Alleged Turf-War Between Hot Dog Vendors Questions the Regulation and Enforcement of Street Vendors

Right outside Petco Park on J street is Café de L’Opera, the owner, Alina Ahmed, is proud of her homemade pastries and coffee. When hearing about a stabbing close to her café Saturday night, Ahmed gets angry saying, “I don’t think enough is being done.”

She is referring to an incident around 10:30 p.m. when street vendors were setting up to feed hungry concertgoers exiting Petco Park.

Witnesses say hot dog vendors from Los Angeles were set up in areas where San Diego hot dog vendors typically sell food. A physical fight over territory ensued, involving about a dozen people.

A man was stabbed in the back and San Diego Police used pepper spray to disperse the rowdy crowd. Hot dog vendor Yoni Yanes, 21, was arrested.

All vendors are required to obtain a permit to sell food on city sidewalks. It’s unknown whether the out-of-town vendors from this weekend’s incident obtained the correct licensing or if anyone involved was permitted to sell in the area.

 “I feel like if someone has a permit to be vending, they have gone through a certain process, a legal process. You assume they are people you can trust,” Ahmed said.

In June, a new ordinance went into effect, with code enforcement being tasked to enforce the rules, something Michael Trimble with the Gaslamp Quarter Association said is not happening.

“I don’t think any of the ones in the Gaslamp Quarter had their licenses or their health permits. They have open flames they are not following the rules. What’s the point of having an ordinance if you have no way of enforcing it?” he asked.  “The majority of our hot dog vendors are not from San Diego. They are from Los Angeles, and they come down every weekend in box trucks.”

A San Diego city spokesperson says since July 1, the Code Enforcement Division has issued 18 warnings and six citations where street vendors had to pay fines. He said when possible, the City of San Diego Code Enforcement Division attempts to resolve most violations through an educational approach rather than issuing citations and penalties

Those numbers don’t include any citations given by the Parks and Rec Department, which regulates San Diego’s parks and beaches.

Trimble said as of last weekend, the San Diego Police Department is taking over enforcement efforts, which he hopes will improve the situation.

Street vending has been limited in some areas and is now banned in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Meanwhile, Ahmed said she is following the city’s rules and regulations.

“They are very strict with other restaurants for compliance with permits, for sanitation, with everything,” she said. 

Ahmed said not enforcing the same standards for street vendors, is dangerous to the public.