Festive Celebration Marks 70th Birthday of Historic Food Mart

Ruby Gonzales tried desperately to hold onto the piece of birthday cake, but it was no use. The cake toppled to the floor, leaving only two licks worth of frosting on the 4-year-old’s hand.

Her mother, Marta, quickly bent down to pick up the cake, softly scolding her daughter. She was collecting the crumbs when a short, gray-haired man interrupted her.

“It’s OK, it’s OK,” he told the frowning mother. “It’s been 70 years. This place has seen worse than spilled cake.”

Downtown Tradition

Indeed. Since its birth in 1917, Grand Central Market, the famed food bazaar in central Los Angeles, has weathered two World Wars, the Great Depression and millions of footsteps upon its cement floors.

The Grand Old Lady of Broadway turned 70 this year. And on Saturday, they threw a party: birthday cake, balloons and all.

“The Grand Central story is one of people. For years, the market has reflected the diversity of cultures in Los Angeles. It has a human dimension. It’s not like another supermarket,” said Ira Yellin, owner of the historic food bazaar. Yellin spoke to a crowd of about 50, who gathered near a tall Christmas tree in the market to see him and his guests--Mayor Tom Bradley, Councilman Richard Alatorre and other local politicians--cut the giant cake, emblazoned with the Grand Central logo.

The birthday celebration continues through Friday.

Throughout the bustling market, located on the ground floor of the Homer Laughlin Building between Broadway and Hill, kids tugged at balloons as mariachis played festive Spanish music on their guitars. Sam, an accordion player, strolled from vendor to vendor, and four clowns delighted children by speckling their noses with gold glitter.

Merchants offered birthday sales on bologna, ham, eggs and apples, and customers snatched up bananas at a special 15 pounds for $1. Most of the 56 market vendors, many of whom have operated their stalls for more than 30 years, said business was up for the day--a welcome turn during a slow year in Grand Central.

“The market has its ups and downs, but it always keeps coming back,” said George Cohen, a fellow septuagenarian and a merchant at Grand Central since 1948. “When I came here, the tenants who had been here a long time said ‘Well, you’re coming in late and the party’s over.’ By golly, I’ve been here ever since, and it’s still going strong.”

The market wore a birthday suit of new neon signs, rebuilt stalls and fresh paint, the first of several renovations planned by owner Yellin and his partners. Yellin bought Grand Central in 1985 from its two original owners, the Lyon and Laughlin families, and since has put about $2 million into the place. But he said he plans to spend up to another $15 million on future plans: opening a culinary school on the floor above the market, adding “upscale” restaurants and goods on the Hill Street side and building parking and truck loading facilities.

“We want this to remain an authentic food market. We don’t want to make it a tourist attraction,” said Yellin, 47, a former lawyer who as a child played in the market. “Grand Central has made it through 70 years of storms, and it can make it through many more.”