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# Third Street cart operators dispute City Hall report on Promenade vending program
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-attempts-to-quell-cart-concerns-third-street-promenade-operators-arent-buying-it/
- Published: 2005-10-07T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:52:20.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Government & Politics, Promenade, #archive-import

*Cart operators ready to bend Council’s ear*

CITY HALL — City officials hoped a recent report would smooth out controversy over Third Street’s new vending cart program, but operators aren’t rolling over for the rhetoric.

The program, intended to improve the consumer experience along the Promenade, has been taken over by a new management company.

A city staff report issued last month responded to issues raised at a Sept. 13 City Council meeting, during which a dozen cart operators requested City Hall address abuses they feel are being administered by Provenzano Resources, Inc. (PRI), the firm signed to handle the Promenade’s cart service.

Meanwhile, cart operators con-tend the Sept. 22 staff report is seriously flawed and misguided. They are set to formally address their concerns at the Tuesday, Oct. 11, City Council meeting.

Sagar wouldn’t specify what she felt was amiss with the staff report. However, she said PRI’s program, if not re-evaluated soon, will force many cart operators off the Promenade who are first-time business owners. As such, their efforts represent substantial money, resources and time to create, which City Hall needs to take into consideration.

“This issue is bigger than you think,” Sagar said, indicating she would say more at the council meeting.

City Councilman Kevin McKeown attended a meeting on Wednesday at which he heard first-hand the concerns of cart operators, he said.

McKeown said the City Council has crafted specific policies to protect small local businesses, and City Hall needs to make sure those policies are being followed at every level of city leasing.

“Santa Monica shouldn't professionalize small operators out of business,” McKeown said. “What matters to me is results.

“If all our policy efforts so far fail to stem corporate colonization, then we need to revisit and strengthen our policies for a sustainable local economy.”

In June, PRI was awarded a minimal 10-year contract to replace Promenade Services Inc., the group that had managed the Promenade’s mobile cart operations since 1989\. City officials and the Bayside District Corp. — a nonprofit group of business leaders who help manage downtown along with City Hall — felt it was time to explore new vendors who could present better concepts or approaches that would make it more profitable for the Promenade.

The agreement calls for PRI to provide 17 retail carts, five food carts, a cart for concierge services, and three carts for artists. The new operators are expected to begin hawking their new wares on Nov. 21, the staff report said. PRI, which owns the carts, has the discretion to choose which operators it will use, according to Miriam Mack, the city’s economic development manager. As of Sept. 20, PRI has offered eight of 16 current cart operators a chance to sign on, of which two have rejected the offer, the staff report said.

In the past, merchants complained because an operator could have multiple carts on the Promenade. Under the new system, operators will only be allowed to have one cart, so “everyone can have piece of the pie,” said Deborah S. Kravitz, PRI’s president.

The carts are intended to be a more attractive addition to the Promenade, Kravitz said. PRI also has hired a merchandising expert who will see to it the wares for sale at each cart are distinct from one another and nearby shops.

Such moves will likely increase revenue for the cart operators, Kravitz said.

In the past, cart operators were charged a total rent of $2,000 to $2,300 per month. According to the Sept. 22 staff report, PRI negotiates the cart operators’ rent based on their understanding of the product, the profit margin, plus 15 percent of revenue generated above the “break point.”

As a result, the staff report said negotiated base fees averaged $2,461 per month, a little more than before.

One of the requirements is that PRI retain a visual merchandiser to be responsible for the overall image of the cart displays. The one-time costs of the merchandiser is passed on to the cart operator, the staff report said.

Four levels of improvements are offered to new cart operators, ranging in cost from $1,800 to $6,000\. Of the 13 contracts signed by Sept. 20, nearly half are paying the middle upgrade of $3,750\. Two are paying the full $6,000, and only one is paying the base $1,800\. The staff report said none of the new cart operators claimed to need financial assistance, as suggested in recent news reports.

The total start-up fees for a new cart operator varies between $6,300 and $12,900, depending on product and cart placement, the staff report said.

The contract is good for six months. Itay Yona, who has managed Antiqua jewelry and other carts on the Promenade for 10 years, said PRI may be requiring cart operators to invest too much money without guarantees they will be able to recoup their costs within the six-month period. However, he said their investment would likely allow PRI to pay for its new carts, which it will use for years. It’s a condition he and other cart operators have said is unfair.

Another issue cart operators have is the timing of the new program. According to the staff report, PRI is required by the L.A. County Health Department to make substantial improvements to the storage and commissary areas prior to the Nov. 21 start date. Staff notified the previous management company, Promenade Services, Inc., that PRI would need access to the storage and commissary areas by Oct. 15 to begin their improvements. As a result, Promenade Services made arrangements to sell the carts and they will not be available to cart operators after Oct. 15, the staff report said.

As a result, cart operators who aren’t signed with PRI are expected to no longer be in business on the Promenade by mid- October. Those who are signed will likely have a six-week lull during which they, nor their employees, will be earning an income.

Rob York, a consultant for Bayside, said the changes to the cart program are intended to make good business sense for all participants, even if there are a few bumps along the way.

“In order for a program to be up and running well it may have to be adjusted over time,” York said. “The key is to make sure the program is offering diverse opportunities and products.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 7, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/100705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)