Vendor Carts Satisfy That Urge to End Hunger Without Delay

The wait is short, the food ready, and you don’t even have to tip.

Across Orange County, those on the run or just plain hungry snatch a hot dog--kosher ones are available--with all the toppings at street-corner mobile mini-restaurants.

Vendor carts also offer full lunches, fruits, vegetables and ice cream. And in the past year, they have made headlines in several Orange County cities.

Officials in Anaheim and Brea last month voted to ban pushcart vendors--who typically sell ice cream paletas (treats) during the summer months in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. And in Santa Ana, officials have been planning a crackdown on unlicensed vendors.

Anaheim became the most visible city regulating the street vendors when it set a series of restrictions on all types of vendors, including lunch trucks and those hawking fresh produce in neighborhoods.

During the public hearings throughout the year, street vendors accused the Anaheim City Council of discriminating against the Latino community because both the sellers and the buyers in Anaheim’s apartment neighborhoods are predominantly Latino.

But street vendors are not limited to Latino neighborhoods. Although they are commonly welcomed there by people who are used to such street sales “back home”--in Latin American countries--the vendors also are popular in places like the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, around the county courthouse and the Civic Center in Santa Ana.

James Barr, who sets up his cart at the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, does a brisk business with hot dogs and a short menu of other staples. Barr said he does “quite well” selling nachos, tamales, bagels, chips and sodas.