Virtual
People + Places: Keeping Legacy Businesses: Stories from L.A.
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
12 p.m.
Join us to learn more about the first year of our grant program and hear from grant recipient Leonardo Romero of El Paraiso, retailer and manufacturer of ice cream novelties. The program will include a live demonstration with Leonardo!
FREE, Registration Required
45 - 60 mins.
With the support of Wells Fargo, the Conservancy’s Legacy Business Grant Program granted $5,000 each to ten small businesses in L.A. County that have operated and contributed to their community’s history and/or identity for at least 20 years.
We’re delighted to announce our second-round grant recipients: Kouraku restaurant in Little Tokyo, El Paraiso in Florence-Firestone, Hop Woo restaurant in Chinatown, Avalon Nursery and Ceramics in South Los Angeles, and Lenchita’s restaurant in Pacoima.
First-round recipients include 88 Gifts in Chinatown, El Aguila Bakery in El Sereno, Candelas Guitars in Boyle Heights, Gardena Cinema in Gardena, and Sika in Leimert Park.
Join Our Panel for a Lively Conversation
Vice President, Philanthropy and Community Impact, Wells Fargo
Justine D. Gonzalez
Legacy Business Owner, El Paraiso
Leonardo Romero
Senior Director of Advocacy, Los Angeles Conservancy
Adrian Scott Fine
Neighborhood Outreach Manager, Los Angeles Conservancy
M. Rosalind Sagara
Vice President, Philanthropy and Community Impact, Wells Fargo
Justine D. Gonzalez
Legacy Business Owner, El Paraiso
Leonardo Romero
Senior Director of Advocacy, Los Angeles Conservancy
Adrian Scott Fine
Neighborhood Outreach Manager, Los Angeles Conservancy
M. Rosalind Sagara
Legacy businesses are a vital part of the fabric of Los Angeles neighborhoods. Familiar, authentic, and dependable, longtime mom-and-pop shops often symbolize a community’s history and resilience. However, high rents, rising costs, overdue repairs, fewer clientele, and unexpected fallouts from the pandemic and inflation have put many legacy businesses at risk.
In 2019, the Conservancy launched its initiative to promote and raise awareness about legacy businesses in Los Angeles County. Since the pandemic, the Conservancy has fortified its initiative with a #ISupportLegacyBusinesses social media campaign spotlighting longtime small businesses throughout L.A. County, reaching over 5 million.
Three years later, the Conservancy created the Legacy Business Grant Program to provide financial support to small legacy businesses in Los Angeles County. The program received more than 500 applications, citing challenges such as struggling to keep up with rising rent and operating costs, unpaid bills, labor expenses, and technology upgrade needs.
We’re thrilled to support Los Angeles’s legacy businesses and hope you join us!
