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Sustainability bridges the old and the new on Long Beach’s Retro Row, where you can eat vegan food, sip on natural wine, and shop at vintage secondhand stores all down Fourth Street.
When you’re in Long Beach, California, you can visit almost any neighborhood and become instantly immersed in the local culture, whether you’re strolling along the rainbow-painted crosswalks in the Broadway Corridor; enjoying live music, art, and local vendors every first Friday of the month in Bixby Knolls; or experiencing youthful, upbeat nightlife in Belmont Shore.
And on the aptly named Retro Row, a stretch of Fourth Street between Cherry and Junipero Avenue, you’ll find businesses dedicated to bringing back the old-school vibe among restaurants and bars committed to eco-friendly practices. It’s the perfect place to shop secondhand, look for vintage treasures, and (literally) feed your old soul.
If you have an affinity for the past and a desire to protect our future, you’ll find plenty to love on Retro Row. Here are some of our favorite spots to stop when we’re in the neighborhood.
Starday Vintage Too
Newly opened on the corner of Cherry Avenue and Fourth Street, Starday Vintage Too offers a curated collection of truly vintage pieces from as far back as the 1920s, saving historic, high-quality items from being tossed and lost.
Starday has a primary location in Hollywood, beloved for its huge inventory of clothing, accessories, houseware, and more. Though the shop only recently expanded to Long Beach, the store’s shelves and racks are full of charming items to sift through — and according to one staff member on the floor during the last time I visited, the inventory will only get bigger.
Every clothing item and accessory is tagged with a description, price, and the era that it’s from, helping to guide you through decades of fashion in each section of the store. But if you have any questions, the knowledgeable and vintage-clad staff can be found behind an antique beauty-bar-turned-checkout-counter.
Check out their Etsy page, where they have over 800 listings, and follow them on Instagram for updates on new inventory and style inspo.
2001 E. Fourth St., Long Beach; open seven days a week, noon–7 p.m.
Assistance League Thrift & Vintage
Run by dedicated volunteers from the Assistance League of Long Beach and only two staff members, this thrift store is a one-stop shop where you can find almost anything secondhand, from clothing to couches to coffeemakers to children’s toys. There’s a section for books (and you can often find recent bestsellers on the shelf), walls full of artwork, baskets of art supplies, and cabinets lined with matching wine and drinking glasses.
All of the items in the store are donated by the people of Long Beach to support the Assistance League, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for 11 philanthropic programs in Long Beach.
If you’re looking to score on vintage while shopping in-store, you’ll have to have a keen eye, but the shop has plenty to look through, and there is no shortage of like-new pieces to furnish your home or add a unique flare to your wardrobe. For a more curated collection of vintage pieces, browse their eBay listings, where 100% of the funds still go toward the group’s various charities and programs.
2100 E. Fourth St., Long Beach; open Tuesday–Saturday noon–5 p.m., and Sunday noon–4 p.m.
Art Du Vin
Tucked in next to the historic Art Theatre, an art-deco single-screen movie theater that opened in Long Beach in the early 1920s, this wine bar where the bartender knows regulars by name and strangers laugh together over a glass offers a delicious selection of natural wines.
Art Du Vin specializes in organic, all-natural, biodynamic wines that use no preservatives and few to no chemicals in the winemaking processes. Their menu features reds, whites, rosés, oranges, and even non-alcoholic options — by the glass and the bottle — to enjoy on the patio or inside their cozy indoor seating area.
For those unfamiliar with the world of wine (or those more on the adventurous side), I recommend ordering a round of three wine “shots.” Your bartender will choose three different wines for you to sip on, pouring one round at a time and explaining the type of wine, its origin, and flavor profile.
The low-key, friendly bartenders maintain the bar’s mellow atmosphere while locals mill in and out, giving you a perfect glimpse into the local community — and they give you a discount on wine when you buy a ticket to a film screening next door.
2027 E. Fourth St., Long Beach; open Tuesday–Thursday 5–9 p.m., Friday–Saturday 3–10 p.m., and Sunday 3–8 p.m.
Mangiafoglie
Mangiafoglie is chef Paul Reese’s latest project after running a locally loved vegan pizza pop-up. Translated, the name means “eat leaves,” but this new Italian restaurant serves up much more than just salads.
Open every morning at 8 a.m., Mangiafoglie starts the day with freshly baked pastries and a full coffee menu with everything from drip coffee to espresso tonics and a signature black truffle cappuccino. At 3 p.m., the restaurant closes until 5 p.m. to shift gears for their dinner menu, which is where the restaurant really shines.
True to Reese’s roots, the dinner menu features seven pizzas made with tofu-based cheese on fresh dough. They also serve apps, a variety of pasta dishes, and an olive oil cake for dessert. No matter what you order, your food will come on gorgeous vintage china, all sourced from the shops right on Retro Row, including Assistance League Thrift.
The servers encourage eating family-style, and you should — you’ll want a bite of everything on the table. The food tastes traditional and delicious, even if you don’t typically eat plant-based, and the soft, warm lighting, intimate tables, and top-notch service makes it all an upscale experience.
2306 E. Fourth St., Long Beach; open for coffee and pastries Monday–Sunday 8 a.m.–3 p.m., and for dinner Wednesday–Monday 5:30–9 p.m.
