On Christmas Day 2024, Malinalli Superfoods in East Los Angeles received a notice of eviction.
Co-founder Eruve Peña opened the plant-based eatery on Whittier Boulevard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of closure mandates, he saw delays in securing the necessary permits to convert the pop-up business he grew for a decade into a storefront.
Even after finally opening, the business was affected by a homeless encampment in the spot’s parking lot, which deterred some potential customers.
“There wasn’t a grace period. I got charged rent right away,” said Peña. “I inherited a property that had been abandoned for over a year, and there was an encampment there up until around when I closed.”
Because of these issues, Peña found himself unable to pay back owed rent that accumulated during the pandemic and was forced to close Malinalli Superfoods before the new year. He says he’s keeping it alive by returning to its roots as a regular pop-up at community events.
A growing Eastside trend
It wasn’t the only spot that closed its storefront recently.
On Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, the bookstore Re/Arte Centro Literario closed its doors following late payment to its landlord, Tiao Properties, according to a social media post by a group of organized tenants. The post from El Apetito Finessa Colectivo claimed the closure was an act of retaliation for the shop owner’s key role in advocating for the East L.A. Area Planning Commission to oppose a proposed development by a Los Angeles-based real estate company.
Re/Arte is still offering its programming at nearby Esquina Bicycle Shop, though that business has also shared on social media that it is struggling financially.
Just a few blocks away, Cafe Girasol announced it will close in February to focus on a legal battle against the deportation of one of its owners.
And in the Northeast, El Sereno Green Grocer revealed it is in its final week of full service at its current location on Huntington Drive North due to financial troubles. The grocer has pivoted its resources to support those affected by the L.A. wildfires and its owners say they will share an update on the shop’s future soon.
The recent closures seem to be part of a growing trend across the Eastside, where small businesses are grappling with rising rents, pandemic setbacks and financial struggles. As challenges mount, many local entrepreneurs are forced to close their storefronts or shift to new business models to survive.
Corissa Hernandez, vice president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, sees the wave of shuttered storefronts as a sign of a small business crisis brewing in L.A.
She says many entrepreneurs were hit hard by closures during the pandemic – including herself. The former owner of bar House of Xelas, which had a five-year run on 1st Street in Boyle Heights, says her personal struggles as a business owner have shaped her mission to support fellow entrepreneurs in the city.
“I have deep roots in Boyle Heights, so it brought on a tremendous amount of pride to be able to open a space that amplifies the pride of being from here,” said Hernandez. “[Closing Xelas] was very painful, I felt like I was letting my community down when I had to shut the doors down for good.”
Entrepreneurs taking action
Hernandez is a board member of the Independent Hospitality Coalition (IHC), a network of businesses focused on raising awareness of small business needs and advocating to elected officials to help shape policies and drive city- and state-wide support.
The organization found that some of the major issues facing local storefronts are inflation and the rising cost of goods, forcing them into a balancing act between passing on the costs to customers and absorbing them. On top of that, rents across the city are also on the rise.
“It’s been hit after hit after hit for small businesses when we’ve already been holding on by a thread. We are at the peak of a small business crisis.”
Corissa Hernandez, Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce
What makes this recent string of closures especially tragic for the Eastside, Hernandez says, is that many businesses here are owned by residents wanting to support the neighborhoods where they live.
“They want to empower the community, they want to stimulate the local economy, they want to provide jobs and reinvest in their neighborhoods,” Hernandez said.
A path forward
Andrea Avila, lending director at Inclusive Action for the City, agrees.
The local nonprofit is another key hub in the neighborhood, working to support the small business community on the Eastside through financial guidance, technical assistance, marketing support, resource connection and legislative work.
Avila says the organization, which operates out of a hub in Boyle Heights, has noticed a significant rise in closures in the area since the pandemic.
In addition to providing individual guidance on running a successful business, she believes the path to a thriving business community lies in advocacy work.
“As a nonprofit, we’re thinking about things on both a micro and macro level,” said Avila. “It’s not just ‘How can we support a business with capital, how can we help owners understand and create a revenue plan,’ but also what bills can we put ourselves behind to support small business as a whole.”
In the meantime, Hernandez says residents can also make a difference.
“The time to support your favorite small business is right now. It is urgent,” Hernandez said. “We are the backbone of the local economy, and if small businesses go under, the city is going to find itself in a bad position.”
This post was updated on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, to provide more context about the closure of Re/Arte Centro Literario.
