The smell of crispy catfish and Kansas-style barbecue pepper the salty air of Junipero Beach, offering the promise of just a few street food options you may encounter while taking a walk along the boardwalk there. On any given weekend, depending on your luck, the street vending community—located between Junipero Avenue and the Pacific Ocean—can sometimes be as strong as over two dozen vendors.
What sets this particular street vendor cluster apart from the countless others across L.A. is that they make up one of the most underrepresented groups in the county; Welcome to Long Beach’s Black street vendor row.
The open-air street vending market is at its strongest on weekends, selling everything from cold-pressed juice, burgers, hot dogs, fish sandwiches, quesadillas, medicated brownies, and different beverages. Non-food options for sale include essential oils, fades via a mobile barber, and clothing by local designers.
Long-time Long Beach residents tell L.A. TACO that this street-vending community is new to the city, with vendors lining up their EZ-Up tents for about a year, hinting that this market’s growth is directly correlated to the pandemic-related job shift.