Shop vintage, grab mariscos at Smorgasburg’s East LA marketplace this Saturday

An open-air food and art marketplace by the organizers of the popular Smorgasburg LA is coming to East Los Angeles this Saturday. 

Eastside Living will bring shopping, food, music and other activities to East LA’s Eugene A. Obregon Park. The free event is part of a collaboration between LA County and Smorgasburg LA to highlight more than 30 local “small businesses, makers, chefs, artists, and entrepreneurs who make LA County’s neighborhoods what they are.”

Vendors include Mariscos Mar-es, an Eastside-based seafood pop-up; Sus Arepas, which offers Colombian bites from its shop in City Terrace; Stairway to Pizza, a specialty pizza operation based in Boyle Heights; and coffee from UMO Coffee and East LA’s Enfermos Cafe. Shoppers can find vintage items from Boyle Heights’ Te Adoro Vintage or Whittier’s Newlin House. Visit  Smorgasburg’s Instagram for the latest list of vendors.

For couple Victor and Leticia Rojas, who co-own Mariscos Mar-es, the market will give local vendors a chance to showcase their culinary creations to a wider audience of foodies right in their backyard. 

“We see a lot of events happening in Culver City and the Arts District but not in East LA. We’re really excited that Smorgasburg is partnering with East LA organizers and holding an event over here,” Victor Rojas said.

His wife agreed, adding the need for a community-powered event in their neighborhood after a year of anxiety driven by ICE around the Los Angeles area. 

“A lot of people are scared to go out so it’s events likes that show the pride of East LA and allow people to come together as one to explore the foods and other vendors,” Leticia Rojas said. 

Smorgasburg LA launched in downtown LA in 2016 and has since amassed a following of foodies to taste plates from locally-based pop-ups. The event hosts thousands of hungry attendees each week and features food and shopping vendors as well as a beer garden. 

Smorgasburg’s SGV Living, a similar event featuring vendors and other small businesses local to the San Gabriel Valley, launches on Nov. 28 in Rowland Heights.