Joe Ngo

Antes de lo puedo tener en espanol, necesito un traductor.

If you want to sell chocolate-covered strawberries, you need to prepare them in a commercial kitchen. There is no license that would allow you to do this from home. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You don’t report sales, aside from reporting income on taxes. One protection you would get from the law is simply being a legal business, and nobody can sue you as long as you stay within the law.

The state would never have time to sue… more likely it would be a consumer or someone who didn’t like you. This is a rare occurrence that might…[Read more]

Food is not necessarily non-taxable, especially at the county or city levels. Also, for events that charge an admission fee, I’ve heard that all food sold must be taxed. I’m not a tax expert, but I know that this stuff can be pretty complex and you should try to find someone in the govt who knows what they’re talking about.

You would want to get…[Read more]

I’m trying to piece together info from different threads and wanted to ask for some further explanation?

Seller’s Permit – They are free from the state, and I find myself running into events and farmer’s markets that require them. How does applying for one make a CFO responsible for taxes, though? Since food is non taxable, will we have to…[Read more]

No, no puedes. Esta ley no permite la comida si requiere la refrigeracion. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

¿No tienes alguien en tu vida que podria responder este para ti? ¿O me quieres de practicar mi espanol?

As far as I know, you can only use your residential home kitchen. The kitchen needs to be in your home, and I think that’s the primary requirement. If your external kitchen is on your property, but separate from your home, then I don’t think you can use the cottage food law. If the kitchen is in your basement, it may be possible.

Although a…[Read more]

I don’t think so. That would clash with zoning laws, which are meant to prevent people from running businesses in neighborhoods. Selling food at your home only works if people pick it up and consume it off the premises. But just to be clear, I’m not actually knowledgeable about how “you-pick-it” programs work… I am just assuming that they need…[Read more]

First of all, since this is happening in a church, the cottage food laws aren’t applicable.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the rules are for a church. I know that many large churches are regularly inspected by the health dept. I don’t think you can serve hot food without some type of permit, and you should talk to the health dept for more info.

It would only work as a commercial kitchen if it’s consistently inspected by the health dept. However, as a CFO, you are not allowed to use a commercial kitchen (or any kitchen other than your home kitchen) for your business.

I think it depends on the county, but your business license will probably be adequate for selling in most other counties (not sure). However, if you sell wholesale outside of your county, the other counties you sell in need to have an agreement with yours. You need to make sure the health depts have spoken with each other and agreed to allow…[Read more]

Sorry, I don’t know about LA. You just need to call the env health dept and ask them.

There aren’t typically a ton of requirements to start a fruit stand, but San Francisco is a complicated place. I don’t know all of the requirements, but you will have to ask about zoning rules, as well as speak with the ag dept and probably a few other depts. I wouldn’t be surprised it it’s fairly complex to start one there.

I think you’ll be fine, as long as your kitchen doesn’t open up to a bedroom or sleeping space. Assuming you’re going with a Class B permit, just move ahead with the inspection and I highly doubt they’ll say anything about it.

There probably isn’t a written rule about that. I’d say a contractor would be fine. The important point is that it’s only one person.