Long Beach is home to an abundance of diverse restaurants, boutiques and locally-owned businesses, including a variety of Black-owned businesses.
Considering that Black History Month is right around the corner, it’s essential to shine a light on these businesses in order to further spread Black culture to Long Beach.
Flavo Juice Bar
Flavo Juice Bar, at 700 Pine Ave, prides itself on offering drinks that are not only all made with natural fruit but are also good for your body.
Opened in October 2022, the Flavo menu has a variety of juices and smoothies. They also have food items such as paninis, bowls and fries.
Evan Malone, the owner of Flavo Juice Bar, shared how “flavonoids” are a major focus for the business and its purpose.
“The whole point of the juice bar is to have flavonoids,” Malone said. “Flavonoids are these molecules that help boost your immune system, they’re found naturally in all the ingredients that we have.”
Some of Flavo’s most popular items are the Mango Madness, strawberry lemonade, and rotisserie chicken panini.
Flavo Juice Bar is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information visit their website, or their Instagram, @flavodrinks.
Village Treasures
Village Treasures, owned and curated by H. Maxie Viltz, has been a part of the Long Beach community for over 20 years.
Located at 247 E Broadway, Village Treasures is an African gallery, gift shop and boutique right in the heart of Downtown Long Beach.
Village Treasures has everything from masks to statues, paintings and books, clothing, textiles, jewelry and countless other gifts.
“I usually describe the shop as a world import shop with an emphasis on African culture because I have things from places like India, Indonesia and Thailand as well,” Viltz said.
Viltz collects all different types of authentic African artifacts and pieces to display and sell at her shop.
“As an African American, I just fell in love with some of the items and started collecting them,” Viltz said. “There aren’t a lot of shops like this that feature the culture from Africa, so I love that there are a lot of people from all kinds of backgrounds who love and appreciate this stuff too.”
Village Treasures is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, visit their website, their Instagram, @villagetreasures_lb, or their Facebook, @villagetreasures.
Sumptuous African Restaurant
Sumptuous African Restaurant is one of the only spots in Long Beach to get authentic Nigerian food.
Located at 1909 Atlantic Ave, Sumptuous is determined to provide customers with various homemade Nigerian dishes.
“We don’t have a lot of this out here, so when you come in, you’ll feel a different vibe,” said Joy Uzoma, an employee at Sumptuous. “It’s soul food.”
The menu offers snacks such as meat pies and sausage, rice combos, fufu and soup. They also have different meats and drinks for sale.
Some of their most popular items are the Egusi and Fufu.
Sumptuous African Restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information, visit their website.
