1. JUICE CRAFTERS
Juice Crafters on 7th and Spring provides a variety of juices, detox cleanses, and delicious smoothies.
Juice Crafters uses a variety of organic fresh fruits and vegetables with its owners waking up as early as 3:30am every morning to greet their favorite local farmers who provide them with the fresh organic items they display, chop, blend and cold press for their customers health each day.
Juice Crafters’ cold pressing method helps retain the needed nutrients that are usually killed off under the normal pasteurizing process or by the heated blades of the juice machine. The machines extract juice through tremendous pressure exerted by a hydraulic press that maximizes the amounts of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
The freshly prepared items on the menu, are meant to give you a “boost in energy naturally,” and remedy what ails you.
There are no sugars added to the smoothie drinks, and no additives in the almond butter including no hydrogenated oils or salts.
Coming down with a cold?
The creators of Juice Crafters are so motivated to establish a healthy downtown they welcome you to come by and try a shot of juice. The shot glass of juice, complete with mini-umbrella and high elements of ginger or cayenne, compare in pungency to any hard liquor shot found in a saloon, surprising your taste buds with a spicy, pungent dose of health to help you beat it.
Also on the menu, Greenest #3, Alkaline Tonic, and Aloe Vera H20, along with lemon, turmeric and mint.
When you enter the store you will find warm wooden decor and warm hearted people. Pictures of old downtown, hand drawn signs and wooden crates of fresh fruit give a real nice feeling of nostalgia inside. Its a quick grab and go dose of health that Downtowners can’t help but enjoy.
Juice Crafters is located at 701 S. Spring Street.
2. CREATE YOUR OWN HEALTH
Create Your Health Teas, Healing Herbs and Spices (CYH Teas) opened in September on just east of Spring on 5th started with the personal story of its owner, Peter Bedard, who died after being slammed into the back of a semi-truck. Taking many years to recover, Peter had to learn how to walk again and faced chronic pain and a variety of ailments. Bedard suffered from fibromyalgia, arthritis, asthma, sciatica, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, chronic allergies, constant knee and back problems, and more. Then one day he decided to reclaim his life by releasing the victim that was living inside him by embarking on a journey into the discovery of all kinds of holistic/alternative therapies.
“I refused most all drugs and surgeries, except for the one in which they put my bones back together directly after the accident, and learned how to heal myself.” says Peter.
Over the years he learning more about food and how it directly affected our well being. A couple of years ago he started doing research on teas and herbs and created his first of several healing herbal/tea blends. Amazingly his passion and the fates would lead Peter to open a tea shop in Silver Lake and then the inspiration to bring his creations to Downtown.
Our Healing Blends are designed to help people use the natural healing qualities offered to us by various herbs, teas, roots, barks, flowers, leaves, and spices. The blends have an average of six different ingredients in them.
When visiting the newly opened tea shop prepare yourself for a wonderful assortment of hard to find herbs, such as golden seal and valerian root. Also, a colorful display of items to help decorate your loft or space, promote health, healing and relaxation and of course, a welcomed assortment of colorful tea pots meant to produce the perfect simmer.
In the near future CYH Teas will host monthly classes and workshops with Ayurvedic doctors with holistic therapies and ways to bring tea, herbs, and spices into our everyday lives. Peter Bedard is also a Hypnotherapist specializing in addiction and chronic anxiety/health issues and the teas are a natural extension for him as he continues helping people create their own wellness.
But you don’t have to be under hypnosis to understand the power of healing teas…just stop by and try a few and see how they work for you…you will be convinced.
Create Your Own Health is located at 121 W. 6th Street.
3. SIMPLY
SALAD
The grand opening of Simply Salad on Main just north of 4th Street has brought with it, to the Historic Core, an assembly line of nutritious ingredients that you can pick to build into your favorite salad or wrap.
Chose from the pre-mades, like the Hipster or the Seared Samurai or get creative and build your own salad or wrap by choosing from over 70 healthy ingredients and 20 mouth watering dressings.
Watch as your chef tosses your ingredients one by one into a large silver bowl per your instruction. Once your done picking your variety of green and leafy vegetables, lean meats, fruits and nuts and the like, they are off to the chopping block.
The most interesting of blades has been custom made by the restaurants owners. Straight out of medieval times, the dual 12 inch curved blades controlled by two wooden sturdy handles, swivel across your selections slicing and dicing your them into bite sized pieces for easy digestion and a mouth full of each flavor with every bite.
Simply Salad is located at
334 S. Main Street #1101A
4. DR J’s
VIBRANT
CAFE
When Charles Tien’s health began to deteriorate he prepared himself for a lifetime of complicated prescriptions and medications. But his mother, Dr. J had a better idea. She asked him to try her health food program for thirty days before giving the medication a try. Then over the course of the following months Charles healed.
After Charles adhered to his mother’s principles of health and recovered from his poor health, he decided to open up a chain of restaurants in order to bring his mother’s philosophy to the public’s attention and help other people.
Dr. J’s principles of health are easy enough to understand: no caffeine, no salt, no sugar, no yeast, no nicotine, no alcohol, and practically no gluten. Everything must be clean, locally grown, and organic. Dr. J’s is located just north of 4th on Main Street. The menu is delicious and they really do know how to make tasty healthy food.
Dr. J’s is located at
334 S. Main Street
5. CREPES
SANS
FRONTIERES
Having its ribbon cutting with Councilman Jose Huizar in attendance on November 8th, Crêpes San Frontieres, is a healthy crêpery in Downtown L.A.
The outside courtyard inspires the Spring Arcade Building to continue its plan to build a restaurant row inside its natural light passage-way between Spring and Broadway.
Above the entrance of the eatery hangs a chandelier of edison lights hidden inside metal-work made to resemble a giant whisk. Behind the smoky glass window is the dining area and crepe station styled after an old fashioned brass street vending car from Paris.
Ordering crepes from Frontieres is a special nutritious experience. Owner Ruth Hudin can prepare a gluten free crepe made with whole wheat or buckwheat.
Apples, strawberries and bananas are sliced just before they are added to sweet crepes full of nutella and topped with whipped or ice cream and quaint french names.
La Scandinave is a crêpe filled with imported smoked salmon, fresh dill and crème fraiche (heavy cream) and can be served with cappuccino, Orangina, home made lemonade or Kangen Water®.
Kangen Water is the water favored by Frontieres for its health benefits, water created from an innovative water technology that produces, ionized alkaline and acidic waters through electrolysis. These waters can be used for various purposes, including drinking, cooking, beauty, and cleaning.
Crepes Sans Frontieres is
at 541 S. Spring Street.
6. EVOKE YOGA
Evoke is a chic boutique yoga studio on 7th just west of Spring Street. Evoke opened last month offering a variety of classes in both heated and non-heated environments.
At Evoke Yoga you’ll find everything you need to feel at home including changing rooms, yoga mats, yogi towels, face and hand towels perfect for rejuvenating body, mind, and spirit.
Whether you’re looking for a restorative and meditative experience or a high intensity yoga session, Evoke Yoga, is an energizing atmosphere.
Build strength, balance, and flexibility in one of the many styles of yoga offered at Evoke.
Evoke Yoga
is located at 212 W. 7th Street
7. PEDDLER’S
CREAMERY
Peddler’s Creamery has masterminded an eco-friendly way to make organic ice creme that taste
great. In fact, it’s churned with a bike. But not just any bike, the process of making ice cream at peddler’s has been left to the six wheeled fixie framed contraption in the creamery’s window that makes ice cream in less than 20 minutes.
Years before Peddler’s Creamery opened on 5th and Main, its owner Edward Beldon had been doing great work getting people involved with the National Forest Foundation.
There is also an underlying joy that comes with what Peddler’s is creating for downtowners. Ice cream and bicycling may just be the two things that everybody can relate to when it comes to their childhood happiness — it’s like putting the magic of childhood together.
During the Art Walk Peddler’s is open allowing visitors to participate by getting a chance to peddle their delicious flavors on the churncycle.
Peddler’s Creamery is located at 458 S. Main Street.
8. LOVE
DANCE
When Denise Mazan grew frustrated trying to satisfy her curiosity for dance, only to find a shortage of studios offering beginning classes, she began brainstorming the first ideas that would eventually lead her to open her own dance studio offering beginner classes for other dance enthusiast in Culver City.
Your Neighborhood Studio (YNS) offers the community a dance club where beginner dancers can dance with and learn from the pros.
Most likely you’ve seen YNS instructors on So You Think You Can Dance, The Academy Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, or The BET Hip Hop Awards, seeing as though most of them have danced with the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Tina Turner, Beyonce, and Usher.
DTLA Business Improvement District (BID) discovered YNS from a BID worker who took the Culver City classes. BID later invited Denise Downtown.
In October Denise opened her second location, in the Historic Core. Whether you are technically trained or just beginning your dance journey, your neighborhood now has a dance studio with technique classes including Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Broadway, West African, Bollywood, Tahitian, Breakin, House, and Strip Hop!
They also offer cardio classes like Dance it Out!, Hip Hop Fit, Zumba, Plyojam, Cabaret, Groov3, and Cardio Carnivale. During the Art Walk they offer free dance classes beginning with Djs and African drummers at 6pm.
Love Dance
YOUR Neighborhood Studio is located at 101 W. 5th Street.
9. UEVOLUTION
Making health a part of your daily life means adding an exersise regimen to your daily routine.
While most gyms in Downtown have their own special niche, Uevolution prides itself on being a modern day wellness club with a dedicated team to help you commit and reach your physical, psychological, social, economic and environmental goals.
Uevolution encourages mindfulness, of yourself and those around you while helping you gain the tools and lifelong skills you’ll need to change your physical landscape and keep it that way.
Located in the sublevel of the City Loft Square Apartments on Spring Street, just a few steps down lead to the well designed gym equipped with state of the art equipment, body weight conditioning programs, work-out room, free weights, showers, and a personal steamer.
The staff of Uevolution is friendly, energetic, helpful and ready to get you started on the path to the new you. They also offer full body Swedish massage known to reduce tension and soothe sore muscles, increase circulation, and total body relaxation.
Uevolution is located at
621 S. Spring Street.
10.
CURT
DARLING
SALON
The words ‘Organic Hair Skin Body’ adorn the storefront of Curt Darling Salon, DTLA at 440 S. Main St. where guests are offered custom blended organic hair care products featuring cold pressed essential oils that are beneficial for hair and scalp.
Among these products is Curt Darling dry shampoo; an organic blend of arrowroot, chamomile and sandalwood, and a vegan line from Costa Mesa, CA called Number 4 that features a highly moisturizing reconstructive hair mask.
In addition to organic and vegan beauty products, the salon features the owners ‘green’ approach to hair cutting; Darling DryCut™ method utilizes the natural texture and cowlicks while minimizing the use of water/shampooing and heat/blow drying/hot.
In the skin care department, the salon offers a holistic approach with their in house ‘difficult skin specialist’ who’s detoxifying and resurfacing techniques are all natural.
The salon’s interior is a loft style space featuring raw unfinished wood that allows the wood and the mind to breathe.
Curt Darling Salon is located at 440 S. Main Street.
11. DTLA
VETS
Healthy pets are happy pets and DTLA is full of them. When they get sick its good to know we can count on DTLA Vets to help heal what ails them.
DTLA Vets opened in June, offers full-service health care for your awesome pets including the use of acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. Advanced diagnostics, anesthetic, surgical and dental services are also available.
With an emphasis on preventive care and medicine DTLA Vets is dedicated to keeping your pet healthy in Downtown.
12. LIVING ROOM VAPE & SMOKE SHOP
The Underground Smoke Shop on 6th and Spring has changed its name and created a living room setting for smoking hookahs, cigars and vaping electronic cigarette devices.
Most scientists believe its not the nicotine itself, although highly addictive, that causes cancer for smokers or the people around them who breathe second-hand smoke, but the tar and 4000 other toxic chemicals produced from the cigarette as it burns.
A person using a vape device inhales a liquid form of flavored nicotine that contains about 3,500 less harmful chemicals than a regular cigarette, producing a odorless vapor that evaporates into the air almost instantly. Future advancements in vape technology are sure to surface quickly as vaping has become a billion dollar industry in just 11 years.
Vaporizing hasn’t been proven to cause cancer by the FDA but hasn’t been fully accepted by the FDA either. If all goes well vaporizers may soon even the playing field when it comes to the negative social stigmas against public smoking.
While neighboring coffee shops fill with comfy home settings to cater to caffeine lovers the Living Room Vape & Smoke Shop builds a comfy home environment for nicotine, tobacco and hookah lovers now with vapes designed to eliminate at least some of the health risk associated with cigarette smoking.
Living Room Vape & Smoke Shop is located at
548 S. Spring Street
