Los Angeles is more than familiar with pop-up shops. Anything from avant-garde pastries to indie designer brands accumulates long lines outside previously uninhabited storefronts across the City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These flexible commercial spaces are extremely short-term, and often house businesses that don\u2019t sell their products through a traditional brick-and-mortar retail format. To keep up with this market, California assembly members introduced legislation<\/a> that allows smaller businesses to set up pop-up shops for 120 days.<\/p>\n The United States pop-up market is worth billions of dollars and generated a revenue of around $16 billion<\/a> in 2025 alone. The West Coast, more specifically L.A., is one of the leading markets for temporary retail spaces. Unlike other cities within the market, such as New York or Paris, L.A.\u2019s retail spaces are significantly cheaper while offering similar brand visibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLos Angeles has become the West Coast home of the pop-up store. It\u2019s where brands come to meet customers in person, quickly and without a long lease, and it\u2019s a favorite landing pad for international names testing the US market,\u201d CEO and founder of Storefront, the world\u2019s largest online marketplace for temporary pop-up real estate, Mohamed Haouache said in a statement to Los Angeles Magazine.\u00a0<\/p>\n While AB 1679<\/a> is applicable to any California business that would like to test the waters for 120 days or more, the language of the bill has Los Angeles in mind. The Temporary Commercial Activation permit would create an easier pathway for small businesses to operate in readily available spaces without triggering additional inspections or major changes, which are usually required when taking over a brick-and-mortar.\u00a0<\/p>\n Essentially, these small businesses would be grandfathered into a space, bypassing the thousands of dollars it would take to bring everything up to code.\u00a0<\/p>\n Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks from Oakland, CA, and Mark Gonzales from L.A. co-authored the bill with intentions of streamlining the requirements it takes to open up an establishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the current system, every local jurisdiction has different requirements, permit durations, and application procedures,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cThis bill sets streamlined permit requirements, while also extending the duration a business can occupy vacant retail spaces from the current average of about 1 week to 120 days. By providing a standard process, we ensure businesses can get the permits they need to open their doors faster.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill, however, doesn\u2019t incentivize small businesses to remain as pop-ups but rather test the market to see if their business would flourish as a brick-and-mortar.\u00a0<\/p>\n Clemence de Lutz Gossett is a co-owner of Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica, a French-style bakery that regularly hosts guest chef and baker pop-ups. Free of charge, de Lutz Gossett allows small, independent bakers and chefs with varying levels of commerce experience to use her bakery as a temporary storefront.\u00a0<\/p>\n @nbccalive<\/a> <\/p>\n Tiny bakery, serious pastry game \ud83e\udd50\u2728 Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica bakes fresh croissants every hour inside an 800-square-foot space. Insider tip, the final batch comes out at 2 PM \ud83d\udc40 What\u2019s your go-to order? SantaMonica LAfoodie FrenchBakery CroissantTok DiscoverLA BakeryTok #nbccalive<\/a> #calive<\/a><\/p>\n