The Grove / Farmers Market

FAIRFAX, LOS ANGELES – With its charming Main Street, European architecture, and rich local history, The Grove outdoor shopping center and Farmers Market draws a diverse and upbeat crowd of local shoppers and tourists of every kind.

Organized as a city center complete with street lamps and a small park in the center, the Grove is usually bustling with activity as young professionals and tourists peruse the popular stores and eateries along the cobblestone walkways, or duck into the movie theater to see the latest release.

Those who need to rest their feet can pull up a bench and watch the central fountain water-dance to Frank Sinatra tunes, as a 1950s Boston streetcar repurposed as a trolley shuttles out-of-towners and weekend window-shoppers around the reliable selection of stores, which include Forever 21, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Barnes & Noble, the Apple Store, Barney’s New York CO-OP, and Nordstrom.

The heart and soul of the area, however, is the adjacent Farmers Market.

Once the site of a racetrack and stadium built by the Gilmore oil family in 1934 – not to mention the home of the city’s first pro football team and the site of President Truman’s famous “stiff upper lip” speech – the buzzing indoor/outdoor Farmers Market contains seventy stalls, stores, markets, cafés, and bars encircling an open-air quad where foodies, artsy types, and daytrippers wander the maze of sunny walkways to take in the kaleidoscope of colors and aromas, or pop into a bar for a Happy Hour special.

A revered shopping destination for locals and visitors alike, the Grove and Farmers Market offer a city shopping experience that always seems fresh and exciting.    ← read less