Find home kitchens near you
A discovery directory for California's home kitchens (MEHKOs). Find one near you, then contact the kitchen directly.
🔒 Pins show the city or neighborhood, not exact addresses — home kitchens' exact locations stay private.
MEHKO Finder is a discovery directory, not an ordering site — we don't take orders, handle delivery, or run checkout. Listings connect you with kitchens directly.
Find a home kitchen
Search by city, ZIP, or county — or use your location. Click a pin for details.
Latest MEHKO news
The latest on California home-kitchen policy and the MEHKO movement.
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What is a MEHKO?
A Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation is a home cook's small restaurant — legal in California since 2019.
The basics
A MEHKO lets a home cook prepare, cook, and sell food directly to the public from their private home kitchen — for pickup, delivery, or even eating on site. It's a real, permitted food facility, just a very small one.
- Up to 30 meals per day and 90 meals per week
- Up to $100,000 in gross annual sales (adjusted for inflation)
- One MEHKO permit per private home; no catering or wholesaling
- Operators must be permitted and inspected by their county's environmental health department
The laws
- AB 626 (2018) — Created the MEHKO as a new type of retail food facility in state law.
- AB 377 (2019) — Gave each county full discretion to authorize ("opt in to") MEHKOs in its jurisdiction.
- AB 1325 (2023) — Raised the caps to 90 meals per week and $100,000 in annual sales, and defined what counts as a meal.
Counties opt in individually, so MEHKOs are only legal where your county (or city, like Berkeley and Long Beach) has authorized them.
Where MEHKOs are legal
These jurisdictions have opted in (list changes over time):
See mehko.org's live county list for the latest.
Data notes: Fresno County has no MEHKO program — its Board of Supervisors voted a pilot down on July 14, 2026 (fresnoland.org). Riverside County's public listing comes from an archived county PDF (~6 years old), so details there may be out of date.
Not in your county?
MEHKOs only exist where a county (or city) has opted in. Notably, Sacramento County has not opted in — you won't find listings there yet.
Major counties with no MEHKO program include (short list — not exhaustive):
Want MEHKOs where you live? sacramehko.org is advocating for a Sacramento County opt-in.
About our listings
MEHKO Finder has two kinds of listings, color-coded on the map:
- Verified permit — the kitchen's permit appears in county or state public records we've checked.
- Community-listed — the kitchen is listed on a MEHKO platform like Cook Connect, but we haven't independently verified its permit yet.
Know a kitchen's permit details, or run one of these kitchens? Send us an update — verified info moves a listing to the verified tier.
Learn more
- mehko.org — counties accepting MEHKO applications
- COOK Alliance — the nonprofit coalition that championed the MEHKO laws
- @mehkofinder on Instagram
- MEHKO Finder on Facebook
Thinking of starting a MEHKO? Contact your county environmental health department to ask about permits in your area.
Start a MEHKO
Thinking of running a home kitchen yourself? Here's the process, and where to apply in every county that's opted in.
The steps
- Confirm your county (or city) has opted in. MEHKOs are only legal where the local jurisdiction has authorized them — many places, like Sacramento County and San Francisco, have not.
- Confirm you're the resident of the private home. State law requires the operator to live in the home (apartments and condos count; second homes don't). Permits are non-transferable — moving means a new application.
- Get food safety certified. The permit holder needs an accredited food safety manager certification; anyone else handling food needs a food handler card.
- Write your menu and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). List every food you'll make, how you prepare and handle it, cleaning and temperature controls, your hours, and whether food is eaten on-site, picked up, or delivered.
- Apply to your county's environmental health department. Submit the application, your SOP, certifications, and any other required documents, and pay the local fees.
- Pass the review and home-kitchen inspection. The county reviews your application, then schedules an inspection of your home kitchen.
- Fix any deficiencies and get your permit before opening. No permit, no opening — operating without one risks closure and fines.
- Stay compliant and renew. Keep your permit displayed while operating, keep your certifications and sales records current, and renew annually as your county requires.
Where to apply, county by county
Every opted-in jurisdiction below links to its official program page where available. Fees and processes change — always confirm with the county before applying.
Can't find your county here? It probably hasn't opted in — see the county lists in What is a MEHKO? above, and mehko.org's live county list.
List your kitchen
Run a permitted home kitchen? Add it to the map so neighbors can find you. Only city-level info is ever shown. Include your permit number and we'll mark it verified — otherwise it goes up as community-listed.