West End Hub
A Spotlight on El Cajon Boulevard’s West End Hub
The Lafayette Hotel is a historic icon in San Diego, and a beacon that welcomes tourists and locals alike to El Cajon Boulevard. It is no wonder that National Geographic’s list of Top 20 destinations around the world selected the Lafayette Hotel as the place to stay while exploring the bi-national sister cities of San Diego and Tijuana.
Experiencing great restaurants will always be an appeal to tourists, so it wasn’t long after the hotel was built in 1946 that the Red Fox Room opened within the hotel quarters. The Red Fox has kept its classic charm, and remains a sought out destination for their great piano bar and old school cuisine.
Surrounding the hotel is an incredible grouping of ethnic food including Pomegranate, a Russian restaurant that attracts a unique clientele with an appreciation for the old world. Next door is Flavors of East Africa is which offers delicious flavors from Chef Owino’s home country of Kenya. For amazing homemade Lebanese wraps, Mama’s Bakery is one of the best lunch spots in town, not only for the food, but also for the casual outdoor seating available on the adjacent public parklet.
The Live Wire, now going on their 25th year is recognized as a pioneer in capturing a local night life scene on The Boulevard when times were a lot tougher than they are now. As North Park continues to grow in popularity as the urban center of San Diego, El Cajon Boulevard’s West-End continues to populate with locally-oriented businesses. Negociant Winery, at the corner of Texas Street and El Cajon Boulevard exemplifies a new burgeoning economy of urban wineries. Pizzeria Luigi’s just doubled in size, filling the space with foosball and a pool table, all while slinging more and more thin crust pizzas. Newcomer Twisted Taps offers a great selection of local beer and farm to table cuisine.
With so many thriving businesses encompassing El Cajon Boulevard’s West End Hub, it is no wonder there are four new multi-story mix-use developments underway in the area, which means a larger community of people attracted to the vitality of urban living and small business activity.
Keep up with #30ECB happenings here: 30ECB
30th Street Hub
#30ECB
Business owners in North Park are proud entrepreneurs who have honed in on their craft and turned the neighborhood into a small business center with fantastic boutiques, record stores, vintage clothing, craft bottled beers, delicious restaurants, fine art and handmade goods. While University and 30th Street has long been a notable center of the business district, a new cluster of businesses at 30ECB (30th and El Cajon Boulevard) have helped to define an alternative center to North Park that’s also bound by the homemade, hand crafted, sustainable, local spirit of great neighborhood businesses.
Initially, Lips, Tiger!Tiger!, and the Media Arts Center/Digital Gym did a great job of getting neighbors to pay attention El Cajon Boulevard, and then when ABC Piano was subdivided into four small shops, Coffee & Tea Collective, The Homebrewer, Swish Projects and Hillcrest Upholstery, 30ECB had truly became notable hub. A year later, The Boulevard Center, just two blocks west received a major makeover. Property owner David Baker dialed into The Boulevard’s mid-century spirit and recruited a host of new, fantastic businesses to fill the space including Heart & Trotter, Sleep Bedder, and Empanada Kitchen. Now with Café Madeleine, Medina Moroccan-Baja Kitchen, Freshly Faded and Collins & Coupe–the area is overflowing with exciting businesses.
This transformation and collaboration between the businesses defines the new, local business scene in North Park, so when you are hanging out exploring San Diego’s urban neighborhoods, make sure to peruse 30ECB.
Little Saigon Hub
Little Saigon San Diego
Beginning in the 1970’s, Vietnamese businesses began to populate storefronts along El Cajon Boulevard, clustering in the six-block stretch between Highland Avenue and Euclid Avenue. Today, a majority of the businesses within the boundaries of the Little Saigon District are owned and operated by Vietnamese-Americans. Defining the area as a “Little Saigon Cultural and Commercial District” validates the incredible amount of perseverance, hard work, and dedication the residents of the district have shown over the past 30 years.
The El Cajon Boulevard BIA and the Little Saigon Foundation work closely with local businesses and residents to revitalize the business economy on El Cajon Boulevard. Little Saigon business districts have been established in other cities in California such as West Minister Sacramento, and San Jose. Thanks to the work of the El Cajon Boulevard BIA and Little Saigon Foundation, Little Saigon San Diego is in its early development stages. Through the celebration of holidays, culturally appropriate street improvements, enhanced tourism, and civic engagement of local youth and residents develop, the goal is to see that Little Saigon become an iconic neighborhood destination throughout San Diego.
Click here for a timeline of The El Cajon Boulevard BIA’s involvement in Little Saigon.
