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Just really need to complain!

post #1 of 9
6/28/12 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
I've tried different ways to make this work, but it just isn't going to happen for me.
I really wanted to sell cupcakes, cake pops and cookies (no cakes) but in my state, it's just to difficult to get licensed. I'm in the most expensive and complicated County to get it done and do not have the financial resources to rise above it. Even to sell at the Farmer's Market in my County is a flat fee of $215. Other Counties are free or around $25. It just seems like at every turn, I find another obstacle I can't get around.

I really do understand the need for regulations regarding things made in the home. I do. But the things I have seen working in food environments are so gross, and these people are health department certified. When I'm in my kitchen baking for friends and family, I take such precaution to make sure everything is clean and done correctly, yet I can't do it legally.

Warning: GROSS alert ahead:
The other day, I saw an employee taking a break outside of a frequented restaurant. I watched with gagging disgust as he blew his nose into his APRON and then walked BACK IN to the restaurant to work. And this is a "nice" place with one of those shiny bronze health department plaques. (And yes I did report it)

But Suzy Homemaker? Nope, you are to risky for the general population to be trusted with some cupcakes and cookies.

Okay, rant over.
I feel a bit better.
~ Amy ~
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~ Amy ~
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post #2 of 9
6/28/12 at 10:05am
I am sorry this is happening to you. I have to deal with the locals in my small town wanting to kick eveyone out. I can't get a straight answer from anyone, and the only restaurant close to me is licensed (plaque hanging in site) yet this woman cooks everything out of crock pots and has no 3 compartment sink at all, yet she got licensed. It is so frustrating and makes me so mad. She's not even competition, yet she is a royal B**** to me every time I go over to place an order for the stuffed potatoes she sells. I have not been in the area for very long, but I think it would have been batter to stay where I was, in TX where they passed the Cottage Food law. It pisses me off to think that we are striving to become leagl but we get the shaft.

Hope something works for you.

BTW- I am in ND.
Simply Cakes! Where life's simplest pleasures are made to be eaten-
every day!
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Simply Cakes! Where life's simplest pleasures are made to be eaten-
every day!
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post #3 of 9
6/28/12 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
So basically her business survives because there is no alternative. Nice!

The locals don't want to embrace any one who can offer some delicious baked goods? Just to attached to those slow cooker meals and stuffed potatoes? LOL
~ Amy ~
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~ Amy ~
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post #4 of 9
6/28/12 at 12:56pm
The rules are there for public safety. That restaurant may have violations. Look it up online.

A license doesn't insure cleanliness, but the inspection keeps most businesses on their toes. A home baker has the same opportunity for unsanitary conditions.

The person with no three compartment sink may very well be grandfathered in to an older code.
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post #5 of 9
6/28/12 at 1:59pm
She is a brand new just built business who has told other new locals in this area she wants them gone. I guess I should say that I am in North Dakota, and I live smack in the middle of the oild boom, this is a tiny town that went from 90 people last year to over 350 as of last month 2012. They do NOT want change, this woman knew people on the town board, and was able to "get things done right", as she herself stated to me. There have been several complaints from locals about zoning and businesses; what I like about this tho is that this land I am on will soon be changed to commercial due to the improvements being made to it. And yes, her husband owns another piece of property doing the same thing as this land owner but he is not getting any trouble from anyone, he has lived here for 20+ years, I have been here for 7 months.
Simply Cakes! Where life's simplest pleasures are made to be eaten-
every day!
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Simply Cakes! Where life's simplest pleasures are made to be eaten-
every day!
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post #6 of 9
6/28/12 at 3:21pm
........I really do understand the need for regulations regarding things made in the home. I do. But the things I have seen working in food environments are so gross, and these people are health department certified....

I sooooooo agree w/you on this! Some HD employees seem so bend on sticking to the every tiny letter of the law for most but if you know someone you can get those rules bent. Many, many yrs ago I basically did just that. I was within hrs of opening my bakery when one HD official would not approve my grease trap even though it had been in use by a hamburger shop just hours before I bought it! I did end up getting it approved when I called a city board mbr who sent out a different inspector who was on the verge of retiring. He quickly saw which grease trap I had bought and approved it.
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post #7 of 9
6/29/12 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Writecakes

I've tried different ways to make this work, but it just isn't going to happen for me.
I really wanted to sell cupcakes, cake pops and cookies (no cakes) but in my state, it's just to difficult to get licensed. I'm in the most expensive and complicated County to get it done and do not have the financial resources to rise above it. Even to sell at the Farmer's Market in my County is a flat fee of $215. Other Counties are free or around $25. It just seems like at every turn, I find another obstacle I can't get around.


$215 is nothing. In Santa Clara County (California) you need $800/year for a pretty rigorous health inspection plus the cost of a commercial kitchen (typically $15-30/hour), and if you want an LLC it's another $800/year.

Yes, some licensed business don't follow the rules, that's why health depts make it easy to report violations (in my experience it's been the first option in the phone tree). The best you can do is report them and focus on your own compliance.

I think the majority of licensed food processors handle food safely, but the violations stick out in our mind far more prominently than people who follow the rules.
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An experimental blog with new content every Tuesday!

Recent Articles: The Magic Pricing Formula • Copyright Law
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post #8 of 9
6/29/12 at 9:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Quote:

$215 is nothing. In Santa Clara County (California) you need $800/year for a pretty rigorous health inspection plus the cost of a commercial kitchen (typically $15-30/hour), and if you want an LLC it's another $800/year.



This is the fee to only sell at Farmer's Market, or to sell in general?
Here it's $215 to sell at Farmer's Markets, twice a month, only during the season.
No health inspection.
~ Amy ~
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~ Amy ~
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post #9 of 9
6/29/12 at 9:36am
In California you are required to operate out of a licensed and inspected commercial kitchen if you want to sell food products anywhere, even at a farmer's market. There is currently a cottage food bill in the CA Senate that would eliminate that requirement with some restrictions, but it may or may not pass this year.

Most farmer's markets in California also charge rental fees.
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An experimental blog with new content every Tuesday!

Recent Articles: The Magic Pricing Formula • Copyright Law
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The Bakery Business Perspective
An experimental blog with new content every Tuesday!

Recent Articles: The Magic Pricing Formula • Copyright Law
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