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Long-Awaited Glendora Public Market Marks the Beginning of a New Food Hall Age

The anticipated San Gabriel Valley food hall opens Saturday after nearly three years

A close-up shot of fish and chips and fries and fish tacos.
Portside Fish Co.
Courtesy Portside
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Here’s a bit of good news in a currently gloomy world: the Glendora Public Market will open this Saturday, September 26, capping a two-plus-year project to convert a former Wonder Bread factory in the sleepy foothill town in the San Gabriel Valley well east of Downtown. As the name implies, the 19,000 square foot building will acts as a modern food hall, coronavirus be damned, with a slew of small-footprint restaurants available for takeout and on-site al fresco dining.

The fully overhauled brick building has been reimagined as a bright and airy warehouse option, complete with vaulted ceilings and industrial touches. And while diners aren’t currently allowed to sit inside to eat in Los Angeles County, spaced-out tables and colorful chairs await them when they can. In the meantime, the roster of available restaurant options has been fully solidified.

Smog City Brewing will act as an anchor tenant. The company is famous for helping to lead LA’s South Bay craft beer revolution, and much like fellow anchor tenant Dog Haus, it has been growing across the Southland at a rapid rate in recent years. The Taco Man is on to serve tacos, Belly Bombz will offer Korean rice bowls and burgers, Portside Fish Co. has seafood like fish tacos and fish and chips, and Cassidy’s Corner Cafe focuses on bagels and bagel sandwiches. Instagram-famous Bolo is also doing pineapple buns with fried chicken (or ice cream for dessert), while Penny Coffee Roasters and Boba Break Tea House offer drinks, pastries, and sweets.

It’s also worth noting that Bushi by Jinya will debut at the Public Market this weekend. The restaurant is a second location of the expanded offshoot of the Jinya brand, focused on ramen as well as hand rolls and Japanese karaage.

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, the Glendora Public Market will lean into takeaway food, outdoor dining, and delivery for the foreseeable future. There are currently exterior tables around the building for sit-down outdoor eating after having picked up food, and ownership is hoping to expand into the parking lot with more seating once approved to do so. Vendors will individually offer online ordering, and will facilitate curbside pickup.

Glendora Public Market opens this coming Saturday at 905 E. Arrow Highway in the city of Glendora. Hours of operation will depend on each vendor.

An above shot of a bowl of ramen with broccoli on top.
Bushi by Jinya
Courtesy of Jinya
An ice cream scoop inside of a pineapple bun.
Bolo
Courtesy Bolo
An exterior shot of a brick building that has been repurposed as a food hall.
A tall-ceilinged warehouse building repurposed as a food hall.
Two colorful soft couches sit inside of a warehouse food hall.
A long-lens exterior shot of a food hall that uses a converted brick building.