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Restaurant Equity Alliance / City of Los Angeles Legacy Business Program / Include Restaurants and Small Businesses / Citywide Restaurant Protection Ordinance

Council File 25-1180

In progress — the city is developing support programs for immigrant-owned and small restaurants, including expanded business protections and labor standards assistance, after committee approval in September 2026. It now awaits a full City Council vote.

Introduced
2025-10-07
Last changed
2026-09-18
CFMS file status
File open See note on file status
Expires
2028-09-18
Committee
Economic Development and Jobs Committee
Mover
HEATHER HUTT
Second
EUNISSES HERNANDEZ

This is the City Clerk's status for the council file itself, not the outcome of the measure. A file often stays open after the Council has already adopted an item. The summary above reflects the latest recorded action.

Brief

Councilmembers Heather Hutt and Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced a motion to expand the City's Legacy Business Program to include restaurants and small businesses, aiming to preserve longstanding establishments and prevent displacement. The motion was referred to the Economic Development and Jobs Committee, which approved it as amended on September 18, 2026. The file remains pending further action.

Full summary

Introduced by Councilmembers Heather Hutt (10th District) and Hugo Soto-Martinez (13th District) in October 2025, this motion responds to the economic precarity facing Los Angeles restaurant workers and small business owners — particularly immigrants and people of color — who have faced mounting pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic's aftermath, gentrification, and rising operating costs. The motion cites a UCLA Labor Center and KIWA study documenting structural barriers including high costs, limited access to business resources, and unfair labor practices such as wage theft and tip violations. It also frames urgency around the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, arguing the city must protect its culturally significant restaurant sector as it prepares for a surge of global tourism. The motion directs the Office of Wage Standards and the Economic and Workforce Development Department, working with the City Attorney and the Restaurant Equity Alliance, to develop recommendations for two parallel initiatives. First, it calls for expanding eligibility in the existing Legacy Business Program to cover restaurants and small businesses that have operated continuously in the city for at least 10 years, have a proven record of complying with local labor standards, and meet at least three of the criteria already used by the program. Second, it calls for developing a Citywide Restaurant Protection Ordinance. That ordinance would provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to small and immigrant-owned businesses; offer expedited application processing and additional support for restaurants with strong compliance records on labor, health, and safety standards; and establish formal partnerships with community-based organizations serving immigrant entrepreneurs and restaurant workers. The motion originally requested the departments report back to committee within 90 days. The file was referred to the Economic Development and Jobs Committee immediately upon introduction. The committee scheduled it for a hearing on September 18, 2026, nearly a year after introduction, and approved it as amended at that meeting. The amendments are not detailed in available records, but modifications at this stage typically address eligibility thresholds, program administration, or implementation sequencing. The file remains in committee pending its next step, which would likely be a referral to the full City Council for a vote.

Activity (3)

  • 2026-09-18 Economic Development and Jobs Committee approved as amended .
  • 2026-09-15 Economic Development and Jobs Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 18, 2026.
  • 2025-10-07 Motion referred to Economic Development and Jobs Committee.

Documents (3)

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