Los Angeles County is home to one of the more unusual “restaurant weeks” in the country this November, and it’s happening in people’s living rooms and backyard kitchens rather than in dining rooms with white tablecloths. From November 9 through 15, more than 70 licensed home-based food businesses across the county — stretching from the Antelope Valley to the South Bay — are taking part in the first-ever LA MEHKO Week, a showcase built to spotlight an industry most Angelenos don’t even know exists.
MEHKO stands for Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation, a California program that lets home cooks legally sell meals straight from their own kitchens, provided they hold the right permits. Los Angeles County’s version of the program, now in its second year, is reportedly the largest of its kind in the state, according to Roya Bagheri, executive director of the COOK Alliance, the nonprofit that helped organize MEHKO Week alongside county officials.
The idea behind the event is simple: give these small, permit-holding businesses a rare marketing boost. Home kitchens aren’t allowed to put up signage out front, and most rely entirely on word of mouth or social media to find customers — a tough way to build a following. During MEHKO Week, each participating cook is offering something special for at least two days, whether that’s a discount, a limited menu, or a dish you won’t find anywhere else. Some operate dine-in, supper-club style; others, like Burbank’s delivery-only Take N’ Taste, are waiving delivery fees for the week to get more doorsteps curious about ordering from a home kitchen.
For LA-area business owners, the event is a useful reminder of how much entrepreneurial energy exists outside storefronts and strip malls — and how creative micro-business marketing can get when a street-facing sign simply isn’t an option. Diners interested in trying a home-cooked meal can browse participating kitchens by cuisine and order type — dine-in, pickup, or delivery — through an interactive map covering kitchens from Lancaster to Lomita.
Whether you run a bakery, a boutique, or a one-person consulting shop, LA MEHKO Week is worth watching as a case study in community-driven marketing: proof that a strong network and a little local buzz can do what a billboard budget can’t.
Source: LAist
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