kitchen, which offers Asian cuisine, Papa Rowe’s Kitchen, which cooks up BBQ favorites for catering and curbside pickup, and Taylormade Kitchen, which puts an urban twist on the traditional wing lover’s menu. Residents can visit online marketplaces such as Foodnome to search for their favorite home kitchens and order for pickup or delivery. Other restaurants beyond Perris opt for dine-in options. Lucy Silva, who owns and operates Barra de Pan in Riverside County, has set up her own restaurant in her backyard, offering residents the opportunity to dine and enjoy her homemade Mexican dishes, artisan breads and baked goods. “The microenterprise kitchens have offered small businesses a solution in times when the restaurant industry has really suffered,” Cook said. “The home restaurants offer healthy alternatives, diversity in food options and the chance to explore traditional dishes from different cultures in one of the most authentic ways possible.” To learn more about the microenterprise home kitchen movement, visit www.cookalliance.org.
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