After decades of serving her community from an unlicensed food cart, this Ecuadorian entrepreneur is catering Manhattan events with help from a nonprofit's innovative new initiative.
It's About The Hustle
According to NY1, for almost 25 years, Narciza Rosario has been slinging her homemade Ecuadorian eats from an unlicensed food cart in NYC. But after a recent crackdown forced her off the streets, this unstoppable self-made chef refused to let her sazón go to waste.
Huge Waiting List
It isn't easy to get a street vendor's license in NYC. There is a huge waiting list, with many vendors waiting years to qualify. Additionally, new city tenants in quickly gentrifying neighborhoods don't have the taste for street food that was once a beloved facet of Big Apple life. New residents' constant complaints about crowded streets or the smells of ethnic dishes rising into their windows created a backlash against unpermitted food carts doing business under the law. Also, New York delis and casual eateries were outraged that while they faced exorbitant rent and insurance costs, they had unregulated competitors on their blocks operating fee-free. New York City's Mayor Adams recently acted on these complaints and closed many carts down, triggering protests from independent operators that lost their primary source of income. That's where the Street Vendor Project comes in. They are on a mission to reinvigorate these small businesses in different ways.
From Street Food to Elite Catering
When she lost access to a black-market street vendor's permit she had been subletting, Rosario was left jobless for over two months. Enter the Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group determined to uplift vendors like Rosario. They connected her with customers hungry for authentic catering. In a whirlwind pivot, the longtime street food queen went from dishing $1 cachapas to crafting upscale Ecuadorian tasting menus for Manhattan's hoi polloi.
Helping Small Vendors Thrive
Thanks to Street Vendor Project's bold new initiative, talented chefs like Rosario get a chance to take their exceptional cuisines to the next level while earning a legitimate living. And with a years-long waitlist for legal street vending permits, exploring catering could be the life preserver many vendors need to finally go legit and grow their businesses.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Street Vendor Project's mission or contributing to their cause, you can get more information on their site.
