The law firm Davis Wright Tremaine sent a cease and desist letter to the Gracias Senor Taqueria food truck in Los Angeles on behalf of the Ralphs supermarket chain. The letter claims that owner Rudy Barrientos « encouraged customers to use the parking lot owned and operated by Ralphs, » according to a report by LA Taco.
The letter claims that « the areas outside individual stores’ customer entrances and exits, at least as typically configured and furnished, are not public forums. This is because solicitation poses a significant… risk of interfering with normal business operations. »
Barrientos believes this is part of an effort to remove street vendors from the Pacific Palisades community.
« I do understand where [Ralphs] is coming from. But I also feel like they’re not seeing the positive that we bring to the community, » Barrientos said. « I do think they benefit from us also being there. It creates a destination point. [Our customers] do also go buy and shop for things at Ralphs. »
