The historic Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles looks very different today than it used to. Opened in 1917, Grand Central Market began as a public market with a variety of vegetable stands and meat and poultry shops, a place for people to get their daily groceries. Over a hundred years later, the market still stands, but a big revitalization project that started around 2013 has transformed this local landmark. While the architecture and interior of the market remains mostly the same, the project has drawn new, hip food vendors to the historic space, now lit with vibrant neon signs.
On weekends, long lines form around popular stalls like Eggslut and Broad Street Oyster Co. Among the new vendors, legacy businesses are still holding on, serving both longtime and new customers. One of these legacy vendors is Jose Chiquito, a colorful counter at the heart of the market which has been a go-to for downtown residents and workers for breakfast and lunch since 1997. Customers range from high school students to older workers who need a filling meal to fuel their day, all in search of Jose Chiquito’s “homemade American classics with a Latin touch.”
Jose Chiquito’s current owner, Marlon Medina, moved to the United States in 2005 and started working at Jose Chiquito as a cashier in 2007. “I didn’t even speak the language and I was looking for a job,” he recalls. Jose Chiquito only had one cashier at the time. When the previous owner heard that Medina had experience working at McDonald’s back in Guatemala and saw that he was friendly with the manager, he hired Medina. In the beginning, Medina didn’t know how to speak to the customers because of the language barrier, so he asked a friend to teach him English. “It was very confusing for me. But at that moment, the market – at least our place – was very slow, so it was an opportunity to prove to [the owner] that I have what it takes.”
From being a cashier, Medina started cooking and doing prep work, eventually enrolling in cooking classes. As Medina moved up in rank, he became involved with the business side of the operation as well, and was promoted to Jose Chiquito’s manager in 2010. Later, the previous owner brought him on as a business partner. “In 2017 I told him that I wanted to buy the place,” Medina said. “I was ready.”
With Medina at the helm, Jose Chiquito is still going strong after nearly thirty years in Grand Central Market. The current menu is a mix of favorites from the original Jose Chiquito menu and new additions that Medina has added based on his customers’ feedback. Jose Chiquito has always been known for their breakfast items, which are available all day. The affordable prices and large portions make the restaurant a locals’ favorite. The biggest hits currently include many of the Mexican breakfast items such as the chilaquiles, covered in salsa verde and topped with avocado and eggs. The large breakfast burritos are also popular, but they have even larger breakfast sandwiches – they’re really breakfast tortas, served inside Mexican telera rolls. In addition to the Mexican specialties, the stall also serves up classic American breakfasts like pancakes and French toast. For lunch, there are chipotle chicken wraps, sandwiches, burgers and salads.
While Medina now has a good thing going at Jose Chiquito, life wasn’t always so easy. Medina was born in Guatemala, but his mother is Salvadorian who escaped to Guatemala during the civil war that raged in El Salvador during the 1980’s. In the summer of 1994, she came back to El Salvador with Medina in tow. During a particularly hard time, she went back to Guatemala by herself for a couple of weeks to find work. She was delayed in her return and by the tenth day, Medina and his siblings had nothing to eat. It was on that day that one of his friends asked him what happened. “Next thing I knew, he came back with a plate of beans and rice,” Medina recalls. He shared the beans and rice with his brother and sister. “For me, that moment was something that touched me when [I was] really in need. Something as simple as a plate of beans and rice [can mean] a lot.”
That memory is the catalyst that prompted Medina to start the Frijol y Arroz Foundation, a nonprofit that provides nutritious free meals to people in need in Guatemala, in the summer of 2023. “Right now, everything is good and we’re growing, so I was like, I should help the people in Guatemala,” Medina said of his decision to start Frijol y Arroz. He began with the help of Jose Chiquito’s social media coordinator, Alejandra, who currently lives in Guatemala. When Medina mentioned his idea of cooking beans and rice for the community, she told him that her church in Guatemala was thinking of doing the same thing.
Medina sends funds to Guatemala for this endeavor, supplemented by the sales of a spiritual book he wrote (Medina decided to donate all proceeds from the book to Frijol y Arroz). Jose Chiquito also has a donation box set up next to the cash register for customers who want to contribute. Alejandra and her church in Guatemala organize volunteers and coordinate distribution of meals to the community. Frijol y Arroz is currently in the process of making the foundation a registered nonprofit in the U.S. so they can start taking donations online as well. For the most part, they feed people in need with rice and beans.
Of course, rice and beans make an appearance in Jose Chiquito’s menu as well. They’re served alongside the chilaquiles and the huevos a la ranchera. These two Latin American staple foods are both comforting and filling, and thanks to Medina and his team, they’re feeding people in Los Angeles and Guatemala alike.
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