(Photo Illustration by Diana Ramirez/De Los; Photos by Carlin Stiehl/For De Los, Diana Ramirez, Raul Roa/De Los.)
15 Latinx-owned places to shop this holiday season in L.A.
The holidays are in the air. Houses are lit with lights and shopping lists are bouncing around in your head.
If you want to resist the Amazon urge and shop more intentionally this year, there’s holiday pop-ups and local marketplaces that appeal to our comunidad such as Queer Mercado and Mujeres Market, and a plethora of online shops where you can purchase unique gifts from independent brands like Chismosa natural wine from Mas Vino Please.
For those who need to satisfy the senses with in-person shopping, we’ve rounded up 15 of our favorite Latinx-owned brick-and-mortars in Los Angeles County. Whether you’re looking for self-care essentials for your amigas, records for the collectors in your life, or plant babies for your homie’s pad, we’ve got ideas to help you shop small this year.
For the record:
3:03 p.m. Dec. 6, 2023An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Pippi + Lola as Pippa + Lola. It also named a second location for Midnight Hour Records, which is no longer operated by the same owners. This version has been corrected.
Showing Places
(Carlin Stiehl/For De Los)
Earthy Corazón
East Los Angeles Candle store
City Terrace is known for many things: picturesque homes in the hills overlooking the 10 Freeway, historic murals and now one of the best soy candle and natural body care product makers in the Eastside.
Queer Chicana Ely Valdivia started making candles, pomadas and soaps for friends and family and soon discovered her love for creating offerings that help heal our spirits and spaces. She opened her storefront last year to support self care in communities of color.
Purify your homie’s pad with a handmade candle in such earthy scents as sandalwood, palo santo, tobacco, amber, patchouli and flor de nopal. Support other local makers like Yaocihuatl Organic, whose nontoxic deodorants actually work, and Piel Culta’s silky Guau Glow prickly pear and rosehip face oil. A super cute photo booth is there to capture all the recuerdos.
Queer Chicana Ely Valdivia started making candles, pomadas and soaps for friends and family and soon discovered her love for creating offerings that help heal our spirits and spaces. She opened her storefront last year to support self care in communities of color.
Purify your homie’s pad with a handmade candle in such earthy scents as sandalwood, palo santo, tobacco, amber, patchouli and flor de nopal. Support other local makers like Yaocihuatl Organic, whose nontoxic deodorants actually work, and Piel Culta’s silky Guau Glow prickly pear and rosehip face oil. A super cute photo booth is there to capture all the recuerdos.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
Amano Goods
Echo Park Shop
The motto here is “live fast, shop slow” and owner Adan Maldonado is all about the latter. He opened his Echo Park Avenue leather goods store during the pandemic and makes everything in house by hand (hence, the name.)
Belts, wallets, purses, keychains, bowls and dog accessories are all made to order and meticulously crafted from vegetable tanned leather that can take up to a year to produce. Maldonado sources his leather from Italy, Japan and the U.S., and stitches everything himself using a traditional saddle stitch that is damn near unbreakable.
The store gives major Oaxaca vibes with its artsy minimalist feel and features local artisans and designers that help create a fuller retail experience.
Belts, wallets, purses, keychains, bowls and dog accessories are all made to order and meticulously crafted from vegetable tanned leather that can take up to a year to produce. Maldonado sources his leather from Italy, Japan and the U.S., and stitches everything himself using a traditional saddle stitch that is damn near unbreakable.
The store gives major Oaxaca vibes with its artsy minimalist feel and features local artisans and designers that help create a fuller retail experience.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
The Midnight Hour Records
San Fernando Record store
There’s nothing like listening to music on vinyl. The crackly sounds of an imperfect player or dusty record add to the nostalgia. This San Fernando record store understands the draw and stocks everything from hardcore punk, grunge and new wave to funk, soul, cumbia and hip-hop.
In addition to new and used vinyl, it carries cassettes, VHS tapes, vintage band T-shirts, crystals, used cookbooks, local history books and locally made vegan chocolate. It’s also a music venue, where a Jewish punk band just played a benefit show for Gaza last month.
In addition to new and used vinyl, it carries cassettes, VHS tapes, vintage band T-shirts, crystals, used cookbooks, local history books and locally made vegan chocolate. It’s also a music venue, where a Jewish punk band just played a benefit show for Gaza last month.
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(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
Espacio 1839
Boyle Heights Gift Store
This Boyle Heights hub for Latinx creatives is a bookstore, gift shop, gallery and community radio booth. Owners and husband-wife locals Nico Avina and Myra Vasquez created space for the community to gather and be inspired.
Concha-shaped coin purses, protest-ready T-shirts and books by mostly BIPOC authors greet you as you enter the bright white shop accented with culturally relevant art.
Nico’s latest venture, transforming vintage jackets, zarapes and ponchos emblazoned with iconic imagery like La Virgen and Aztec legends Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl into stylish outerwear, is on this year’s wish list.
Concha-shaped coin purses, protest-ready T-shirts and books by mostly BIPOC authors greet you as you enter the bright white shop accented with culturally relevant art.
Nico’s latest venture, transforming vintage jackets, zarapes and ponchos emblazoned with iconic imagery like La Virgen and Aztec legends Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl into stylish outerwear, is on this year’s wish list.
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(Carlin Stiehl / For De Los)
Pippi + Lola
Long Beach Plant Shop
A serious plant movement is alive in L.A., and the Latinx community is at the forefront. There’s Latinx With Plants in Boyle Heights, the Juicy Leaf in Glassell Park, Avalon Nursery in South L.A., Casa Verde L.A. in Whittier, Prop House Plants in San Pedro and Long Beach’s Vida Plant Shop and Plantitas. We seriously had to flip a coin, which landed on Pippi + Lola.
Dynelly del Valle’s luscious Long Beach plant studio is a fixture on 4th Street, brimming with wreaths, planters, books and low-maintenance plants. The proud queer Puerto Rican Miami native feels blessed to open in a space that was formerly a woman-owned hair salon and onetime headquarters for the Long Beach AIDS Walk. She loves getting deep with her customers, who all want the same thing: to own as many plants as possible.
Dynelly del Valle’s luscious Long Beach plant studio is a fixture on 4th Street, brimming with wreaths, planters, books and low-maintenance plants. The proud queer Puerto Rican Miami native feels blessed to open in a space that was formerly a woman-owned hair salon and onetime headquarters for the Long Beach AIDS Walk. She loves getting deep with her customers, who all want the same thing: to own as many plants as possible.
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(Raul Roa/De Los)
Aura's World
Whittier Gift Store
If cleansing chakras and purifying stones beneath a full moon is your loved one’s thing, this Whittier sanctuary is the place to be. Everything you need to start your own in-home oasis is here: from crystals, singing bowls and dream catchers to incense, oracle cards, statues and wall hangings.
Owner Laura Garcia, who was born in Mexicali, opened her shop in 2012 and has been cleansing auras and providing space for energy healing, aura photography, ancestral communication, guided meditation and more for over 10 years. You’ll definitely feel the irie vibes as soon as you walk inside.
Owner Laura Garcia, who was born in Mexicali, opened her shop in 2012 and has been cleansing auras and providing space for energy healing, aura photography, ancestral communication, guided meditation and more for over 10 years. You’ll definitely feel the irie vibes as soon as you walk inside.
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(Carlin Stiehl / For De Los)
Coffee Del Mundo
Vermont Knolls Coffee
A hand-painted sign above the front door with the words “Taste the Mundo: Black & Latino Owned” greets you as you walk inside this South-Central L.A. coffee shop with beans from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua and a 100% dairy-free menu.
Owner Jon Kinnard grew up in Tennessee to a mother from Belize and father from Inglewood and prides himself on bringing a non-Eurocentric approach to the coffee game. The certified coffee expert was inspired after visiting El Salvador, where coffee farmers struggled to get their beans to the U.S. Kinnard took it upon himself to export their beans and after failing to convince other importers to help, opened his own shop that pays homage to the Black and brown countries that grow the beans.
Come in for a cup and take home a bag of coffee, pod sampler trio, cold brew or souvenir T-shirt for all those caffeine fiends in your life.
Owner Jon Kinnard grew up in Tennessee to a mother from Belize and father from Inglewood and prides himself on bringing a non-Eurocentric approach to the coffee game. The certified coffee expert was inspired after visiting El Salvador, where coffee farmers struggled to get their beans to the U.S. Kinnard took it upon himself to export their beans and after failing to convince other importers to help, opened his own shop that pays homage to the Black and brown countries that grow the beans.
Come in for a cup and take home a bag of coffee, pod sampler trio, cold brew or souvenir T-shirt for all those caffeine fiends in your life.
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(Alenajdro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
Persona the Shop
West Adams Clothing store
If you’re looking to update your amiga’s wardrobe, look no further than this Mid-City fashion haven.
Owner Jasmine Maldonado’s story is muy inspirational. The 26-year-old was raised by a single mother of seven who ran a food truck until fulfilling her dream of opening up a mariscos restaurant. Following her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, Maldonado opened Persona next door to the restaurant. She and her brother also host the always poppin’ monthly marketplace Mid-City Mercado.
At Persona, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising grad carries ‘90s-style faux leather purses made in Tijuana, long satin dresses, cropped denim jackets, gold hoops, platform heels, Latina-owned skincare line SBJ Esntls and the ever-popular Bella Doña, Hija de Tu Madre and Ghetto Rodeo lines. It’s every fashionista’s dream.
Owner Jasmine Maldonado’s story is muy inspirational. The 26-year-old was raised by a single mother of seven who ran a food truck until fulfilling her dream of opening up a mariscos restaurant. Following her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, Maldonado opened Persona next door to the restaurant. She and her brother also host the always poppin’ monthly marketplace Mid-City Mercado.
At Persona, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising grad carries ‘90s-style faux leather purses made in Tijuana, long satin dresses, cropped denim jackets, gold hoops, platform heels, Latina-owned skincare line SBJ Esntls and the ever-popular Bella Doña, Hija de Tu Madre and Ghetto Rodeo lines. It’s every fashionista’s dream.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
El Sereno Green Grocer
El Sereno Shop
A bright orange and green facade and colorful streamers greet you as you walk inside this cheery neighborhood grocery store. Queer Xicanas and partners Patricia Torres and Erika Crenshaw are all about nourishing gente, opening the store earlier this year after pouring their hearts and souls into the nearby El Sereno Community Garden.
This is an EBT-accepted intimate and intentional food shopping experience in a community dominated by big chain supermarkets. Produce is sourced from nearby farms, bread is delivered fresh daily by Allesandro Jang, whose Out of Thin Air was conceived in the kitchen of a drug rehab, and eggs come from local hen operation Egg Sereno. Mental health awareness advocate Sad Girl Creamery shares freezer space with old school favorite Thrifty’s ice cream, a cafecito from Elephant Hills Cafe & Bakery’s mobile coffee cart pairs perfectly with El Aguila Bakery pan dulce.
From La Lechera to artisanal pho spice blend, oatmeal to Todo Verde spices, brie to Native American Tea Co., this corner store has something for all the foodies on your list.
This is an EBT-accepted intimate and intentional food shopping experience in a community dominated by big chain supermarkets. Produce is sourced from nearby farms, bread is delivered fresh daily by Allesandro Jang, whose Out of Thin Air was conceived in the kitchen of a drug rehab, and eggs come from local hen operation Egg Sereno. Mental health awareness advocate Sad Girl Creamery shares freezer space with old school favorite Thrifty’s ice cream, a cafecito from Elephant Hills Cafe & Bakery’s mobile coffee cart pairs perfectly with El Aguila Bakery pan dulce.
From La Lechera to artisanal pho spice blend, oatmeal to Todo Verde spices, brie to Native American Tea Co., this corner store has something for all the foodies on your list.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
Be Nice Have Fun
Highland Park Gift Store
On a mission to reclaim space in the now gentrified neighborhood her dad grew up in, Destinie Escobedo left a career in commercial photography to open her consciously curated Highland Park party store in 2019. Painted on the huge wood-paneled window are the words “Heal Your Inner Child,” so you already know you’ve stepped into the right spot.
The shop carries celebratory essentials like quirky cards, gift bags, themed cups, napkins and plates, plus gifts like snazzy stationery, candles, pins and an epic assortment of snarky stickers. Everything here is made by queer, trans, Black, Indigenous People of Color. And if latex balloons trigger your plastic anxiety, Escobedo stocks biodegradable ones.
Grab a journal for the writer in your life and sign up for a workshop (Chingona Hoops recently facilitated an embroidery one here) to get you out of your comfort zone. Penny, the store cavapoo, is there if you need a serotonin boost.
The shop carries celebratory essentials like quirky cards, gift bags, themed cups, napkins and plates, plus gifts like snazzy stationery, candles, pins and an epic assortment of snarky stickers. Everything here is made by queer, trans, Black, Indigenous People of Color. And if latex balloons trigger your plastic anxiety, Escobedo stocks biodegradable ones.
Grab a journal for the writer in your life and sign up for a workshop (Chingona Hoops recently facilitated an embroidery one here) to get you out of your comfort zone. Penny, the store cavapoo, is there if you need a serotonin boost.
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(Lisa Marie Nava)
Café Con Libros Press
Pomona Book Store
This longtime Pomona nonprofit and volunteer-run bookstore is the brainchild of Adelaida Bautista and Patricia DeRobles, who met at the University of La Verne and connected as first-gen college students and aspiring teachers.
They opened the shop in 1997, back when potential funders didn’t see a market for books for and by POC. Lalo Alcaraz and Culture Clash were at the opening, and customers included a Latina lesbian group needing a safe space to meet and prominent Black Panther Party member Eldridge Cleaver, who lived out his last months in the neighborhood.
Today, their calendar is full of events like Pomona Poet Laureate Ceasar Avelar’s Obsidian Tongue open-mic nights, book releases, healing circles and more. Cross off some names on your list with books for all ages and en español, tarot decks, tote bags and other kitschy gifts.
They opened the shop in 1997, back when potential funders didn’t see a market for books for and by POC. Lalo Alcaraz and Culture Clash were at the opening, and customers included a Latina lesbian group needing a safe space to meet and prominent Black Panther Party member Eldridge Cleaver, who lived out his last months in the neighborhood.
Today, their calendar is full of events like Pomona Poet Laureate Ceasar Avelar’s Obsidian Tongue open-mic nights, book releases, healing circles and more. Cross off some names on your list with books for all ages and en español, tarot decks, tote bags and other kitschy gifts.
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(Raul Roa/De Los)
Oeste
Montebello Home goods
Naomi Castillo’s home goods shop is a blessing on this East L.A. stretch of Beverly Boulevard. Let the smell of hand-poured cardamom, cacao, sage and smoke candles that seriously evoke the templos and palapas they were named after, lure you inside her soulful space.
The idea for Oeste was born while Castillo was living in New York and yearning to be back home in her native L.A. The shop opened last year and offers quality aromatics and elevated essentials like terra cotta foot scrubbers, fans made from jipijapa palms found in southern Mexico’s Campeche region and handwoven Salvadoran beach towels. Come for a gift for your bestie, leave with a bunch of new things for your casita.
The idea for Oeste was born while Castillo was living in New York and yearning to be back home in her native L.A. The shop opened last year and offers quality aromatics and elevated essentials like terra cotta foot scrubbers, fans made from jipijapa palms found in southern Mexico’s Campeche region and handwoven Salvadoran beach towels. Come for a gift for your bestie, leave with a bunch of new things for your casita.
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(Nihal Shaikh )
The New Bar
Venice Shop
Whether for health reasons or personal ones, many are choosing a sober path and nonalcoholic bottle shops are rising to the occasion. This one in Venice opened last year by Catalina Island native Brianda Gonzalez, whose venture became Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s first nonalcoholic partner this past spring.
The shop carries alcohol-free spirits, wine, mixers and gift items that are perfect for the sober folks in your circle. Store clerks are upbeat and encourage this lifestyle, so ask them for suggestions to suit the needs of even the pickiest peeps on your list.
The shop carries alcohol-free spirits, wine, mixers and gift items that are perfect for the sober folks in your circle. Store clerks are upbeat and encourage this lifestyle, so ask them for suggestions to suit the needs of even the pickiest peeps on your list.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
Amigas Thrift
El Sereno Thrift store
Homegirls Kerri Martinez and Reyna Perches opened this little pink resale shop in their native El Sereno in 2021 after years of selling vintage online. A brick-and-mortar was always the dream and after cleaning out Martinez’s 1930s home in Echo Park that saw six generations, it was time to dust off their collection sitting in storage and offer it up to the community.
Folks from the neighborhood and vintage lovers coexist peacefully at this well-curated thrift store carrying women’s, men’s and kid’s secondhand clothing, shoes and accessories, vintage dishes, glassware, rattan plant stands and home decor. You’ll find something for all the thrift haulers in your life. Owners are chatty and warm and will kindly gift wrap your purchase.
Folks from the neighborhood and vintage lovers coexist peacefully at this well-curated thrift store carrying women’s, men’s and kid’s secondhand clothing, shoes and accessories, vintage dishes, glassware, rattan plant stands and home decor. You’ll find something for all the thrift haulers in your life. Owners are chatty and warm and will kindly gift wrap your purchase.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez / For De Los)
Sidecca
Altadena Clothing store
Hook up your retro-loving amiga with a pair of cute cat-eye sunglasses, a funky purse or pinup-style dress. Voted best women’s clothing store by Pasadena Weekly three times in a row, Sidecca has new digs in Altadena but the same collection of vintage clothing with a rockabilly vibe.
Owner Adriana Molina was born and raised in the neighborhood and just celebrated 10 years in the biz. She was Sidecca’s first employee when the brand launched in 2004 and bought the company in 2013. Together with Manisa Ianakiev and Brandi Manzano, they curate an eclectic mix of clothing, shoes, accessories and décor from various eras, including the ‘80s, ‘90s and this one.
Prices are fair, the quality is there and the service is stellar.
Owner Adriana Molina was born and raised in the neighborhood and just celebrated 10 years in the biz. She was Sidecca’s first employee when the brand launched in 2004 and bought the company in 2013. Together with Manisa Ianakiev and Brandi Manzano, they curate an eclectic mix of clothing, shoes, accessories and décor from various eras, including the ‘80s, ‘90s and this one.
Prices are fair, the quality is there and the service is stellar.
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