Serve The People with Lee Thomas

The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

Lee Thomas lives in San Leandro, CA and is the first owner of a micro-enterprise home kitchen operation (MEHKO) to come on the podcast.

California’s new MEHKO law allows people to start micro restaurants from their home kitchen, but only if their county allows it.

Lee recently ran for mayor of the city of San Leandro, and he used his political knowledge and connections to help Alameda County pass an ordinance to allow the new law.

Lee sells barbecue meats and vegetables with his home food business, GrilleeQ, which was the first MEHKO in Alameda County.

Lee is also the host of The Marinade, a podcast which he started to promote both his political endeavors and his food business.

In this episode, you’ll learn about the importance of the MEHKO movement, and how Lee’s lifelong focus on community service translated into a successful home barbeque business.

What You’ll Learn

• What it was like to run for mayor of San Leandro
• What pushed Lee to start a barbecue business
• An overview of the MEHKO (micro-enterprise home kitchen operation) law in California
• The cost and process to obtain a MEHKO permit in San Leandro
• Restrictions and challenges for MEHKOs in California
• How the pandemic showed the importance of home restaurants
• The benefits of the “car invoice” pricing model
• How Lee used a podcast to promote his food business

Resources

GrilleeQ website (Instagram | Facebook)

The Marinade with Lee Thomas (podcast)

Lee Thomas for San Leandro Mayor (promo video)

The COOK Alliance

California Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation Law

Home-based Food Entrepreneur Conference 2023

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Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/82