The Latino diaspora is vast. In our beautiful city, this complex mosaic of cultures, cuisines, and traditions is best seen through businesses owned by Latinos. The Latino experience is wide and varied, each with its own particular identity. Different parts of LA are made up of different enclaves, with restaurants, markets, and shops that cater to their specific populations. Like the numerous Central American restaurants in Koreatown and Pico-Union, or the bounty of Mexican restaurants and food vendors in East LA, or the various Peruvian, Brazilian, Cuban, and Puerto Rican businesses that are vital to LA’s diverse economy.
LA has nearly five million residents who identify as Latino, making up 48% of the city’s population. As Latino buying power grows, we see more and more businesses that reflect what LA actually looks like. It is important to note that Latino businesses usually cater to their communities first. Tienditas and shops are often an intermediary for Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Chicanos, Brazilians, and other Latino communities—a portal to their home and the world at large. They center their communities first because that’s where they find kinship and connection to their life and identity in Latin America.
These Latino-owned businesses act as beacons of resilience, proving the influence of their communities, while ensuring that future generations have access to the cultural capital they hold so dear. With many businesses still struggling to recover from loss of profit due to COVID, it’s even more important that we prioritize supporting these institutions, not just during Hispanic Heritage Month, but all year long. While there are literally thousands of Latino-owned businesses in the Southern California region, this list serves as an attempt to showcase the multi-faceted curtain of LA through our favorite Latino-owned enterprises: food, drink, entertainment, clothing, and shopping. The story of Latinidad in LA is one of tenacity, community and vibrancy—traits that all of these businesses embody in one way or another.
