[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]an an outdoor food hall made out of repurposed containers revitalize a sleepy neighborhood in East Los Angeles? Barney Santos, the creative force and founder of Blvd Mrkt in Montebello, is willing to bet it can.
This weekend was the highly anticipated grand opening. A DJ was playing oldies while families from the east of east communities came out for a bite and a drink.
But it’s a little deeper than just having a take-out restaurant in Montebello for the brave venture’s vendors who are also willing to bet on this container yard food hall.
Lucy Thompson-Ramirez, co-owner of Pez Cantina in downtown L.A. was talking the other day about the hotspot of her youth. “I’m from East L.A.,” she said. “Growing up in the 80s, the Montebello Town Center was the place to be.”
Imagine a John Hughes film, but with Chicanos on screen and Debbie Deb on the soundtrack instead of OMD. The eastern L.A. County city was in the middle of turning from a majority white and Armenian town into one where Latinos were finding their suburban dream. Chicanos from across the Eastside haunted the Town Center to flirt, to eat, to walk around—but, most importantly, to shop. “But, that eventually died out.”