District Councilmember’s ‘Walkabout’ on Saturday Shines Spotlight on Pasadena’s East Washington Village

District 2’s East Washington Village is a vibrant multiethnic neighborhood in Pasadena that has quietly undergone transformational redevelopment in the last decade. Along the way it’s evolved from being a quiet lesser-known area not much frequented by consumers into one of the genuine centers of commerce in Pasadena. 

Today, East Washington Village offers residents a variety ethnic restaurants and bakeries, service and retail shops. 

“I think what’s great about East Washington Village is it’s old and it’s new and it’s also very diverse,” said Councilmember Felicia Williams. “There’s a couple of Armenian markets there that are unique. You can’t really find that in other places in the city.” 

Older businesses like Burrito Express and Connals, which have been around for decades and are staples in Pasadena, have remained in the area and new businesses like Bacchus’ Kitchen and the George and El Matador are coming in, said Williams.  

The  businesses within East Washington Village faced challenges during the pandemic but are rebounding, observed Chamber of Commerce President Paul Little. 

“The East Washington area is rebounding like everyone else. Slower for some than for others,” Little said. 

In the last two years during the early stages of the pandemic, Tacos Poncitlan and El Matador are among the restaurants that have opened in the area. 

“I live here and this is a good area to get a business here,” said Jose Torres, Manager, El Matador Mexican Restaurant when asked why he chose to put up his business at East Washington Village.

According to Williams, the big challenges for East Washington Village is the traffic and lack of parking. 

“The main thing that we’d like to work on with East Washington Village is calming the traffic down.” she said. Williams also mentioned the lack of room for outdoor dining as one of the issues the city needs to address to help businesses in the area thrive.

This October 29 at 12:00 p.m. Williams will lead residents in a guided walking tour of East Washington Village. The event is part of Pasadena Walktober 2022, made possible by the Department of Transportation. 

Williams said events like Pasadena Walktober 2022 is important because it reminds people that East Washington Village is a very walkable area. 

“It’s very easy to walk or bike and park your bike somewhere and just in one location and then walk through the entire village.”

“We’ve put together a very nice list of very different types of businesses. We have ice cream and pizza. It’s all centered around food, so you can walk it off,” said Williams. “You can look forward to great food, a really beautiful walk and also I look forward to hearing input from people and how we can make the walk better.”

Residents who will join the event are advised to wear comfortable walking shoes, sunblock, a hat, and bring water. All attending the event are asked to RSVP to:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-of-east-washington-village-with-district-2-cm-felicia-williams-tickets-421660356477