Are you looking to be more mindful about where you spend your money? If you want to shop local this holiday season, we can help with this guide to some of our favorite places to drop some dough IRL.
Why now? Because the day after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday, a reminder that while we all love the convenience of online shopping, there's still something to be said for supporting the local stores, shopkeepers and boutiques that breathe so much life into our neighborhoods.
Why it matters: These days, retailers take a risk in establishing a brick-and-mortar location to showcase their collections and share their vision. Reward their courage with your presence, positive feedback and sense of community. Every shop represents a dream in the making.
What's next? Check out a few of our favorite places to #ShopLocal in L.A., hitting a variety of locations, wares and price points. You'll also find over 100 other local retailers in the LAist Holiday Gift Guide, which curates dozens upon dozens of gift ideas to help you shop local this holiday season.
Shopping online may be efficient, but there is no substitute for the experience of stepping through the entrance of a well-considered store and delighting in the joy of discovery in person.
These days, retailers take a risk in establishing a brick-and-mortar location to showcase their collections and share their vision. Reward their courage with your presence, positive feedback and sense of community. Every shop represents a dream in the making.
As a counterpoint to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we're highlighting just a few of our favorite places to #ShopLocal in L.A., hitting a variety of locations, wares and price points.
But this is just a starting point: You'll find over 100 other local retailers in the LAist Holiday Gift Guide, which curates dozens upon dozens of gift ideas to help you shop local this holiday season.
This season, meet not only the makers, but the merchants in your neighborhood and celebrate their contribution to making SoCal so uniquely our own:
Tía Chucha’s in Sylmar
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Courtesy Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
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Located in Northeast San Fernando Valley, Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore is dedicated to making culturally relevant books and literacy available to an intergenerational and diverse BIPOC community.
Established by Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez in 2001, the mission of the founder and his impassioned retail team is to highlight literature and storytelling that puts an emphasis on Xicanx and Latinx history and culture with an eye toward social justice and transformative healing. Home to more than 7,000 books, including bilingual children’s books, art, poetry, antiracism, queer/LGBTQIA, social change and more, the booksellers also offer book clubs, literary arts workshops, author events, and children’s story time. Some stores offer more than merchandise and this is one of them.
Museum stores are the perfect place to shop for unique and thoughtful gifts and Southern California has some of the very best. One of our favorites is the Huntington Store at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens due to its extensive and ever-changing mix of creative, quality merchandise with wide ranging appeal.
Inspired by the institutions’ many gardens, art collections, geography and local interests, home decor, art, books, jewelry, personal care items, kid stuff, gardening products and more are displayed in a bright and airy atrium designed with warm natural wood. The store also stocks exclusive collections of botanical prints and logo merchandise as well as books, keepsakes and ornaments specific to the museum’s collections and tea room.
Don’t miss the opportunity to take a stroll through the art and gardens while you are there for a truly enriching experience — consider it the mental health break we all need in this busy season! Consider becoming a member, too, to receive store discounts starting at 10% and up depending on membership level. It makes a great experiential gift for those who don't want more "stuff."
Move over Willy Wonka, Letterpress Chocolate has gold tickets too. David and Corey Menkes, the Los Angeles-based artisanal makers who roast and stone-grind every small batch of their intricately hand pressed treats, offer discovery tours that include an inside look at the cacao tree and fermentation process, sampling of cacao juice and beans, and an introduction to the machines to see how the magic is made.
Tours at their Robertson Boulevard location are $20 for ages 12 and up, and finish in the Letterpress boutique where the chocolate equivalent of sweet sommeliers guide you through a tasting of dark chocolate bars — and you'll also find a wide assortment of gift sets. We can’t think of a better way to select holiday gifts this season — or next. If you're still hungry after visiting Letterpress, here's a list of places to dine nearby. You can save some chocolate for dessert! Here are 20 more gift ideas for the foodie on your holiday gift list.
A “Refill Station” in modern terms is a store aimed at helping consumers reduce plastic consumption and waste by allowing us to bring our own containers (or purchase a reusable container) and buy refills on everything from lotion, shampoo and conditioner to laundry detergent and dish soap when the bottle is empty. No more buying giant plastic jug after giant plastic jug, destined for the landfill when finished. With three locations in Long Beach, BYO Long Beach offers a wide selection of refillable products in addition to a well stocked supply of eco-minded merchandise, home goods, clever gifts, plants and more. Encourage a greener world with less waste by supporting the refill station closest to your home or consider a visit to a BYO Long Beach branch. It’s a gem. Also, check out our list of 17 gifts that are also kind to the planet.
The Last Bookstore in downtown L.A. is not just a place to shop, it’s an experience to be savored. A nirvana of sorts for book lovers since 2011, the 22,000 square-foot literary gorilla in the Spring Arts Tower is organized into creatively conceived sections to display more than a quarter-million books inside the century-old bank building. Yes, the store is a gold mine for IG selfies, but stopping only to take photos of the book tunnel, the fantastical sculptural displays and vintage architectural details would be telling only half the story. The store is a treasure trove for readers looking for everything from graphic novels and travel guides to rare books, vinyl records and beyond. Book clubs, author events and sleepovers at the iconic institution are also on offer. It's in-person shopping at its finest. And if you find yourself in DTLA, here are LAist's recommendations for where to grab a bite. Check out more book gift ideas here.
Founded by Los Angeles artist Angie Myung and her partner, husband Ted Vadakan with the launch of a colorful pocket-sized wallet in 2003, Poketo has evolved into a creative powerhouse brand collaborating with forces such as Nike, MOCA, the Guggenheim, and Disney.
Their flagship Santa Monica store reflects that energy. Guided by the philosophy: Art for you every day, the bright, cheerfully designed store with a crisp, modern feel is a ray of sunshine no matter what the forecast. The store also serves as a hub for the community of artists and makers Poketo seeks to inspire, and as a result, the team received the Edge Award for Positive community impact from the Los Angeles Design Festival. Poketo's wares also land on our holiday list of best gifts to thank a party host or hostess.
Do you know a hopeless romantic? This is the place to experience the meet-cute of your dreams — not to mention getting your hands on the perfect holiday gift. The Ripped Bodice Bookstore — as the name suggests — is devoted entirely and passionately to the celebration of romance novels. The store is proudly woman and queer owned by sisters Lea and Bea Koch, and the well-built shelves heave with a lusty selection of diverse and LGBTQIA+ inclusive fiction as well a wide and deep selection of gift items with a focus on supporting independent, woman-owned businesses. In addition, the bookstore team undertakes several large projects to advance their genre each year including, The Ripped Bodice State of Racial Diversity in Romance Report, the Read, Romance, Repeat subscription box, which would make a great holiday gift, and the development of television projects based on romance novels in association with Sony Pictures Television. In 2023, the store unveiled their second location in Park Slope, Brooklyn — and the adventure continues. We have suggestions for places to dine in Culver City, too, without breaking the budget (so you'll have more to spend on holiday gifts).
The home goods and textiles designed by Los Angeles-based creative Heather Taylor have been featured in publications such as Vogue, House Beautiful, and Domino and are stocked by trendsetting retailers such as John Derian, Nickey Kehoe and Le Bon Marche but the best place to experience them is in Taylor’s own brick and mortar store in Westwood Village.
Opened in 2018, Heather Taylor Home features not only her namesake collection, handcrafted in Chiapas, Mexico, but also a well-curated merchandise mix aimed at complimenting and enhancing her signature, eclectic style. For more shopping inspiration, check out our list of 17 unique, handcrafted gifts you can find right here in L.A.
It’s a store, it’s a studio, it’s an experience. Shopping at the 5,000 square-foot Match Stoneware showroom in Culver City means browsing the finished collections on display while a team of artists work on creating new pieces nearby. Visitors are welcomed to enjoy a personalized tour of the studio space and offered insight into the process of how the work is created. It is as close as you can get to making the pottery without tying on an apron and getting your hands in the clay.
In addition, the handcrafted, contemporary platters, plates, cups and bowls can be seen gracing the tables of some of the finest restaurants in the region owing to collaborating with chefs across the city, including at restaurants such as Vespertine, Destroyer and Somni, to name a few. If it’s good enough for chefs Mei Lin and José Andrés, we’re in. Allow yourself enough time to shop as well as to watch the artists practice their craft. For the budget-minded, the showroom also offers a number of one-off pieces that have been discounted for slight imperfections. Score! Here are 20 more gift ideas for the foodie on your holiday gift list.
The place to go for first-edition books. Located just off the Sunset strip, the store exclusively stocks first editions and first state copies of collectible literature and boasts an abundance of books signed or inscribed by their authors — including Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ernest Hemingway, J.K. Rowling and Dr. Seuss. In addition, the store also offers shooting scripts signed by the authors as well as the celebs who headlined the film adaptations. Actor Michael Caine once said the shop is, “like the most wonderful museum, except you get to buy the exhibits.” If you are looking to browse for something special where Oprah, Angelina Jolie, Bono, Nicole Kidman and others also shop, this is the place. Dark glasses optional. And since you love clearly love reading, check out our list of 17 picture books that make great gifts for kids — and adults, which also includes a guide to other children's book stores across L.A.
With their luscious Los Angeles area locations (Beverly Grove, Culver City, Studio City, and the OC pop-up at Coco Republic), Rolling Greens has established a signature style that captures the essence of the aspirational California lifestyle. At once elegantly luxe and relaxed, the stores offer plants, decor and home goods creatively displayed inside spaces you’ll want to move into. Browse for gifts, greenery or inspiration and soak in the style. To linger longer, check out the schedule of workshops or meet with a botanical barista at the Arrangement Bar to create something completely unique. Also check out our list of the 15 best L.A. gifts for plant lovers.
Inspired by a heritage of adventure and travel, Joanna Williams established Los Angeles-based Kneeland Co. Rarities on West Adams Boulevard as a tribute to her family’s passion for discovery. Located in the West Adams neighborhood, her store offers an eclectic mix of globally sourced home goods, jewelry, art and textiles. The location also serves as the headquarters for Williams’ textile archive, online website and advisory service for both residential and commercial clientele. Rarities, William’s word for the one-of-a-kind art and decor she curates from around the world, can be shopped according to country or featured artist and her passion for design and spirited style infuses the store with a meaningful sense of place. For more unique gifts, check out our curated list of artisanal gifts you can only find right here in L.A.
Vintage items have soul. They are also a great way to imbue your space with personality and individual style. Southern California has some of the best vintage markets in the country — in fact you’re likely to see them featured on design shows like HGTV’s Flea Market Flipand topping vintage shopping lists on the regular. Go for the people watching (celebrities, designers, trend setters), hidden treasures, and the fascinating stories behind the merchandise. The vendors know their stuff. Find out everything you can about what you are buying — and return home with stories of your own. Here are a few of our favorites:
Officials recommend checking your vaccination status if you were exposed to measles.
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PATRICK T. FALLON
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed its fifth measles case of the year. The person flew into LAX on Thursday, May 14.
Why now: The resident was traveling internationally and arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal (Terminal B) at LAX on May 14 via Alaska Airlines Flight 1354, departing from Guatemala City. Anyone in the terminal between 6 and 8 a.m. that morning may have been exposed.
What's next: Public health officials say passengers seated near the infected traveler will be notified by their respective local health departments. They are working to find additional exposure sites that the traveler visited in L.A. County.
Those exposed could be at risk of developing measles one to three weeks after exposure. If you do develop symptoms of measles, officials advise you to call your doctor as soon as possible, and before going in, since it’s so contagious.
Symptoms include: High fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a rash three to five days after other symptoms.
Vulnerable populations: If you’re pregnant, have an infant, have a weakened immune system or are not immunized, call your doctor right away after possible exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms.
The bigger picture: According to the CDC, there have been 27 new outbreaks of measles across the United States this year, with 1,893 cases so far.
In 2025, there were 48 outbreaks across the U.S., with a total of 2,288 confirmed cases. Nine were in Los Angeles County.
Data center field engineers install new cables at the Sabey data center in Quincy, Washington.
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Megan Farmer
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KUOW
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Topline:
Data center builders don’t tell the public how much water they use, according to a new report — and the industry is encroaching into water-stressed and vulnerable communities.
Why now: The report, by the think tank Next10 and researchers at Santa Clara University, finds that planned data centers are spreading to regions reliant on overtapped groundwater and strained surface water, with potentially major effects in the Central and Imperial Valleys.
Why it matters: The researchers found that a patchwork of state, federal and local policies allows data center operators to avoid publicly disclosing their actual water use.
Data center builders don’t tell the public how much water they use, according to a new report — and the industry is encroaching into water-stressed and vulnerable communities.
The report, by the think tank Next10 and researchers at Santa Clara University, finds that planned data centers — the ganglia of artificial intelligence — are spreading to regions reliant on overtapped groundwater and strained surface water, with potentially major effects in the Central and Imperial Valleys.
But, reinforcing previous studies, the researchers found that a patchwork of state, federal and local policies allows data center operators to avoid publicly disclosing their actual water use.
California lawmakers tried to address this last year, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure. Now, the legislature is trying again, with billsmandating disclosures about water use and planning.
“We have this huge build out, and we have very little data,” said Irina Raicu, who directs the Internet Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
Paired with California’s precarious water supplies, Raicu said, “It’s just not a good combination.”
Shaolei Ren, an expert on the environmental impacts of AI at UC Riverside who was not involved in the study, said the findings point to a much broader problem.
“Limited publicly available information about data center water use makes it difficult for communities, water providers and researchers to have meaningful public discussions and responsibly assess power-water trade-offs,” Ren said in an email.
Murky water use
Few environmental impact reports for California’s data centers were publicly available online, the researchers found.
Raicu and co-author Iris Stewart-Frey, a professor of environmental science, went looking for the reports, meant to assess and disclose a project’s impacts for both nature and people under the landmark California Environmental Quality Act.
They found almost none. The ones they did find were largely for facilities in the city of Santa Clara.
Through interviews with planning officials, they discovered that projects can slip through with little environmental review if they fall under certain size or water use thresholds, or if they meet a city or county’s criteria for other approval pathways. These include something called ministerial approval, which requires planning agencies to approve a project that meets local zoning and other standards.
Even for data centers that undergo more stringent environmental scrutiny, the researchers found that documentation is rarely available to the public.
In the few cases the planning documents were posted publicly, the information — on the data center’s owner or operator, size, type of cooling system, the amount of water used, whether it’s recycled or potable — was often “missing, contradictory, or vague,” the report said.
The researchers said they contacted water providers in areas where data centers cluster, seeking usage data. None responded.
A shift to vulnerable regions
California’s data centers mostly cluster in the south San Francisco Bay Area and the city of Los Angeles, with smaller concentrations in Sacramento and San Diego.
But the report noted large, planned projects in rural and less affluent regions — like in Santa Clara County’s Gilroy, as well as in the heavily agricultural Imperial Valley.
“They need a bunch of cheap land,” Raicu. “If we’re not careful, they will end up being pitched, very convincingly, to communities that have real needs — without enough attention being paid to the water part.”
Khara Boender, director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, which has opposed bills mandating more granular water-use reporting, said in an email the industry is “committed to being a good neighbor.”
Boender argues that data centers collectively “used significantly less water than other essential industries in 2025, including the agriculture, power, food and beverage, and semiconductor sectors,” but the coalition offers no data to back that up.
Collective use matters less than local impacts in a state where each community has its own mix of water supplies and strains, according to a previous study published by a team at UC Berkeley.
Whether data centers use a lot or a little water relative to agriculture or other industries, “what matters most is the scale of new local use compared to available local supply,” the Berkeley team concluded earlier this year. “Unfortunately, this picture is clouded by data deficiencies.”
In this week’s report, the Santa Clara University team drilled into those local supplies and community vulnerabilities to anticipated expansion.
“We’re at the brink of this happening in California,” Stewart-Frey, the environmental scientist, said. Her report, she added, isn’t advocating against data centers. But “communities should know what they’re getting themselves into.”
Debates over proposed data centers are erupting in a Kern County desert community with dwindling groundwater and in the hot Imperial Valley, which draws from the strained Colorado River.
Monterey Park residents in the San Gabriel Valley successfully opposed one data center project over environmental concerns and inadequate information and secured an upcoming vote on a citywide ban.
In a letter to city officials, a representative for the developer dismissed opponents as “rage-baiting an uninformed mob to pressure your decisionmaking.”
Raicu pushed back. “If those communities are uninformed about the issue — whose fault is that? Who should be informing the people so that you don’t have this kind of pushback, if there is no need for it?”
New laws v. Big Tech
Last year, Assemblymember Diane Papan, a Democrat from San Mateo, authored a bill requiring data center operators to report estimated or actual water use to their water supplier when seeking or renewing a business license or permit.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure amid industry pressure, saying he was “reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses and the consumers of their technology.”
Now, Papan is trying again with two bills. One largely reprises last year’s measure, with additional reporting required to the city and county. The other would bar local governments from approving new or expanded data centers unless the developer discloses information about their water use and plans.
It would also set other requirements — like prohibiting development in overdrafted groundwater basins in places like the San Joaquin Valley, unless state water managers OK it.
“You cannot manage what you have not and cannot measure,” Papan said. “The public likes transparency, and they should.”
Both bills cleared a key legislative chokepoint this week but face staunch opposition from the tech industry and business groups.
“If they run out of water, guess what happens? And they can’t cool their systems — are they going to succeed?” Papan said. “To which I say, help us help you.”
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Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
Background: Founders Jenny Yang and Chris Capizzi spent seven years operating as a pop-up without a brick-and-mortar location. Opening their doors to local vendors pays homage to their own roots selling at Los Angeles markets, from the Melrose Trading Post to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market.
Read on ... for more on this community space.
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
Founders Jenny Yang and Chris Capizzi spent seven years operating as a pop-up without a brick-and-mortar location. Opening their doors to local vendors pays homage to their own roots selling at Los Angeles markets, from the Melrose Trading Post to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market.
“Mega giant online sellers have the scale and the resources and the patience and the reach to capture most people,” Capizzi said. “Whereas for us, I think we have to be really creative — we have to band together.”
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
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Nick Ducassi
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The LA Local
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Yang and Capizzi’s long history of vending at markets taught them how isolating running a small business can be. At their market, they aim to build connections with each vendor and strategize the best timing and layout so everyone can succeed.
“[Amazon and Barnes & Noble] are Goliath, and we’re not even David — we’re just the ant underneath David’s foot,” Capizzi said. “I think we can do what we do and try to get as many people, at our level or even smaller, to get together.”
Weekly markets at A Good Used Book have captivated the neighborhood since its opening in October 2023, with charming names like “Sunday Funday,” “Saturday School” and “Hi-Fi Friday Night,” plus hand-drawn flyers by well-known artist Noah Harmon. Now, it’s become a weekly occurrence where LA pop-ups can display their own crafts, allowing local readers to indulge in a little more than a pocket paperback.
Each week holds a Pandora’s box of niche snacks, crafts or trinkets you didn’t know you needed, ranging from Southeast Asian-inspired trail mix to natural incense sticks to vintage Japanese audio equipment. One week you might be enticed to adopt a kitten from a rescue booth outside, another week you might impulsively get a stick-and-poke tattoo in the back of the store.
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
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Nick Ducassi
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The LA Local
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On one sunny Sunday afternoon, Brandon Stanciell hand-tossed fresh pizza dough on the sidewalk outside the bookstore. His 2-year-old pop-up, Pizza Ananda, which he named after his daughter, is an homage to her and to Italian cooking, a hobby he started during paternity leave. An hour before the market closed, Stanciell had already sold out and garnished his last pepperoni-and-hot-honey pie for one lucky customer.
“I love that places like this allow us all to meet at once to share what we have and give it to the community around us,” Stanciell said.
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
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Nick Ducassi
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The LA Local
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For the owners, building a community market is about deepening relationships with the people who walk through their doors. In an increasingly digital landscape, it is also a reciprocal partnership among local businesses.
“A lot of people talk about community building nowadays as a marketing strategy,” Capizzi said. “But I think the actual community building comes from talking to each vendor and each customer and being a consistent presence in the neighborhood.”
Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”
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Nick Ducassi
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The LA Local
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While customers browsed for unique titles, Gerin del Carmen worked her booth of ceramic dishware, oyster-shaped trinket holders and vases resembling miniature boxes. As a ceramicist, del Carmen draws from her Filipino heritage, including the Balikbayan boxes that represent immigrants sending gifts to family in the Philippines.
“Sharing the community and your space is such a big deal. This is not a huge, gigantic Barnes & Noble store,” del Carmen said. “It has so much foot traffic, and the fact that [the owners] are setting up and sharing the space once or twice a week with other vendors and other artists is huge.”
Yang and Capizzi may think of themselves as an “ant underneath David’s foot,” but A Good Used Book is building a colony of vendors, rooted in community.
DJ Medina in the Mix plays music during an event at BLVD Market.
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Audrey Ngo
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LAist
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Topline:
Food halls make for an easy, affordable place to satisfy cravings — especially in SoCal, where diverse selections of dishes reign supreme.
Why it matters: These spaces fill a void much deeper than our appetites. They bring new life to old storefronts, factories or even airfields, and can offer a way to keep dollars within the community by becoming a hub for local businesses.
Read on... to learn about our recommendations for four food halls in L.A. and O.C.
Whether you and your friends are looking for a brunch spot to cater to everyone's palates, or taking a trip to the historic Grand Central Market, food halls make for an easy, affordable place to satisfy cravings — especially in SoCal, where diverse selections of dishes reign supreme.
But these spaces fill a void much deeper than our appetites. They bring new life to old storefronts, factories or even airfields (see list below), and can offer a way to keep dollars within the community by becoming a hub for local businesses.
With that said, here's a short list of food halls where you'll get more than just a killer meal.
For good vibes
BLVD MRKT food hall on the corner of 6th Street and Whittier Boulevard in downtown Montebello.
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Audrey Ngo
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BLVD MRKT 520 Whittier Blvd., Montebello Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Monday.
BLVD MRKT is an open-air food hall in downtown Montebello that feels like a party. The 8,500-square-foot space currently has five eateries, or "concepts" as they're known in the restaurant industry, and hosts live DJs every Friday night and Sunday during brunch. They also host Open Vinyl Night on the second and forth Tuesday of every month, where patrons get $2 off beers and margaritas from Alchemy Craft if they bring a vinyl record to be played in the BLVD courtyard.
The space is pet-friendly and has growing concepts like Los Taquero Mucho, which offers classic al pastor, grilled chicken and slow-cooked carnitas tacos, as well as specialty flavors like vegan tacos with whiskil sautéed in coconut milk, and Pork Belly Cochinita Pibil Tacos, perfect for those who crave crispy, slow-roasted pork with a hint of sweetness.
Los Taquero Mucho participates in BLVD's incubator program, run by co-founders Barney and Evelyn Santos. The program offers mentorship to local entrepreneurs until they can set up shop permanently.
Pork Belly Cochinita Pibil Tacos with salsa from Los Taquero Mucho at BLVD MRKT in Montebello.
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BLVD MRKT is part of the couple's commercial real estate development firm, Gentefy. Its mission is to invest in retail and hospitality projects that ignite economic development and revitalization in Black and brown neighborhoods.
"Blvd Mrkt is our first project," Barney Santos wrote in a text message. "It was our social proof to prove to banks, investors and cities that a socially conscious business model could exist in a traditionally overlooked area."
VCHOS Pupuseria Moderna also has a spot in the BLVD courtyard, offering handmade pupusas with filling choices such as shrimp with spinach and cheese, and tender beef birria with a side of consommé, onions and cilantro. Coffee lovers can get an Oaxacan Mocha at Cafe Santo, or stop by Cold Pizza for a wood-fired slice.
For eclectic tastes
Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton.
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Rodeo 39 Public Market 12885 Beach Blvd., Stanton Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
An O.C. favorite, Rodeo 39 Public Market lives on Highway 39, also known as Beach Boulevard, in Stanton. This 40,000-square-foot space is an eclectic mix of more than 20 food and drink concepts and retailers. There are three outdoor patios and five murals, plus an arcade, tattoo shop and photo booth. Food options cover everything from Lil' Breezy's adobo breakfast burritos to Cajun crab fries at The Crawfish Hut.
Mural by artist David Flores outside of Joystix arcade at Rodeo 39 Public Market.
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Rodeo's menu choices make it well-suited for a casual weekend brunch. At its entrance sits Here & There, where you can grab a coffee or matcha latte, or try one of their signature drinks like the Iced Vienna, a combination of milk with caramelly demerara sugar and your choice of matcha or espresso, topped with sweet cream and garnished with sea salt. The result is a drink that's smooth and not too sweet.
Eggyo bulgogi egg sandwich with spicy mayo at Rodeo 39 Public Market.
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Eggyo, a recent addition to Rodeo, offers Korean corn dogs and fluffy egg sandwiches on crispy, house-baked milk bread. Try the bulgogi option with spicy mayo for a savory kick. If you crave a cocktail, venture over to CAPO, which also serves craft beer. Or just sit on one of their sun-filled patios while you decide what to try.
For a page from history
The Hangar in Long Beach.
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The Hangar 4150 McGowen St., Long Beach Monday and Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Hangar is a 17,000-square-foot food hall that pays homage to Long Beach's aviation history. It sits on former Boeing Co. land where military and commercial aircraft were built. Today, it serves as a dining destination at the Long Beach Exchange Shopping Center, or LBX, neighboring the city's international airport.
This space currently has a mix of 14 food concepts and two retail shops. Patrons can enjoy local favorites outside their flagship locations, like the Joe's Special bagel sandwich from Cassidy's Corner Cafe, with bacon, egg and the star of the show — tangy jalapeño cream cheese. Fans of spice can try Jay Bird's Nashville Hot Chicken, which offers chicken sandwiches and tenders, and Blazin' Fries, all with six levels of heat.
Historic aviation photos are displayed above food concepts at The Hangar food hall at LBX in Long Beach
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Inside, there are vintage pictures of aircraft that were built at the site, and a wall of clocks showing the time in cities named Long Beach across the country.
A Pan Am Hawaii travel poster (left) and a TWA Spain travel poster (right) at the patio of The Hangar food hall.
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Audrey Ngo
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LAist
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Outside, you'll find patio seating with umbrellas where you can sit and watch the occasional plane fly overhead. Or sit and enjoy the adjacent display of towering Pan Am and TWA posters promoting travel to Hawaii, Spain and Paris.
3655 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Open since 2001, the approximately 34,000-square-foot Mercado La Paloma sits in the Figueroa corridor of South L.A., and is known for its focus on community, art and culture. From rotating art exhibits to colorful tiled tabletops, this space feels like it was made to nurture creativity.
Interior of Mercado La Paloma.
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Audrey Ngo
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LAist
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There are meeting rooms to rent starting at $25 an hour. It's a space where locals can bring their laptop to work or study, or have a long conversation with a friend, with bites from six acclaimed restaurants.
Holbox's Erizo dish at Mercado La Paloma.
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Audrey Ngo
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LAist
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At the Mercado, visit Holbox for Michelin-starred seafood dishes like Erizo — velvety sea urchin laid atop a bed of tender scallop ceviche. The combination is fresh, flavorful and oceanic. Tip: If you can swing it, come on a weekday to avoid a long line, or order ahead.
For something sweet, walk over to Oaxacacalifornia Cafe & Juice Bar for a Spicy Pineapple Juice with a gingery kick, or go for the classic pairing of Hot Oaxacan Chocolate, made with your choice of water or milk, and light-as-air conchas crowned with a solid layer of vanilla or chocolate streusel.
