By Grace Lawson
Unique locally owned shops, an array of entertainment options, plenty of fun foodie spots and all just minutes from the waterfront.
Long Beach didn’t garner its reputation as a meet-up mecca for nothing.
Boasting colorful pockets of hang spots, the 127-year old shoreside city offers plenty for day trip visitors.
With graduation season here, visiting friends and family of Long Beach State graduates who find themselves with some time to kill and nowhere to go can now relax. Read on and explore three of the most memorable local spots favored by students and locals alike.
Distance: 3.4 miles from campus or a 13-minute drive
Also recognizable by its other popular namesake, Retro Row, Fourth Street in Long Beach is known for its diverse shopping options and unique restaurants. Brunch and coffee spots are aplenty in this street, including The Breakfast Bar, Good Day Cafe and Coffee Drunk.
For those looking for lunch or dinner, restaurants like Lola’s, Aji Peruvian and The Social List are known for their unique menus and modern takes on traditional dishes.
Visitors looking for stores and shops that fit the “retro” aesthetic of the streets namesake should start their searches at Cool Cat Collective, Goldie’s, Third Eye Records and Starday Vintage. With stores offering clothes and knickknacks from every decade running the length of the block, Fourth Street can be seen as a vintage lover’s dream.
For entertainment, Retro Row is also the location of the Long Beach Art Theater. First opened in 1924, the one screen theater is over 100 years old and still a vibrant revival theater playing older and newer films.
All locations are within walking distance of one another.
With visitors given the length of the street to explore the wide array of vibrant and unique storefronts, visitors looking for a nice and exciting stroll should check this spot out.
Distance: 3.6 miles or a 16-minute drive from campus
From bars to restaurants, to athletic clubs to thrift stores, there is no shortage of offerings to a day (or night) spent on Belmont Shores on Second Street.
Grab a morning coffee from a place like Philz Coffee or Colossus Bread, named one of the best bakeries in Los Angeles by The Eater Editors, and a quick lunch or dinner at The Win-dow burger restaurant. One also cannot forget to enjoy the bustling bars and nightlife. There is no limit to the explorations of an open schedule and time to spend on 2nd Street.
Those looking for a fuller meal have plenty to choose from.
There are many Mediterranean offerings like Nick the Greek, to Open Sesame Grill, George’s Greek Cafe and Domenico’s Italian restaurant to a more casual upscale celebratory night out setting like Saint and Second or Nick’s Restaurant on 2nd. Any appetite can be catered to.
Main Street Seal Beach featuring storefront of business, California Seashells Co. Inc (right) and Sweet Jill’s Bakery (left). Photo credit: Grace Lawson
Old Town Seal Beach on Main Street
Distance: 3.9 miles from campus or a 16-minute drive
Though not technically within Long Beach city limits, just a 16 minute drive from campus and a 10 minute drive from Long Beach in Main Street is Old Town Seal Beach.
Invoking the vibe of a vintage small beach town, out of town visitors might think they stepped through a time warp as Main offers plenty of old fashioned shops and older architecture.
The walk down Main Street offers local coffee spots, boutiques, Irish pubs, ice cream shops and even a bakery. Visitors looking for the pier or the ocean need just keep walking, as Old Town Main Street offers a direct path to Seal Beach Municipal Pier.
A free and available playground is also nearby for those visiting with small children.
Old Town Seal Beach comes alive during the day, offering locals and visitors alike the chance to shop and mingle in its many offerings. For visitors from landlocked locations, the pier at the end of the street offers the perfect chance to watch the sunset and stare at the ocean, all while enjoying an ice cream cone of course.
Distance: 5.3 miles or a 16-minute drive
Built inside a reconstructed aviation hangar where military and commercial planes were once constructed on site, The Hangar has been repurposed into a space that hosts 14 unique vendors offering curios visitors everything from food to boutiques.
Apart from the regular vendors, the hanger’s outside area plays hosts to markets and pop-up events including the 4th Friday Night Market from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the Sunday Funday Market from noon to 6 p.m.
The Hangar features a large outdoor seating area perfect for large groups,
Right across from the Hangar also within the LBX space are more shopping opportunities like an Ulta and Nordstrom Rack, as well as other food and dessert spots like Silverlake Ramen, Chocolate Bash and a Handel’s Ice Cream.
