LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Street vendor Jesus Rodriguez is one of the first licensed sidewalk vendors in North Las Vegas, where he serves shaved ice, nachos and other tasty treets.
"We bought this cart from a lady who was just doing shaved ice and we turned it into a street cart," Rodriguez said.
Nearly a year ago, Rodriguez and his family launched "Pops Street Eats," and he says the experience has been rewarding.
"I'm glad we started this; we've met a lot of great people," Rodriguez said.
Since getting his license in North Las Vegas, Rodriguez has obtained licenses to operate in other municipalities in the valley, but prefers to stay in North Las Vegas.
"It's street vendor friendly, and I say that because North Las Vegas lets us vend four hours at any given spot," he said. "When we go to the city of Las Vegas, you have to move the cart around every 30 minutes. It's a lot tougher."
Vendors like Rodriguez may soon no longer need to juggle multiple business licenses.
Jhovani Carrillo explains the effort to make licensing easier for street vendors.
Clark County, Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas are working on a multi-jurisdictional business license.
"And that's what we do now. We have to buy a city of North Las Vegas license, a city of Las Vegas license, and a city of Henderson license, so I don't think there's any difference there, you know," Rodriguez said.
Vendors would apply through their primary jurisdiction, paying a $50 application fee and a $150 license fee. Operating in additional cities would cost $150 per jurisdiction.
Vendors would still need a business license from the state and a permit from the health department. They would also need to follow the specific regulations in each municipality.
Both the City of Henderson and Clark County approved the measure Tuesday.
Rodriguez believes the change could be helpful, but suggests that lowering licensing costs and loosening vending restrictions would have a greater impact.
"To get the people motivated enough to get legalized, you know. That's why we don't have a lot of vendors that are not licensed," Rodriguez said.
The City of Las Vegas will be discussing the multi-jurisdictional business license on Wednesday. The City of North Las Vegas will discuss it in June.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
