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Inland Exposures

The Riversider | April/May 2026

Coming in for a landing at Riverside Municipal Airport with snow-covered Mt. San Jacinto in the background. Photo by Julian Jolliffe

Staff photographer Julian Jolliffe at work in the Riverside Municipal Auditorium. Photo by Zach Cordner

Blumenthal & Moore, Inland Southern California’s pre-eminent criminal defense firm, is devoted exclusively to the defense of the accused.

The firm’s trial-tested attorneys handle a range of criminal matters, from simple to complex. They are often retained in difficult cases, and defend people from all walks of the community.

In every case, the client benefits from a team approach. By combining their expertise, the attorneys at Blumenthal & Moore bring more than 100 years of legal experience to every case, providing each client with the best possible defense.

Virginia Blumenthal, Jeff Moore, Brent Romney and Heather Green all contribute unique strengths and perspectives, along with thorough knowledge of the court system in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Mr. Moore and Mr. Romney are tough former prosecutors who put their experience to work in defending cases, while Ms. Green has a passion for defending those with mental health disorders – prioritizing justice for everyone, regardless of mental health status.

Founding attorney Virginia Blumenthal, known for opening the first female-owned law firm in the region, has been named one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in the United States by the National Trial Lawyers. Over time, she has received a long list of awards for her courtroom excellence and volunteer service in the community.

Most recently, Ms. Blumenthal was named Best Lawyer in the Inland Empire by Inland Empire Magazine (2024); received a Champions for Justice Award from the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County (2023); received the Civil Rights Law Giant Award from the Riverside County NAACP Youth Council (2023); and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Corona Chamber of Commerce (2023).

Also in 2023, the team at Blumenthal & Moore received the Small Business Eagle Award from the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce – an honor that reflects a culture of excellence, experience and nearly five decades of commitment to clients.

(951) 682-5110

3993 Market Street

Riverside, CA 92501

blumenthallawoffices.com

Love Letter to Riverside

Springtime is always the best in Riverside! You have your snow capped mountains in the background and beautiful green hills surrounding our city. The temperature is starting to warm up, but it's not too hot yet.

This year, our wonderful spring was cut a bit short with unseasonably hot weather blasting through and melting the mountains before our eyes. Big sigh. Now we are on the slip and slide to summer, baby!

We were pleasantly surprised and so grateful to be nominated at this year’s Mayoral Ball for the Arts presented by the Riverside Arts Council. Even though it was a stiff competition, we won two Silver awards for Literary Arts for The Riversider

Magazine and for Art Based Event for Zach and Ken’s amazing art exhibit, 60 Miles East , at the Riverside Art Museum.

We are deeply honored to be recognized with these awards and loved attending the ball! This year’s theme was Rock of Ages, and guests were encouraged to dress up as a rockstar, hence Zach’s Fred Durst costume and Ken’s Devo hat. I went as my usual Velvet Underground/head witch in charge. We had a blast!

It was at the Box Theatre which is located between the Fox Theater and the Food Lab. It’s totally a hidden gem in our town and was a great intimate venue to host this year's ball. The food was catered by Riverside’s top restaurants and

everything was delicious! There was a great variety of excellent choices, and the event was well worth the ticket price.

We feel really lucky to be a part of Riverside’s bustling arts community as the arts are exactly what we are all about.

We wanted to genuinely thank our readers and advertisers who make this publication possible and keep us going. We look forward to continuing to support the arts and spotlight Riverside’s many talented artists and residents.

The Riversider's Ken Crawford, Alondra Figueroa and Zach Cordner

Brad Alewine Group

THERIVERSIDER.COM

Co-Publisher Alondra Figueroa alondra@theriversider.com

Co-Publisher Zach Cordner zach@theriversider.com

Design Director/Co-Founder Dwayne Carter

Editor at Large Ken Crawford ken@theriversider.com

Associate Editor Mano Mirandé mano@theriversider.com

Copy Editor Shelby Rowe

Staff Photographer Julian Jolliffe

Marketing Director/Hypeman Jarod DeAnda

Advertising Please contact: advertising@theriversider.com

Contributors

Michael Elderman, Philip Falcone, Jesse Lopez, H. Vincent Moses, PHD

Special Thanks:

Kaitlin Bilhartz, Patricia Lock Dawson, Philip Falcone, Evelyn Cordner, Jack Amarillas, The Standerfer Family, Amber Lussier, H. Vincent Moses, PHD, Lucia Winsor, Riverside Museum, Mark from Riverside and all of our advertisers.

Distribution

Kimo Figueroa, Abijah Hensley Dedicated to the memory of Aaron Schmidt 1972-2022

Facebook.com/TheRiversiderMagazine @riversidermag

All inquiries, please contact info@theriversider.com

by Julian Jolliffe

Market Art

Darren Conkerite Riverside's Finest

WORDS: MANO MIRANDÉ

PHOTO: ZACH CORDNER

Back to the Grind coffee shop proudly celebrates its 30-year anniversary in April 2026. Located in the heart of downtown Riverside near the corner of University Avenue and Orange Street, the secret to its long-lasting success is really no secret at all.

“We’ve stayed true to our vision from when we opened our doors and continue to love what we do,” explained co-founder Darren Conkerite. “And that’s spreading positive community outreach.”

Darren’s childhood was anything but traditional. Born in Los Angeles in 1966, he moved to Lake Elsinore with his family at the age of five, where his grandmother gifted each of her three children ten acres of land. The three families built homes and lived on the adjacent properties where Darren was raised throughout high school.

“We were off the grid,” he explained. “We only had cousins to play with, we didn’t have a normal neighborhood.”

After graduating from Lake Elsinore high school in 1984, Darren moved to Riverside where he earned an associate’s degree from Riverside Community College and worked as a process control operator at the Golden Cheese Company of California for the next ten years.

“RCC was how I got familiar with Riverside,” he said. “We would get our school clothes from the Tyler Mall, but other than that, I didn’t really know much about it.”

Conkerite continued to live and work in Riverside and, in 1991, he met his longtime partner Scott Cole at a nightclub in LA.

“I met Scott when I was 25,” he recalled. “It was right around the time that I came out. I didn’t come out in high school. I never had a girlfriend or anything, but I went to both proms. When I told my family, they were very positive. It was not a big deal.” He added with a chuckle, “My mom said she kind of knew.”

Darren and Scott dated for the next four years before moving into a house together in the Woodcrest neighborhood of Riverside around 1994.

“He was doing corporate banking in LA, and I was working at the factory. When we moved in

together, we started thinking, ‘What would we do if we weren’t working at our existing jobs,’” he explained. “We just started brainstorming about what we’ve done in the past and what would feel comfortable for us.”

Their combined experiences eventually led to their decision to open a coffee shop/café.

“It was the one thing that we kind of both had in common,” Conkerite explained. “Back in high school, my parents let me have any kind of house party I wanted, and I did that from my freshman through senior year. Everyone knew my parties were good. There’d be hundreds of people and there were never any issues, everybody just had a good time. So, I knew I kind of had that promoter and event coordinator thing in me at an early age.”

While Darren’s experience contributed to the entertainment aspect, Scott’s career as a corporate banker would help balance out the business side of the dynamic.

“Scott was the kind of personality where he was very social and very smart, so it kind of matched having a café kind of style where you could put a party together, offer entertainment, and sell product and make money at the same time,” said Conkerite. “The idea and concept was giving the young people a venue where they could come and congregate, and have the arts, music, poetry, just the whole gamut offered to them.”

Although their vision had begun to materialize, neither had experience on how to construct, manage, and operate a commercial business.

“When we brainstormed about opening a coffee house/café, we knew that we didn’t have any information on how to put it together, but Scott knew that there’s a little notebook called a Learning Annex that has every job that is offered. There’s classes for it, you pay a couple hundred bucks, and they teach you everything you need to know about that industry,” Darren recalled. “They still have it ‘til this day.”

After attending the Learning Annex classes in LA, Darren and Scott began scouting locations to open their business in Riverside.

“Just by chance, Scott found it. He was walking downtown, and there was a little fluorescent light on in the building where he could peek through the window and see that it was abandoned,” Darren recalled. “He contacted the landlord and found out that it was Lane’s Country Store for about eight years, but it had sat vacant for two years before we took it over.”

The landlords were very generous to the new business owners and gave them four months rent-free during the construction and renovation of the space.

“We signed the lease in December 1995, and opened in April 2026,” said Conkerite. “Right on target, and just in time for the Riverside Orange Blossom Festival.”

Back to the Grind was well-received by the community and has provided a safe space and comfortable environment to anyone who walks through its doors. “It’s a different vibe, it’s more homey, it’s not pretentious, it’s just very laid back,” said Conkerite.

It has also served as a vital platform for the local arts and music community, offering free entertainment and special events seven nights a week, including poetry, comedy, jazz, live music, art and photography exhibits, and open mic nights. “I’ve never changed my footprint of what we offer since the beginning,” said Conkerite.

Back to the Grind is much more than just a coffee shop. It has become a symbol of acceptance and equality, free of bias and prejudice. Just as its sign at the entrance reads, “Back to the Grind is a place for all to come together, leaving all labels outside.”

As downtown Riverside continues to transform with the addition of luxury lofts, fine dining restaurants, and trendy nightclubs, Back to the Grind has continued to provide a familiar and welcoming space and has become an integral part of our city’s identity.

It is because of places like these and people like Darren Conkerite whose dedication to their beliefs and love for their community make Riverside such a unique and special place to call home.

Rhythms and Readings: A Season of Cultural Spectacles

FREE FAMILY CONCERT!

On April 19, Maracas & Magic, celebrating the rich sounds and rhythms of Spanish and Latin American music, including favorites like Huapango, Andalucia, Malagueña, tango, and beloved selections from Carmen and Coco. Performed by the UCR Orchestra and Chamber Singers, emcee’d by actor Taiquira Williams and conducted by Ruth Charloff, this lively event will include sing-alongs, a raffle, and a big bienvenido/welcome for all ages. Don’t miss an unforgettable afternoon of music, fun, and family at UC Riverside! Sponsored by the Esther Hays Family Concert series at the UCR Department of Music and UCR’s Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts.

In May, Writers Week celebrates its 49th anniversary with an electrifying lineup of renowned authors, acclaimed poets, and powerful memoirists. From May 5 to 8, California’s longest-running free literary festival invites you to experience unforgettable appearances by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Sympathizer” (now an HBO limited series); Jonathan Lethem, the visionary behind “Motherless Brooklyn” (adapted into a feature film by Edward Norton); and celebrated poets including D.A. Powell and Ilya Kaminsky. This year’s festival also spotlights a vibrant day honoring queer Latinx writers, showcases the creative voices of Mosaic’s undergraduate contributors, and culminates with an inspiring MFA student reading. Join us for four days of literary brilliance—you won’t want to miss a moment.

PHOTO: LYNDSEY RANKIN

Performing Arts

Spring Quarter 2026

Powerful live performances at UC Riverside

If you’re ready for unforgettable nights of creativity and community, UC Riverside’s spring performing arts season has several can’t-miss events. These aren’t just shows; they’re opportunities to support culture, laughter, and connection locally in Riverside.

LISTENING FOR CENTRAL AMERICA CONFERENCE

Date: Fri., Apr. 17, 9 a.m.

Location: INTS 1113

ESTHER HAYS FAMILY CONCERT

Date: Sun., Apr. 19, 3 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

Date: Fri., May. 1, 7 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

49TH ANNUAL WRITERS WEEK FESTIVAL

Dates: Tue., May 5 - Fri., May 8, 11 a.m.

Location: INTS

SOMETIMES THE RAIN, SOMETIMES THE SEA

Dates: Thu.-Sat., May 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 & 16, 8 p.m.; Sat., May 16, 2:30 p.m.

Location: UCR Studio Theatre (ARTS 113)

TFDP FILM SHOWCASE

Date: Tue., May 19, 7 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

CHAMBER MUSIC

Date: Tue., May 19, 8 p.m.

Location: Performance Lab (ARTS 166)

A CONCERT OF ART SONGS AND ARIAS PERFORMED BY STUDENTS OF DR. RALPH CATO

Date: Wed., May 20, 8 p.m.

Location: Performance Lab (ARTS 166)

MEXICAN MUSIC AND DANCE CONCERT

Date: Thu., May 21, 8 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

BECOMING BIMO: SHADOW PUPPETRY AND GAMELAN OF JAVA FEATURING WORO MUSTIKO SIWI

Date: Tue., May 26, 7 p.m.

Location: Culver Center of the ARTS

PLAYWORKS

Dates: Tue., May 26 - Wed., May 27, 7 p.m.

Location: UCR Studio Theatre (ARTS 113)

SPRING FORWARD

Dates: May 28-29

Location: ATHD 102

TWILIGHT CARILLON RECITAL

Date: Sat., May 30, 6 p.m.

Location: UCR Bell Tower

UCR CHAMBER SINGERS, CHORALE, AND ORCHESTRA

Dates: Sat., May 30, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 31, 3 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

TAIKO ENSEMBLE RECITAL

Date: Tue., June 2, 12 p.m.

Location: The Barn, Outdoor Stage

NEW WORKS FESTIVAL

Date: Wed., June 3 & Fri., June 5, 7 p.m.

Location: UCR Studio Theatre (ARTS 113)

UCR WIND ENSEMBLE

Date: Wed., June 3, 7 p.m.

Location: University Theatre

UCR JAZZ ENSEMBLES

Date: Thu., June 4, 7 p.m.

Location: Culver Center of the Arts

TFDP CULMINATION CELEBRATION

Date: Fri., June 5, 1 p.m.

Location: UCR Studio Theatre (ARTS 113)

Local Retailer

The Riversider | April/May 2026

embarc

It’s been a long time coming and a real labor of love for embarc, Riverside’s first legal cannabis dispensary that just opened in March in La Sierra.

Located on Magnolia Avenue near La Sierra Avenue, the local community has embraced them loudly and proudly by simply showing up in droves. Their grand opening hosted surprisingly long, but quick moving lines the entire day. They served close to 1,000 customers with over 2,500 people signing up for their Passport Club before they even opened!

Upon entering, you will be pleasantly surprised by the shop’s great vibe. It’s beautifully done inside yet super simple and chic. What sets them apart immediately is their bodega style set up. This means you can actually walk right up to all of the merchandise, touch it, feel it, and even smell it!

You want some gummies? Go grab a bag and look at the ingredients yourself! Want to purchase some fresh flower? Grabbing your favorite brand off the shelf with your own hands is so nice, especially when most other dispensaries hide everything behind the counter. This really feels like an elevated experience where the customer is trusted and catered to at the same time.

Embarc makes it easy for all of their customers, and their knowledgeable budtenders can help you with any questions you may have. This is super helpful for those who may be trying cannabis for the first time or are wanting to treat a specific ailment such as anxiety, insomnia, or pain of any kind.

Their workers are patient, kind, and really know their stuff. So, don't be shy! Be sure to tell them what your needs are and they will help you find what you’re looking for.

Something else important to point out about embarc is that their employees are all paid well and part of the union UFCW 1167, to be exact. Employees are respected and cared for; they even receive full benefits! All this helps explain the chill,

happy vibe you feel when you enter. Happy workers mean happy customers.

Riversider had a chance to chat with Andrea Champion, embarc’s community marketing manager, about why they chose Riverside as their seventeenth location in California. Andrea shared that before they open a shop, they do a deep dive into the city they are thinking about.

“We conduct listening tours with the community to see if embarc is the right fit for the city, and if the city is the right fit for us,” she said.

Riverside checked all the right boxes, and embarc is so grateful to be there and to support the needs of the community.

Andrea also shared something amazing that embarc does for each of the communities they decide to break ground in. Embarc takes one percent of their monthly gross sales and gives it right back to the community. They have advisory committees made up of local members who actually decide where the funds will be donated.

Over the last six years, they have donated over 2.1 million dollars back to the communities they serve. This is truly impressive and shows how good this can be for everyone.

General manager, David Nance, is a homegrown Riversider and grew up down the street from the shop and even graduated from La Sierra High School in 1998.

For him, this is coming full circle. He shared the irony with us that he actually got in trouble his senior year for smoking marijuana in the same parking lot that embarc is now thriving in! My oh my, times have changed, and we are totally here for it!

David also shared embarc’s commitment to being community centric. From hiring artists like Richie Deladeso and Johnny Opina to design their T-shirts to employing almost all Riversiders, they’ve made it clear that they really want to be part of our community.

If you want to do things quickly, you can always buy online and pick up in-store as they boast a fifteen minute pick up time. Embarc will be opening up two more dispensaries within the city of Riverside so keep an eye out for their University Avenue and Arlanza locations coming within the next few months.

We are thrilled that embarc is here to bring quality cannabis products in a safe and friendly environment to the city of Riverside. embarc 10921 Magnolia Ave. goembarc.com @embarcriverside

WORDS: ALONDRA FIGUEROA

PHOTOS: ZACH CORDNER

MICHAEL ELDERMAN

GM David Nance

When school lets out for the summer, millions of kids who receive free or reduced-price school meals reliable meals. For families already stretched thin, summer becomes a season of hard choices. They’re forced to decide between groceries, rent, gas, and other essentials.

Give Funds. Give Funds.

Consider making a monetary donation where your dollar is most impactful! Scan the QR code below.

Give Food. Give Food.

Food drives make a lasting impact on the lives of those most in need. We also welcome food donations from manufacturers.

Give Time. Give Time.

Volunteers are the heart of our organization. Share your morning, your afternoon, or your entire day with us.

@FeedingAmericaIE @FeedingAmericaIE

Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino (FARSB) is dedicated to combating hunger in the Inland Empire. Each month, we distribute more than 3.1 million pounds of food and collaborate with nearly 250 local nonprofit organizations. Our goal is to ensure that every individual in our community has access to nutritious food. We invite you to join us in our fight against hunger!

Elizabeth Ferrer has spent her career making sure the picture gets clearer. A leading specialist in Latinx photography and author of Latinx Photography in the United States: A Visual History, Ferrer has built exhibitions for the Smithsonian, Aperture, El Museo del Barrio, and Columbia University. Her work has always been part scholarly inquiry, part act of recovery, filling in the gaps that mainstream art history left when it looked past Chicano and Latinx image-makers for decades.

Her latest project is the most ambitious yet. Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History,

WORDS: KEN CRAWFORD

Through Their Own Lens

Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966-2026

In history as in photography, precision comes with resolution. The more data, the finer the lines, the deeper the contrast, the clearer the picture.

1966-2026 , now on view at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture, is the first major survey to trace Chicana/o/x photography as a complete, continuous history, from the movement's activist roots in the late 1960s through the Instagram-era artists working today.

Featuring 150 works by nearly 50 artists, it spans both Riverside Art Museum locations for the first time: the majority at The Cheech through September 6, with a companion section, The Archive, at RAM's Julia Morgan Building through July 5. After Riverside, the show tours nationally.

Ferrer organized six decades of image-making into eight thematic sections: Protests and Affirmations; Picturing Self and Others; Domesticana; Claiming Space; Border Stories; History, Remixed; Other Selves, Other Realities; and The Archive. The exhibition's start date is deliberate.

"This begins when people began to refer to themselves as Chicano," Ferrer said, "which is in the later '60s, when photographers began to create work with the consciousness of being Chicano, whether that was an activist or a cultural consciousness of that identity."

Luis C. Garza We Will Not Be Intimidated, 1971

That distinction matters. Chicano photography did not document the civil rights movement from the sidelines. It was part of the movement. The photographers who showed up at farmworker marches and community rallies were participants who also happened to be making images, and those images carried the politics of their making inside them.

"One of the principal values of the Chicano civil rights movement," Ferrer said, "is that we wanted to take control of our identity and the way we were represented in the world. Photography was one of those means."

Earlier photography of Mexican Americans was overwhelmingly made by outsiders on assignment who came in, shot what they were sent to photograph, and left. Chicano photographers produced something different: images of kitchen tables and high school dances, family members and neighbors, landscapes that outsiders would have driven past. Portraiture runs through the show like a spine, and it was not a curatorial imposition. It was what Ferrer found when she looked at the actual bodies of work.

"So many of these photographers create portraits, self-portraits or portraits of others," she said. "That really goes back to the earliest photographers who wanted to document a momentous time in history from their own point of view."

Thalia Gochez

Jen 4rom the block, 2022

Miguel A. Gandert

Linda Elena, Talpa, NM, 1995

Miguel A. Gandert

Madre de Mariachi, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, 2011

Chicano Camera Culture curator, Elizabeth Ferrer

Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli Plegaria, 2010

JULIAN JOLLIFFE

The show moves through time with that thread intact. The 1980s and 1990s brought more conceptual and constructed approaches, but the argument about self-representation never disappears. The portrait section spans from the late 1960s to the present.

The democratization of photography did not begin with the smartphone. The movement photographers of the 1960s were ordinary people with accessible cameras who decided that their lives and communities were worth documenting. The phone in every pocket is the latest chapter in that story, not a departure from it. Ferrer acknowledges this directly by including Guadalupe Rosales, whose Instagram archive Veteranas y Rucas has built more than 270,000 followers through crowdsourced images of Mexican and Mexican American life, and whose nocturnal photographs of East Los Angeles are shown in the Archive section at the Julia Morgan Building.

For Ferrer, including younger photographers was structural, not optional. "This is a history that continues to evolve," she said. "Every photograph has an importance. It has a value. Why not make photographs not almost unconsciously, but intentionally, something you can endow with value, something you can appreciate over time."

Inland Voices: IE Artists in the Show

Freddy Calderon

Freddy Calderon's work feels like a ride-along. There is movement and action in his images, but it carries no lecture. He takes you places not to make a show of his subjects but to reveal a beauty that exists among us, on the streets most of us don't drive down. His San Bernardino is not a backdrop for tragedy. It is a place with its own light, its own rhythms, its own faces worth looking at carefully. He works in frozen motion that implies the action before and after the frame: a subject mid-step, a hand in motion, a moment caught at the precise instant that makes you feel what came before it and anticipate what comes next. That sense of life continuing beyond the edges of the image is what separates documentary work with genuine style from documentation that merely records. His aesthetic is distinctly Inland Empire. There is a quality of light and space in his images that belongs to this specific geography. The IE suburb sits with the city on one side and open land on the other, and Calderon has mastered that capture: the scene that extends beyond the reach of the lens, the space that a purely urban backdrop compresses away. Place is not just setting in his work. It is argument.

Yulissa Mendoza

Yulissa Mendoza's work shouldn't cohere as well as it does. High fashion and grassroots politics. Rebellion and rigorous craft. The vernacular of the street and the vocabulary of the gallery. In another artist's hands those tensions might cancel each other out. In Mendoza's, they resolve into something singular: a body of work that looks like what no rules looks like, provided you don't confuse that with no standards. The precision is there. It just refuses to announce itself the way more conventional work does.

Based between the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, and Mexico City, Mendoza works as a photographer and multimedia installation artist. Their contribution to Chicano Camera Culture is 3 Gallos por Acre 2, rooted in Muscoy, a rural enclave gradually engulfed by San Bernardino's growth. Muscoy sits in the heart of the area being consumed by the logistics industry, its open land replaced by pop-up warehouses. The encroachment is not abstract. It is happening to a specific neighborhood, a specific landscape that once had room to breathe. For the installation, Mendoza collected rooster feathers from Muscoy itself. Those feathers became the material for both the artwork and the outfit they wore to the opening. The installation takes the shape of a rooster; each feather carries a photograph from Muscoy's history. The archive becomes the image. The artist's own body, dressed in the same feathers, carries the neighborhood into the room. The rooster in Mexican and Chicano

Freddy Calderon Echoes of Our Ancestors, 2016

Artist Yulissa Mendoza wearing a an outfit designed by Perry Picasshoe.

Yulissa Mendoza 3 Gallos por Acre 2, 2025

iconography carries pride and the call to attention, both of which Muscoy urgently needs. The political argument and the aesthetic turn out to be the same argument.

Lizette Olivas

Lizette Olivas finds the secret beauty of San Bernardino. Not in its polish but in its patina. The faded paint, the rust, the surfaces that carry the memory of what they used to be. Olivas has found a way to honor the age of the city, to look at what time has done to a place and see something worth preserving. Her photographs don't ask San

Bernardino to be anything other than what it is.

A UCLA Studio Art graduate, Olivas works in film and specializes in portraiture and photojournalism. The choice fits the work. Film has its own patina, its own grain and warmth, its own way of making the present feel like it already has history. In a city whose character lives in its accumulations rather than its renovations, that quality is not incidental. It is exactly right.

Olivas has been shown alongside Christina Fernandez, a significant mid-career figure in Chicano Camera Culture, in the exhibition Tierra Entre Medio at UCR Arts. Both photographers

Through Their wn Lens

treat the Inland Empire as a place with its own visual language, not a lesser version of Los Angeles but a region with distinct textures that rewards sustained attention. Olivas gives it that attention. She is patient with her city in the way that only someone who genuinely loves it can be.

Amy Zapata

Amy Zapata's work embodies a tawdry joy. There is something in it that feels like sneaking out when you were a teenager: the specific aliveness of being somewhere not quite sanctioned, doing something not quite approved, and finding that the world looks better from there. It is not transgression for its own sake, and it is not nostalgia. It is the recognition that some of the most honest human experience happens just outside the frame of what polite culture chooses to document.

Third-generation Chicanx, born and based in San Bernardino, Zapata holds an MA from Cal State Northridge and works across photography, printmaking, and documentary film. Her subjects are the communities institutional culture most consistently overlooks: queer Latinx life, San Bernardino's working-class neighborhoods, the people whose stories fall between the cracks. Her documentary, Genderfuck , which profiles DTLA drag culture, has the same quality as her still work. It goes where the light is strange and finds it beautiful. Her project Puebla de Los Angeles uses double exposure to make an argument about identity that straight documentary photography cannot easily make. The images merge Mexico and Southern California in a single frame, collapsing the distance between origin and inheritance. Zapata is not documenting a journey she made. She is documenting the one that was made for her, and the way both places still live simultaneously in the people who descend from that crossing.

Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966-2026 is on view at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture through September 6, 2026, and at the Riverside Art Museum Julia Morgan Building through July 5, 2026. For more info, please visit thecheechcenter.org

Lizette Olivas Morke’s House (Xiera, Osaze, & Ty), 2016

Amy Zapata No Llores, 2017

@art.by.andrealopez

@maddtatterz

Bryan June Garcia

Alleyway Murals

Curated by Juan Navarro

In partnership with the City of Riverside, RCHF, and REAL Residents of Eastside Active in Leadership

Mural Team

Alfred Zaragoza @maddtatterz

Andrea Lopez @art.by.andrealopez

Bryan June Garcia

Ricardo Garcia @savethepanduhs

Roberto Cervantes @micorazontepinta location Painted

Loma Vista Street and W Linden St. Alleyway March 2026

A Wrap-Up of our Exhibition at Riverside Art Museum Miles East

WORDS: KEN CRAWFORD

One of the highlights of the exhibition was hosting Riverside's legendary Los

and perform at Riverside

Infernos

reunite

Art Museum.

We knew it would be fun. We did not know it was going to take over our lives for more than a year.

Sixty Miles East: Riverside's Underground Punk Rock, Hardcore & Ska Scene from the late 1980's to Early 2000s started as a side project, the kind that sounds manageable until you are deep inside it and realize it has become something else: a genuine adventure.

Sixty Miles East took us all over Southern California. We drove across the desert to Coachella for Bill Fold’s day planner. The hunting down of the Showcase Bike ended only a mile from my house. One night a late call came in from Matt Beld; Tony Reflex of the Adolescents had some White Flag material he wanted us to look at.

I scooped him up and ran the mission under cover of darkness out to Sierra Madre. Sitting there listening to Tony talk through the history of Southern California punk rock was a truly special moment. He is an undisputed member of the punk pantheon.

There was also the frantic five minutes navigating Travis Barker and his driver through

the one-way streets of downtown Riverside to the city hall breezeway, where Rico Alderette's newly unveiled Raincross sculpture stood and a coordinated crew of Riversider photographers were waiting. We had maybe a minute before the white collar lunch crowd figured out what was happening and the phones came out. We got the shot.

The generosity of this community made collecting possible. People handed things over freely, trusted us with things they had held onto for decades. That generosity humbled us and kept the whole thing moving.

Curating was another matter. The harder truth is that there was more story than wall space. For every piece that made it into the exhibition, there were stories that did not. Not because they were lesser, but because the walls ran out. We made choices we are still thinking about. The editing was the hardest part of the whole process, and we are not sure we got it entirely right. What we can say is that we tried to be honest about what the record showed.

What we did not anticipate was what happened once the doors opened. As the people who lived these stories came through the exhibition, they did not just view it. They added to it. Principal actors showed up and filled in gaps, offered context, corrected the record in ways that made the whole thing richer. Some people came once. Some people came many times. For some, it became a comfortable place to return, a sanctuary of sorts, a room where their past was treated with care. Watching that happen was one of the most genuinely moving things about this project, and it is not something you can plan for. We were along for the ride

We knew some things going in. The bike hanging from the ceiling at the Showcase Theatre was going to be a big deal. You just know. What surprised us was the flyer wall. We had collected hundreds of flyers, scanned every one, and needed a way to display them for six months without handling the originals repeatedly. Our friend Fritz Aragon of Urge Palette helped us figure out the wheatpaste wall, and what came out of that collaboration

JULIAN JOLLIFFE

60 Miles East curators Ken Crawford and Zach Cordner being interviewed by radio DJ hosts Timothy and Amelie from London's Boogaloo Radio.

became the surprise star of the show.

People would stand in front of it for half an hour. They talked about the shows they saw, the shows they missed, the stories trapped in the mind and released on a wall full of reminders. They marveled at seeing some of the biggest bands of the 1990s billed for less than ten dollars. It was the heaviest handed nostalgia play in the room and it worked completely. Fritz deserves real credit for that.

The Riverside Art Museum did not simply give us wall space. From the beginning, the staff treated this project as something worth caring about, and they cared about it alongside us. What started as a working relationship became, over more than a year of planning sessions and installation days and late conversations about what the exhibition was really trying to say, something genuinely warm.

These are our friends now. That is not a phrase we use loosely. The people at the RAM who gave their time, their expertise, and their enthusiasm to Sixty Miles East are people we will

remain friends with, and we are grateful for them in a way that goes beyond the professional. We will miss being there. We will miss the rhythm of it, the gallery conversations, the particular feeling of working inside a building that let us hang around for six months, no rent.

The exhibition had a way of generating moments we could not have scripted. We ended up on television. We were on Boogaloo Radio from London. We were on NPR's All Things Considered, and we will not pretend that one did not stop us in our tracks. None of that was in the plan. All of it was welcome.

What moved us most was watching people walk through the room. The older ones got quiet in a particular way. Los Infernos, White Sands, Spiderworks, these names landed differently on a museum wall. There was something like relief in the room on those nights, a feeling that the record had finally been set straight, that the thing you had lived through and loved had turned out to be worth preserving. People came in strangers and left exchanging phone numbers. People brought their kids. Some came from across

the country. That was not something we planned for. It was the best thing that happened.

Los Infernos is a legendary Riverside band that has dealt with serious loss over the years. Derek Coon, the singer and frontman, is confined to a wheelchair and had quietly assumed his rock and roll days were behind him. The love that came his way during the opening changed that. The response he felt from the community inspired a reunion that stands as one of the greatest things we have ever been part of. Every performer knows the high of being on stage and feeling a crowd come toward you. Derek was on fire that night. He was floating above the seat of his chair. You could see on his face that he felt the full force of what that room was giving him, the years of it, the weight of it, the love of it. It was the moment that made clear how much the scene on those walls meant to the people who had lived it.

And then there were the kids. They came in curious and stayed that way. They studied the vinyl and paper day planners and hand drawn flyers with the careful attention of people

JESSE LOPEZ

The Voodoo Glow Skulls' Casillas brothers, Eddie, Jorge and Frank.

encountering something genuinely new. What struck us was not just the curiosity but something closer to longing.

The 1990s was the last era that emerged without a supercomputer in every pocket, and the artifacts of that time carry a different weight because of it. Everything was made by hand or not at all. The flyers were drawn, the shows were found by word of mouth, the memories lived in physical objects that you could hold. Kids seem to sense the romance in that. The tactile experience of it, the durability of the documents, the ritual of engaging with something that required your full presence.

There is also something they understood about the rooms themselves. A sweaty venue with three hundred people who all chose to be there is not an experience that translates online and never will. The pandemic gave a lot of us a crash course in how much could be done from home. What followed was a quieter recognition of what that world actually feels like without in person contact, and the answer for a lot of people, especially young people, was bleak. We think that is part of what drew them to the flyer wall and kept them there. They were not just looking at old shows. They were looking at evidence of a life lived in rooms, with people, in real time.

Alien Ant Farm's Mike Cosgrove on drums for the Spiderworks reunion.

Los Infernos

The Debonaires' Mano Mirande and Kip Wirtzfeld.

Our Zine Workshop with Brookes Reeder was a popular event.

JESSE LOPEZ

ZACH

CORDNER

JESSE LOPEZ

Our new friends at World Gone Mad have shown us something important about where punk goes from here. It will survive, but not because angry men in their fifties are yelling about “society.” That generation has a role, but it is not to dictate to the kids coming up.

What the exhibition showed us is that our role is as facilitators. If we want the change that punk preaches, it will come from stepping back and letting the younger generation do their thing, even when we think it’s a little goofy. What they feel is not a lesser version of what we felt. It may look different. The urgency is the same. The kids are alright.

It was a nostalgia play, and we knew that going in. It turned out to be more than that.

What came into focus, slowly and then all at once, was how many Riverside arts stories have never been told. Not forgotten, just never platformed. The Inland Empire has always had a complicated relationship with its own cultural output, a tendency

to undervalue what it produces because the comparison point is always sixty miles west. Sixty Miles East was a direct argument against that habit. The response confirmed the argument was worth making.

But here is what we want to say clearly: excellence in Riverside arts is not a history lesson. It is happening right now. The exhibition looked back because that story needed telling, but we are not interested in nostalgia as a destination. We are confident that new and better stories are emerging at this moment, artists and musicians and creators doing remarkable work in a city that does not always make it easy, and we intend to be paying attention.

So that is what comes next. We are building a website documenting the arts, entertainment, and dining culture of Riverside and the Inland Empire, a living record where stories get told and stay told, where new work gets the same attention as the historic, and where the Inland Empire stops

treating its own culture as a footnote.

We are also working toward a permanent home for the collection, and advocating for something we believe the city needs plainly: a permanent, all-ages music venue. Not a bar with a stage. A dedicated room where a fifteen-yearold can walk in on a Friday night, watch three bands, and go home thinking, I could do that. That is where a young band culture begins. We do not have it yet. We intend to help change that.

The exhibition is over. The project is not.

To everyone who showed up, contributed, remembered, and cared, and especially to the staff at the Riverside Art Museum who became our collaborators and our friends, thank you. Sixty Miles East is yours as much as it is ours. That was always the point, and it still is.

Riverside's Spiderworks reunited for a song at the exhibition.

The Riversider | April/May 2026

The “Flexalum” Boom

How Joseph L. Hunter Brought an Aluminum Manufacturing Revolution to the Orange Empire, 1932-1970

WORDS: H. VINCENT MOSES, PHD

It was 1955, and Riverside’s Hunter Douglas Corporation, Joe Hunter’s baby, dominated the $200,000,000 Venetian Blind market. His Kansas Avenue Riverside plant, sitting on forty acres amidst pristine orange groves, employed 1,000 people, carried a $2,000,000 payroll, and grossed $12,000,000 per annum. The plant ran around the clock in three shifts. Hunter Douglas by then had gone worldwide, manufacturing and distributing its Flexalum brand blinds on both coasts, in Europe, in Canada, and in Australia. Hunter Douglas literally surged through the post-war years on the wings of consumer frenzy. Riverside basked in its glory.

Driven by the brilliance of this complex genius, Joe’s lightningfast aluminum revolution made Riverside a global manufacturing center, an innovative machinetool hub, and the leader in aluminum Venetian Blinds (VB), even as Riverside’s citrus industry continued its winning ways. By the mid-1950s, his victories over eastern conglomerates attracted more pioneering companies to town, including Bourns, Rohr Aircraft, Lilly Tulip, and the new campus of the University of California, Riverside. Hunter’s innovations, along with others, fueled Riverside’s second wave of economic growth, diversifying the city’s industrial base.

Joseph L. "Joe" Hunter, c1955. Joe sported the mustache since his senior year at old Poly High School. MoR Collection, A1267.

Joe Hunter, in white shirt and vest behind table, at the Mission Inn, with the newly assembled engineering team of the original Hunter Engineering Company, c1940. including Sonnenberg's Douglas Machinery Company German engineers. MoR Collection, A1267.

The Hunter Brothers Brothers Joe Hunter and Eddie, Riverside-born and raised, were prodigies in machine tools. Their father, Lem Hunter, trained them at his Riverside Foundry on North Main Street in the late 1920s. In 1932, after attending Pomona College and enduring the depths of the Great Depression, Joe launched his own business. Eddie soon joined him, and within a year, their Riverside Pattern and Machine Shop gained a reputation for designing and building machinery, especially for the Venetian Blind (VB) industry. The two invented the first steel VB slat and the machinery to produce it, and they patented the world's first continuous paint-coating line for a metal strip. They were on their way, and then war hit Europe.

Joe Hunter and Henry H. Sonnenberg join forces, Hunter Engineering at War, 1939-1946

With the outbreak of war in Europe, renowned industrialist Henry H. Sonnenberg of the Douglas Machinery Company in New York, a prominent refugee from Nazi Germany, sought out Joe Hunter and proposed a partnership, contingent on Hunter pausing VB production and resuming the manufacture of precision machine tools. Sonnenberg provided the capital and his patents to Hunter Engineering. Hunter

tooled up and built the Douglas Milling Machine (the Hunter Mill) on schedule and within budget. The Rock Bit Milling Machine, the Hunter Slotter, and the renowned Rotorex Universal Tool and Cutter Grinder soon followed. The Rotorex secured a significant contract from the U.S. Navy in 1942.

Between 1943 and 1945, Hunter secured precision-milling contracts from aircraft manufacturers, especially Lockheed. Hunter won high praise for lowering the cost of the aluminum hydraulic selector valve on the Lockheed P-38 Lightning double-fuselage fighter-bomber from $30 to $12 per unit. Hunter's machining process greatly improved the quality of the Lightning, gaining it the moniker, "forked tail devil" from Hermann Goering’s Luftwaffe.

Meanwhile, at its expanded plant at 14th Street, Food Machinery Corporation was well underway producing its legendary Water Buffalo Amphibious Landing Vehicle for the Navy. FMC’s plant also employed at least 1,000 people at the height of production during the war.

Post -War Consumer Production: “Flexalum” Takes the Country by Storm Come war’s end, Hunter and Sonnenberg retooled for consumer production. In 1946, they formed

Hunter Douglas Corporation to manufacture and sell machinery, strip stock, tape, and cord for the new revolutionary "Flexalum" Venetian blinds. Applying knowledge gained from perfecting steel VB strips in the 1930s, the Hunter brothers and their team developed, almost overnight, a springtempered, flexible aluminum VB slat and a complete VB package, including slats, nylon cord, and wipeclean plastic. Within five years, the production of Flexalum spurred at least two more manufacturing innovations, revolutionary in character.

Revolution #1: Continuous Casting Machines for Aluminum

Chain-Block Caster,

“The Monster,”1945-1954 Hunter realized that the advantage in aluminum VB production wouldn’t last against the large aluminum conglomerates. To stay competitive, Joe and Ed, working with Sonnenberg Capital, designed, developed, and built a new machine to continuously cast aluminum bars for slat production from scrap or ingot. Developed between 1945 and 1950 and patented in 1953, the Hunter chain-block caster—the "monster"—produced horizontal aluminum bars that met or surpassed the quality of those made by the major rolling mills of the

conglomerates. In five years, Joe Hunter achieved what larger companies failed to do, despite their significant capital investments.

Scientific R&D and innovative labor policies at Hunter Douglas, and later at the new Hunter Engineering, fueled Joe’s success. Like Kaiser Steel in Fontana, Hunter Douglas offered fair wages comparable to union standards, medical benefits including sick leave, a retirement plan, and salaries above industry average for top management and professionals.

At the height of his success, Joe became a notable philanthropist, supporting prominent Riverside causes, including purchasing the YWCA Julia Morgan building for the Riverside Art Alliance and expanding Community Hospital. He created the Hunter Foundation, endowed it with $700,000, and offered financial support to the Boy Scouts. Joe was an Eagle Scout himself.

Roll-Type Sheet Caster

Developed between 1954 and 1958 by Joe and his expert team at Hunter Engineering, the Hunter roll-type wide sheet caster provided a shortcut for producing wide aluminum sheets with a single casting step. One machine replaced the processes of casting, scalping, heating, breakdown, and finish rolling. The roll caster ultimately became the foundation for Hunter's modern supercasters, now owned and manufactured by Danieli FATA Hunter in Turin, Italy. Riverside shared in yet another Hunter victory.

Hunter Revolution #2: Cold Impact

Forging of Thick-Walled Shapes

Korean War restrictions on "non-essential" uses of aluminum once again forced Hunter Douglas to focus on the military market for its products, developing processes for items that were previously

considered impossible to produce. Joe and his engineers quickly discovered ways to use coldextruded or forged aluminum for military munitions. Cold-impact extrusion, or forging, shapes a metal slug into a specific form by compressing it, usually through a continuous process. Hunter Cold forging, which involved intense cold working of the metal, created a very dense grain structure, resulting in a yield strength comparable to that of hot-finished mild steel, especially with Hunter Douglas' highstrength aluminum alloys.

During the design and refinement of both Flexalum VBs and the cold forging project, former Hunter employees recalled seeing Joe on the line at any time, day or night. He would go to his office, draw up an idea, and then come down to the floor or shop to try to implement it.

Hunter’s ideas paid off. Under his aegis, Hunter Douglas designed and built its own hydraulic presses, ranging from 200 to 3,500 tons, and put them into operation at the Riverside facility, enabling the production of a wide variety of shapes for military uses.

Hunter Douglas's willingness to innovate paid off in January 1952, when the army awarded the company a contract for the M500 Mechanical Time Fuze Body, marking the Riverside firm's first ordnance contract. A combination of continuous casting, precision cold forging, and automatic machining led to 40 percent cost savings compared to the die-casting methods used by Doehler-Jarvis, the other main Fuze Body manufacturer. The program proved so efficient that the contractor was able to amortize the equipment's capital cost over the course of production.

The AIM-9 Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missile & ZUNI 5 Rocket Body

In 1956, based on the company's reputation for innovation and on-time and under-budget production methods, the U.S. Navy awarded Hunter Douglas/ Bridgeport Brass a prime contract to produce the motor body for its newly developed Sidewinder missile. The Hunter cold-impact forging process, using its horizontal 3,500-ton hydraulic extrusion press, formed the motor tube from an aluminum slug in a single forging step. Sidewinder motor tubes included slotting the wing ribs, drilling and countersinking 84 holes, machining the thread for warhead assembly, fabricating the steel nozzle, assembling the electrical harness, and manufacturing the complete Rolleron assembly at each wingtip.

Developed on a tight budget by the Naval Ordnance Test Station, the AIM-9 Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missile became the most cost-effective missile program in history, and the latest iteration remains standard weaponry for the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

The Navy's ZUNI 5 solid-propellant rocket, developed by the Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake, California, was made possible through Hunter Douglas's cold-impact forging process. This ZUNI, like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, used Hunter's 3,500-ton horizontal hydraulic extrusion press to produce the ZUNI body.

Bridgeport Brass, which acquired Hunter Douglas in 1956, with Sonnenberg relocating

World War II P-38 Lightning, the "Forked Tail Devil" for which Hunter produced the aluminum hydraulic fuel selector valve for half the price of his competitors. Courtesy USAF Museum.

Magazine ad for Flexalum Venetian Blinds, c1955. From Hunter Douglas International Archives.

Hunter Douglas International to Amsterdam, also manufactured the distinctive ZUNI launcher. This launcher could fire ZUNI rockets singly, in pairs, or in rippled salvos at various ground or aerial targets, depending on the warhead. Hunter Douglas/Bridgeport Brass continued producing ZUNI rockets until their successor company, ALCAN, ceased ordnance manufacturing in the early 1970s after leaving Riverside.

Epilogue: the Hunter legacy

Earlier, I described Joe Hunter as a complex genius. Like eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, who

struggled with his own demons on his journey to fame and wealth, Hunter faced his internal battles. Joe took his own life at the height of his career. He had sparked an industrial revolution in postwar Riverside, transforming the town into an international hub for aluminum innovation and manufacturing. Joe was a multimillionaire and a local philanthropist. His death seemed to contradict all his accomplishments. Although he was seriously wounded in his first attempt in 1959, he survived. His second attempt in 1965 at his estate in Corona del Mar was successful. In the meantime, Joe's brother Ed carried forward

“ One of the secrets of our success is to go off the deep end attempting the impossible.”

Ray Quadt, Director of R&D, Hunter Douglas Corporation, Riverside, 1954

the Hunter legacy of manufacturing innovation, founding Hunter Industries in San Marcos, California, a successful international irrigation and sprinkler company built on Eddie’s own inventive genius. His company markets worldwide today under the leadership of Ed’s grandson. Despite Joe’s own untimely death, his legacy persists worldwide through successor companies and international conglomerates. Today, Hunter Companies, the heir to Joe’s earlier firms, is owned by Babcock International PLC, a multinational machinery marketing firm based in London. Danieli FATA Hunter of Turin, Italy, manufactures Hunter’s improved super sheet casters. Luxfer USA Ltd. remains in Riverside, using Hunter Douglas forging presses and processes to produce extruded, lightweight pressure tanks for scuba diving, firefighting, and other activities that require durable, leak-proof containers.

Hunter Industrial Park, the flagship of Riverside's industrial growth, is a fitting reminder of the man who forged Riverside’s 1950s industrial revolution, the second leveling-up, and the model for Mayor Lock Dawson’s third manufacturing renaissance spurred by clean energy and EV production for the 21st-century.

Joe Hunter pictured with his patented wide sheet caster, c1958. MoR Collection, A1267.

AIM 9 Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missle armed and ready. Getty Photo.

Engineers assembling "The Monster," Hunter's chain block bar caster, at Hunter Douglas Corporation, Kansas Avenue, Riverside, c1954. MoR Collection, A1267

An America 250 Destination Riverside Municipal Auditorium and Soldiers’ Memorial

On the day the United States was forged in 1776, future-president John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that future generations should mark this special day with "Pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more” to celebrate the victory of the great experiment in democracy. The founding of the country was truly an experiment as the Constitution applied unprecedented enlightenment principles—individual liberty, human rights, and limited, representative authority—to self-governance.

As John Adams had declared to Abigail, every July 4th the country is illuminated in patriotism from sea to shining sea. However, every fifty or one hundred years the United States marks particularly significant milestone anniversaries in expansive manner. This 2026 marks the country’s 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, and a local reflection is taking place on Riverside’s role in the story of America.

WORDS: PHILIP FALCONE

Since Riverside’s earliest days the city has been a community of deeply patriotic peoples—a place many veterans of the Civil War found their forever home, a must-stop destination on any presidential campaign tour, an asset to national security with an expansive Air Force base, and a place of honor within the grounds of America’s largest National Cemetery. The passion for democracy, for liberty, and for freedom runs through the veins of Riversiders.

Since its establishment, thousands of Riversiders have given the last full measure of laying down their lives in service to their country. From the Revolutionary War to the War in Afghanistan, for these last 250 years it has been the honorable practice of American cities to find meaningful ways to honor the fallen. In 1919, following the end of World War I—known as the “war to end all wars”—where 87 Riverside men had lost their lives in protection of American freedoms, local leaders sought to find a way to

honor these fallen heroes. Instead of a statue, monument, or shrine dedicated to the lives lost, the idea of creating a living and changing memorial building took hold.

A physical manifestation of this great passion for country was realized nearly one hundred years ago following America’s 150th anniversary with the dedication of the Riverside Municipal Auditorium as the “Soldiers’ Memorial” in 1928.

For years the City of Riverside sought to construct a multi-use community space for large public ceremonies, concerts, exhibits, conventions, and other crowd-attracting events. This new facility would be a municipal auditorium and in November 1925 Riverside voters approved a $200,000 bond for the construction of such a facility.

Locations for the new facility were debated but all believed Riverside’s newest community facility should join the pantheon of other noteworthy buildings along Seventh Street (now Mission Inn Avenue). Owner of the Mission Inn, Frank Miller,

One of three custommade stained-glass windows above the building’s front doors depicts various service members shielded by billowing American flags. A central image of the Serra Cross on Mount

perched atop a field of golden California poppies introduces Riverside imagery to the building.

ZACH CORDNER

A view of the auditorium stage and central floor from the mezzanine seating. Rich red velvet seats and curtains match red and gold-patterned carpeting.

Rubidoux

acquired multiple plots of land along this nowfamed street and following bond passage he donated a site for the auditorium at Seventh and Lemon Streets.

In order to keep with the desired architectural aesthetics of the avenue, Mission Inn architect Arthur Benton was selected for the design. Construction of the six-story, 53,000 sq. ft, 1500seat auditorium began in late 1926. Approximately midway through, local architects G. Stanley Wilson and Peter J. Weber took over the project.

The functional need for an auditorium facility with the desire for a utilized, living, and changing memorial to those lost in WWI married well. The Mission Revival-style building was constructed of reinforced, board-formed concrete with a red clay tile roof, vibrant canary yellow, cobalt blue, black and white tiled domes with a central starburst window and multiple circular and decorative, metal-covered windows.

The approach with its central staircase of terracotta tiles would usher guests through two

portals of carved-wood front doors beneath intricate stained-glass windows depicting both foreign wartime scenes and local Riverside imagery. A copper plaque on the façade was inscribed, "Behind us are their glories, before us still their dreams."

Completion of the Soldiers’ Memorial came in late 1928 with the finishing touch being its central American eagle sculpture perched high atop a shield of arms and fruit-adorned wreath at the towering roofline. Its dedication was heralded as a local triumph in patriotism.

ZACH CORDNER

JULIAN JOLLIFFE

The 53’ x 24’ WPA stage fire curtain is displayed and photographed in one of only a couple times since its installation in 1935.

A framed portrait of Lieutenant Charles Leon Deaver watches over the hall named in his honor.

A vibrant blue signature and date by artist Freda Oien DeCastro is found on the bottom right corner of the expansive fire curtain.

Four of the six 12’ x 3’ WPA paintings stand at attention in Deaver Hall. The style in which they are painted blends tradition WPA and Art Deco themes with American Scene Painting—a blending not typically seen in this era of art.

The remaining two paintings of “Government” and “Peace” nestle amongst various circular, rectangular, and arched windows which look out onto Mission

JULIAN

JOLLIFFE

Inn Avenue.

One of the 87 fallen Riversiders from the War was Lieutenant Charles Leon Deaver. Born in Kansas on November 25, 1888, Charles died at the age of 29 on October 6, 1918, following battle in Germany. His upbringing was in Riverside and his parents—David and Emma—were strong advocates for the Soldiers’ Memorial, so much so that the central hall located on the second story of the auditorium was named Deaver Hall in Charles’ honor.

Nearly a decade following the building’s dedication, during the Great Depression, a new wave of patriotism would wash over the auditorium. Through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), public art, infrastructure, and community projects emerged across the city, reflecting a national effort to rebuild America through local projects. The Riverside Municipal Auditorium would benefit greatly from WPA investment through interior art and beautification.

Established in 1935, the WPA became a cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal (1933-1938) for the American people, one of the largest and most ambitious public relief programs in U.S. history. Its primary mission was to provide employment to millions of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression by funding large scale public works projects and community

programs. Nationwide, the WPA built roads, bridges, schools, parks, libraries, and public buildings, while also supporting cultural programs in the arts, theatre, music, and writing through the Federal Arts Project.

At its height, the program employed 5,000 artists. Artistic styles of the WPA era encouraged a reflection of pride in American life, industry, construction, and public works. By the end of the project, it had created 2,500 murals, 18,000 sculptures, 108,000 paintings, and 200,000 prints.

The sheer quantity of art produced in only an eight-year period was unprecedented in American history, leading to new innovation and experimentation in art. Also, for the first time in American history, art had become viable as a full-time career for the working-class people due to the availability of public funding.

In Riverside, WPA involvement was widespread with sidewalks, curbs, and gutters in the Eastside neighborhood, mosaics and paintings at various local elementary schools, the monumental Juan Bautista De Anza statue and relief wall at Magnolia Avenue and 14th Street, among others.

This patriotic WPA movement came to the Municipal Auditorium early on during the project’s tenure with six towering, arched paintings depicting aspects of American life—government, health,

education, labor, liberty, and peace. These twelvefoot-tall by three-foot-wide paintings were created for display in Deaver Hall, flanking the north and south sides of the room with Lt. Deaver’s portrait framed on the western wall. Custom ivory and gold metal sconces with the seal of the United States were installed to up-light the paintings.

In the main auditorium, a 53-foot-long by 24-foot-wide stage fire curtain was painted by local artist Freda Oien DeCastro as a WPA project. The elaborate scene depicts the arrival of various cultures into one afterlife surrounded by the various industries of the natural world.

A stage fire curtain is a critical safety device, typically made of fire-resistant materials like fiberglass or metal, that separates the auditorium from the stage to contain fires and smoke. Its primary purpose is to protect the audience by delaying the spread of fire from the stage area, thus providing time for safe evacuation. It is designed to deploy automatically, often through a melting fusible link if a fire breaks out. It provides roughly 30 minutes of protection, allowing enough time for safe evacuation of the audience.

Remarkably, a stage fire curtain is a safety mechanism which is not intended for regular viewing and instead only used in emergencies. The rationale for why an elaborate, large-scale

Riverside's hometown heroes the Voodoo Glow Skulls played to a sold out crowd at RMA in January.

painting would be deployed on a rarely used screen is unknown. Nonetheless, for decades this monumental fire curtain—and piece of American artistic history—has been coiled up in the high rafters, or fly loft, of the auditorium. Only one other time has it been photographed and published like this.

Similarly, Deaver Hall and its WPA paintings are not publicly accessible. Rarely seen or photographed, this space—which was restored in 2011—and its paintings are made accessible through this photographic record in special celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial.

The creation of a living memorial to the fallen Riversiders of the Great War and the utilization of this same facility as a shrine to WPA art combines two deeply patriotic causes to highlight Riverside’s love of country. Therefore, each year, as John Adams proclaimed to Abigail, Americans celebrate with pomp and parade the great sacrifices the nation’s own forefathers and mothers made for the creation of a country worthy of laying down one’s life.

The pomp of this year may feel heartier than recent years on this notable anniversary as Riverside reflects on being part of a country which finds value and use in each person’s talents and contributions to its advancement—through arts, innovation, industry, national security, and love of freedom.

Learn more about how Riverside is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary at RiversideCA.gov/America250

Left: Ivory and gold-painted metal scones with an Americana motif of 13 gold stars representing the original 13 American colonies and a central shield pressed upon an eagle with arrows and olive branches—known as the Great Seal of the United States—up-light the walls and paintings in Deaver Hall.

Dining: Canyon Crest

The Riversider | April/May 2026

Monark Asian Bistro

Tucked deep in the Canyon Crest Towne Centre you will find a beautiful little asian place that doesn’t just serve delicious authentic Chinese, Thai, and Taiwanese food, they also serve a story of the enduring spirit of an immigrant’s perseverance and heart.

Karen Chen has been the owner and chef of Monark Asian Bistro for 36 years and counting! Even as a single mom busy with raising her two children, Karen forged a dream to open her own restaurant. She worked seven days a week, 365 days a year to save up enough to buy the previous establishment at that location, the Little Emperor in 1990.

The restaurant remained the Little Emperor until her son, Jonathan, encouraged a remodel of the restaurant in 2007. Afterwards, he said to his mother, “The Little Emperor has grown up, let’s change the name to Monark.” Karen agreed and has never looked back.

After 36 years of serving the community wonderfully authentic food, she really knows how to make you feel special. She knows who the locals are and loves to chat with her regulars. We were happy to sit down with Karen, and were even happier to hear that she prepared our dishes herself. And they were all spectacular!

We started with the best selling Walnut Shrimp and, oh my gosh, this was a delicacy that I've never had before. It features lightly coated, crispy shrimp tossed in an amazing pineapple cream sauce and topped with caramelized walnuts. I don’t like pineapple in savory food, and I don't like walnuts, but good lord this dish was so surprisingly scrumptious! The quality of the shrimp is impeccable, being white shrimp from Ecuador, and you can tell. They were perfectly fried and the sauce was delectable.

Next we tried the Emperor’s Choice, which was a tasty combination of shrimp, beef, and chicken sauteed with diced onion, bell peppers, straw mushrooms, and bamboo shoots all in an awesome spicy black bean sauce. All sauces are homemade and many are Karen’s own secret recipes!

The menu also features specialty Thai dishes like the Talay Quartet, which showcases an assortment of scallops, shrimp, fish, and calamari sauteed with onions, basil, and a yummy spicy Thai sauce. This was a perfect seafood concoction, and we will order it again!

Then we tried the Pad See Ew which is a popular Thai dish featuring flat rice noodles, egg, chinese broccoli, mushrooms, and carrots stir fried with your choice of protein in a sweet and savory sauce. This was an instant favorite!

My favorite dish was the fancy and perfectly cooked Monark Steak. This special dish consists of bites of beef tenderloin that are wok-seared with garlic butter, coated in a lemongrass glaze and finished with a sprinkle of black pepper. Oh man, the steak bites had me shook with how they absolutely melted in my mouth, and this was by far my favourite dish.

Another best seller was the Orange Peel Chicken, which Karen shared is her authentic recipe. It consists of slices of white meat chicken with a light crispy coating, wok-tossed with dried orange peels all in a spicy zesty sauce. We were also happy to try their new Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumplings, which are Taiwanese. They were juicy, delicate, and so delicious! We will definitely order these again, as well.

Overall everything we had and the time we shared with Karen was so fun and filled with flavor that we didn’t want to leave! She truly makes every dish special with quality and talent that shines through every bite.

We are happy that after all these years Monark is still a great place for wonderfully flavorful food and a great time. Be sure to stop by and say “Hi!” to Karen, and you just might become one of her regulars.

WORDS: ALONDRA FIGUEROA PHOTOS: ZACH CORDNER

Xiao Long Bao

Walnut Shrimp

Orange Peel Chicken

Pad See Ew noodles

Bar & Restaurant Guide

The Riversider | February/March 2026

AMERICAN (NEW)

Batter Rebellion 1393 University Ave (951) 901-9357

Bushfire Kitchen

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 92 (951) 534-0697

ProAbition Whiskey Lounge & Kitchen

3597 Main St (951) 222-2110

The Rustik Fork Eatery 1355 E Alessandro Blvd Ste 101 (951) 656-3555

The State 3800 Main St (951) 728-3330

Yard House 3775 Tyler St (951) 688-9273

BAKERIES/DONUTS

American Donuts 3355 Iowa Ave (951) 329-3238

Baguette Bakery & Café

767 W Blaine St B (951) 788-5300

Baker’s Dozen Donuts

6100 Magnolia Ave (951) 369-0198

Beignet Spot 4019 Market St (951) 224-9830

Better-Be Donuts Café 1015 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 653-0166

Cakebox

3557 Main St A (951) 660-4179

Casey’s Cupcakes

3649 Mission Inn Ave (951) 328-6908

Chela’s Panadería 4022 Park Ave (951) 680-9983

Christy’s Donuts 8151 Arlington Ave (951) 977-8166

Cookie Co. Riverside 195 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 521-0846

Cupcakes & Curiosities

3569 Main St (951) 452-6271

Delicias del Horno Bakery

3969 Chicago Ave (951) 456-9448

Donut Cravings

7132 Van Buren Blvd (951) 789-8324

Donut Tyme

5225 Canyon Crest Dr (951) 788-5043

Donut Queen 5501 Mission Blvd (951) 369-8797

Dunkin’ Donuts 18641 Van Buren Blvd (951) 384-2882

Dunkin’ Donuts

4922 La Sierra Ave (951) 777-8377

Freshh Donuts

781 W Blaine St (951) 682-5648

P.S. I Crepe You 6095 Magnolia Ave (951) 742-5167

Isabella’s Cupcakes & More

5225 Canyon Crest Dr #28 (951) 782-9200

Linda’s Donuts

3950 Pierce St (951) 351-8288

Lindmair Bakery 9230 Magnolia Ave (951) 688-2131

Lola’s Bakery

4026 Chicago Ave (951) 683-1219

Miss Donuts & Bagel

3962 University Ave (951) 787-0193

Mochi Lion 1242 University Ave (951) 534-0756

Mr. Blue’s Donuts

19009 Van Buren Blvd Ste 123 (951) 780-3188

Mr. Baker 10466 Magnolia Ave (951) 299-8932

Nothing Bundt Cakes

3639 Riverside Plaza Dr #502 (951) 787-1885

Ochoa’s Mexican Bakery 10330 Arlington Ave #3 (951) 359-8128

Ortiz Bakery

421 Iowa Ave #A (951) 787-9138

Pepe’s Panaderia

3511 Madison St (951) 353-8801

Rainbow Donuts

3758 La Sierra Ave (951) 688-7889

Randy's Donuts

3519 Van Buren Blvd (951) 588-5678

Riverside Cookie Shoppe

6737 Brockton Ave (951) 686-6374

Simple Simon’s

Bakery & Bistro

3639 Main St (951) 369-6030

Star Donut

5145 Jurupa Ave #H (951) 530-8006

Steve’s Donuts

7201 Arlington Ave Ste C (951) 323-7153

Uncle Chuang’s Bakery

3740 Iowa Ave #109 (951) 275-8800

Urban Dripp

3750 University Ave #175 (951) 742-5949

US Donuts

4786 La Sierra Ave (951) 352-1893

3720 Sunnyside Dr (951) 823-0797

Winchell’s Donut House

1705 University Ave (951) 682-8834

Woodcrest Donuts

19510 Van Buren Blvd Ste F7 (951) 653-5054

Yvette’s Bakery

6729 Indiana Ave (951) 742-5541

Yum Yum Donuts

3247 Arlington Ave (951) 683-5489

BAR & GRILLS

Art’s Bar & Grill

3357 University Ave (951) 683-9520

Duke’s Bar & Grill

3221 Iowa Ave (951) 248-1143

Events Sports Grill

10560 Magnolia Ave #A (951) 352-2693

Fire Up Grill

3750 University Ave (951) 289-9071

Flat Top Bar & Grill

17960 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-0114

Craftz Lounge

3720 Mission Inn Ave (951) 717-9038

Joe’s Bar & Grill

10909 Magnolia Ave (951) 637-3931

Law’s Restaurant 9640 Indiana Ave (951) 354-7021

Shooters Sports & Grill

10226 Indiana Ave (951) 785-9588

Sire Restaurant 6440 Magnolia Ave (951) 683-7473

BARS/LOUNGES

Bar Ni Modo 1393 University ave (951) 223-6829

Dapper Dine & Lounge 3203 Mission Inn Ave (951) 620-0004

Downtown Experiment 3601 University Ave (951) 355-2606

Lake Alice Trading Co 3616 University Ave (951) 686-7343

Locals Public House 285 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 780-1800

Mezcal Ultra Lounge 3737 Main St Ste 100 (951) 333-8558

The Brickwood 3653 Main St (951) 352-2739

The Lobby 3730 Main St (951) 742-5020

The Menagerie 3581 University Ave (951) 788-8000

The Presidential Lounge 3649 Mission Inn Ave (951) 784-0300

VIP Nightclub & Restaurant 3673 Merrill Ave (951) 784-2370

W. Wolfskill 4281 Main St (951) 374-1176

BBQ

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit 3540 Riverside Plaza Dr Ste 314 (951) 683-9700

Gram’s BBQ

3527 Main St (951) 782-8219

Mongolian BBQ 1242 University Ave STE 7 (951) 686-0702

Smoke & Fire Social Eatery 5225 Canyon Crest Dr #9 (909) 542-9054

Spirit of Texas BBQ 3965 Market St (951) 462-1117

BREAKFAST DINERS & CAFES

Amy’s 10635 Magnolia Ave (951) 689-0296

Brandon’s Diner 10246 Indiana Ave Ste A (951) 359-3617

Brandon’s Diner 9646 Magnolia Ave (951) 637-2782

Buenos Dias Cafe 2790 14th St (951) 405-8031

Crest Cafe 5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 40 (951) 784-2233

Flabob Airport Cafe 4130 Mennes Ave (951) 213-6030

Flo’s Farmhouse Cafe 5620 Van Buren Blvd (951) 352-2690

Joanna’s Cafe 17950 Van Buren Blvd (951) 789-8843

Kountry Folks 3653 La Sierra Ave (951) 354-0437

Soup Shoppe 6712 Magnolia Ave (951) 781-4710

The Riverside Airport Cafe 6951 Flight Rd (951) 688-3337

Rodeo Cafe 17136 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-0388

BREWERIES

All Points Brewing Co. 2023 Chicago Ave Unit B8 (951) 213-6258

Carbon Nation Brewing 9860 Indiana Ave, Unit 19

Euryale Brewing Company 2060 Chicago Ave Ste A-17 (951) 530-8865

Hangar 24 5225 Canyon Crest Dr Unit 58 (951) 213-4777

Packinghouse Brewing Company 6421 Central Ave Ste 101-A (951) 333-9261

Route 30 Brewing Company 9860 Indiana Ave Ste 19 (951) 776-7083

Thompson Brewing 9900 Indiana Ave (951) 289-7533

BURGERS

Baker’s Drive Thru 2221 Main St (909) 884-5233

Baker’s Drive Thru

6686 Indiana Ave (909) 884-5233

Baker’s Drive Thru

1300 Blaine St (909) 884-5233

Baker’s Drive Thru 10225 Magnolia Ave (909) 884-5233

Baker’s Drive Thru

5396 Mission Blvd (909) 884-5233

Boys Burgers

10737 Magnolia Ave (951) 689-1294

Chris’ Burgers

407 Iowa Ave (951) 781-8542

Dairy Queen

8610 California Ave, Suite 101 (951) 343-4075

Farmer Boys

3400 University Ave (951) 680-0900

Farmer Boys

2901 Iowa Ave (951) 782-9003

Farmer Boys

3303 Madison St (951) 351-9700

George’s Drive-In 9910 Magnolia Ave (951) 688-2471

Johnny’s Burgers

4825 La Sierra Ave (951) 688-1000

Johnny’s Burgers 3394 Madison St (951) 687-3599

Mission Burgers 4606 Pine St (951) 682-7272

MGM Burgers 1691 Main St (951) 276-1744

Nikko’s Burgers

9295 Magnolia Ave STE 112 (951) 352-7290

Original Tommy’s 7504 Mission Grove Pkwy S (951) 780-4201

R Burgers

5980 Van Buren Blvd (951) 358-9203

R Burgers 1666 University Ave (951) 784-4350

Urban Skillet

1223 University Ave, Ste 150 (951) 213-1760

Smash Papas 3605 Market St

Star Burgers 7207 Arlington Ave (951) 689-5050

Zorba’s Restaurant 450 Iowa Ave (951) 686-5830

Zorba’s Express 770 University Ave (951) 787-0094

CHINESE

Canton Chinese Food 1756 University Ave (951) 684-6126

Changan Kitchen 1299 University Ave (951) 213-6790

Chen Ling Palace 9856 Magnolia Ave (951) 351-8511

Chinatown 10935 Magnolia Ave (951) 785-6197

Greedy Cat 1400 University Ave Ste 108 (909) 655-7235

HK BBQ House 3740 Iowa Ave #102 (951) 777-1368

Ho Choy’s 10352 Arlington Ave (951) 785-1188

Ho Ho 3511 Madison St (951) 637-2411

Hong Kong Fastfood 1490 University Ave (951) 686-2223

Jade China

2712 Canyon Springs Pkwy (951) 653-9200

LOC Chinese Kitchen 1223 University Ave, Ste 130 (951) 204-1521

Little Beijing

Chinese Fast Food 5800 Van Buren Blvd (951) 509-1188

Lucky Wok

2995 Van Buren Blvd (951) 688-2888

Master Gan 1299 Galleria at Tyler

Monark Asian Bistro 5225 Canyon Crest Dr #64 (951) 683-1073

Mr. China Express 8451 Colorado Ave #8301 (951) 687-8967

Mr. You 19530 Van Buren Blvd G7 (951) 653-1740

Peking Restaurant 11170 Magnolia Ave (951) 687-4822

Wok In Kitchen

5050 Arlington Ave #101 (951) 343-7888

COFFEE/TEA/JUICE

7 Leaves Cafe 1201 University Ave Ste 101 (951) 530-8666

Arcade Downtown

3870 Main Street (951) 266-6839

Arcade Coffee Roasters

3672 Chicago Ave Ste A (951) 266-6839

Arcade Coffee Roasters

5225 Canyon Crest Dr. Ste 17A (951) 266-6839

Back to the Grind

3575 University Ave (951) 784-0800

Boba Fiend Tea House 3375 Iowa Ave (951) 823-0700

Bobaloca

19009 Van Buren Blvd (951) 789-8646

Bolcupop 3605 Market Street (951) 595-4513

The California Lounge

3649 Mission Inn Ave (951) 784-0300

Coffeecito House

3882 12th St (951) 405-4599

Condron Coffee

3696 Sunnyside Dr (951) 880-3354

Copper Goat Coffee

3563 Main St (951) 744-4364

Crave Coffee & Tea

3590 Central Ave (951) 289-9436

Daily Brew Coffee House

2955 Van Buren Blvd (951) 352-7477

Ding Tea 1575 University Ave Ste E (951) 429-9706

Flavor Theory

11090 Magnolia Ave (951) 977-9698

Goodwin’s Organics Cafe 191 W Big Springs Rd (951) 682-2667

JUJUBAR

19040 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-0224

Kung Fu Tea

3678 Central Ave Ste 102 (951) 254-9609

Kraemer’s Coffee Bistro 6734 Brockton Ave (951) 686-4400

Lift Coffee Roasters

2060 Chicago Ave Ste A10 (951) 742-7413

Molinos Coffee 3660 Mission Inn Ave (951) 276-7147

Mundial Coffee 1725 Spruce St (951) 777-1225

Nekter Juice Bar

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 7B (951) 224-9842

R&B Tea

1889 University Ave Unit 105 (951) 462-4142

Sharetea 10920 Magnolia Ave Ste 103 (951) 406-5165

TRA Boba & Snack

3740 Iowa Ave Ste 103 (951) 530-8536

Tastea 11130 Magnolia Ave Unit C (951) 588-8138

Tim Boba 1450 University Ave Ste N (951) 462-1929

Toasted 6160 Arlington Ave Ste C9 (951) 977-9847

Twee Coffee 9344 Magnolia Ave (951) 335-0599

Krak Boba

3907 Chicago Ave Ste B (951) 742-5341

DELI/SANDWICHES

Backstreet Restaurant 3735 Nelson St (951) 683-6650

Butch’s Grinders 4602 Pine St (951) 781-8511

Cheba Hut 3505 Market Street Ste 101 (951) 777-1117

Diane’s Deli 2900 Adams St #B1 (951) 689-2900

D’Elia’s Grinders 2093 University Ave (951) 683-7380

D’Elia’s Grinders 9009 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-3354

European Intl Market &Deli 7120 Indiana Ave G (951) 274-9100

M & M Deli 1960 Chicago Ave #D1 (951) 684-6861

My Hero Subs 355 Iowa Ave A (951) 784-7370

RiverCrust Deli 6235 River Crest Dr Ste F (951) 656-8145

Subs & Spuds

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste #83a (951) 369-1491

The Sub Station

3663 Canyon Crest Dr (951) 683-4523

Tummy Stuffer 1159 Iowa Ave O (951) 369-1266

The Upper Crust Sandwich Shoppe 3573 Main St (951) 784-3149

FILIPINO

Ga-Tang 1393 University Ave, Ste 109 (657) 272-1186

Nanay Gloria 10959 Magnolia Ave (951) 977-8831

FRENCH

Le Chat Noir 3790 9th St (951) 786-9266

Bar & Restaurant Guide

The Riversider | February/March 2026

GERMAN

European International Market & Deli

7120 Indiana Ave G (951) 274-9100

HAWAIIAN

Kaua Hawaiian BBQ 10949 Magnolia Ave (951) 624-3900

Ohana Cravings

3740 Iowa Ave, Ste 104 (951) 742-5555

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

3531 Madison St (951) 351-0888

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

3540 Riverside Plaza Dr #324 (951) 328-1988

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

2721 Canyon Springs Pkwy #101 (951) 656-6188

Park Ave Polynesian Restaurant

4038 Park Ave (951) 344-1090

ICE CREAM/FROZEN YOGURT

Afters Ice Cream 1201 University Ave

Baskin-Robbins

7024 Magnolia Ave (951) 682-3131

Benedetto Gelato

1393 University Ave, #112 (951) 213-6984

Canyon Crest Ice Cream & Water

5225 Canyon Crest Dr #27 (951) 675-7385

Cherry On Top

3560 Riverside Plaza Dr (951) 213-6018

Cherry On Top

19009 Van Buren Blvd Ste 125 (951) 780-0800

Cold Stone Creamery

9867 Magnolia Ave Ste C (951) 637-0920

Dairy Queen

8610 California Ave, Ste 101 (951) 343-4075

Dairy Queen

6665 Magnolia Ave (951) 684-6280

Frostbites Crepes & Frozen Delights

10347 Magnolia Ave (951) 352-4903

Handel's Ice Cream 5225 Canyon Crest Dr (951) 742-5013

La Michoacana

3961 Chicago Ave 951) 248-9142

Mixies Ice Cream & Cookies

3605 Market St (951) 595-4520

Toi Moi Italian Ice & Juice Shop 10181 Hole Ave (951) 343-4146

Yogurtland

1242 University Ave Ste A (951) 683-1950

Yogurtland 3510 Tyler St #104 (951) 772-0229

INDIAN

Azaad Indian Cuisine 4290 Riverwalk Pkwy, Ste 306 (951) 299-8307

Bombay Stores 1385 W Blaine St (951) 788-3042

Cali Tardka 9212 Sunridge Drive (951) 376-0566

Gandhi Indian Cuisine 1355 E Alessandro Blvd #205 (951) 653-4147

India Sweets & Groceries 779 W Blaine St (951) 784-7400

Mantra Indian Cuisine 10359 Magnolia Ave (951) 417-4539

Namaste Indian Kitchen 6061 Magnolia Ave (951) 275-5316

Punjab Palace Cuisine of India 1766 University Ave (951) 686-9968

ITALIAN/PIZZA

Aloha Pizza & Pasta 755 W Blaine St (951) 788-8830

Antone’s Italian Food 4125 Sunnyside Dr (951) 682-5900

Antonio Pizza 195 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 776-1888

Antonious Pizza Cafe 3737 Main St (951) 682-9100

Bella’s Pizza

5196 Arlington Ave (951) 351-3131

Blaze Pizza

3540 Riverside Plaza Dr (951) 789-3212

Blaze Pizza 10920 Magnolia Ave Suite 107 (951) 474-5855

Bricks & Birch

3605 Market Street #5 (951) 500-7776

Bricks & Birch 1393 University Ave

Capone’s Pizza

7207 Arlington Ave F (951) 689-3520

Dave’s New York

Style Pizza 1490 University Ave #102 (951) 787-9900

DeMatteo’s Pizza 7030 Magnolia Ave (951) 682-6198

Dematteo’s Woodcrest 18590 Van Buren Boulevard (951) 429-7317

D’Caesaro Pizza & Italian 6160 Arlington Avenue C4 (951) 687-0777

Enzo’s Pizza 10170 Indiana Ave (951) 351-2375

Farfalla’s Cucina Italiana 5250 Arlington Ave (951) 354-5100

Dough Bros 5300 Arlington Ave (951) 977-9090

Dough Bros 1889 University Ave #108 (951) 781-3838

Fiesta Pizza 6110 Van Buren Blvd (951) 353-8007

Mamma Mia Restaurant and Bar 10971 Magnolia Ave (951) 729-5555

Marcello’s Pizza & Pasta

783 W Blaine St (951) 781-9996

Marcello’s Pizza & Pasta 6519 Clay St A (951) 681-9797

Mario’s Place 3646 Mission Inn Avenue (951) 684-7755

MOD Pizza 3444 Arlington Ave (951) 374-5255

New York Pizza Co 3570 Van Buren Blvd (951) 688-4000

The Old Spaghetti Factory 3191 Mission Inn Avenue (951) 784-4417

Papa Joe’s Pizza 5115 Jurupa Ave B3 (951) 680-9090

Papa Joe’s Pizza 10555 Indiana Ave (951) 688-1188

Pietro’s Italian Cuisine 6788 Brockton Ave (951) 784-1310

The Pizza Place 18955 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-5588

Romano’s Chicago Pizzeria 285 Alessandro Blvd (951) 780-7399

SF Hole In The Wall Pizza 1725 Spruce Street (951) 215-4444

Scratch Pizza

4950 La Sierra Ave #8 (951) 359-2023

Tower Pizza 3375 Iowa Ave (951) 518-4300

Tommy Salami's 17040 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-6000

The Outpost 3692 Sunnyside Dr

Slasher Pizza 1201 University Ave #116 (951) 823-0630

Viano’s Restaurant 16810 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-3000

JAPANESE/POKE RAMEN/SUSHI

AhiPoki 3540 Riverside Plaza Dr STE 310 (951) 530-8255

Amagi Sushi 19510 Van Buren Blvd Unit F6 (951) 656-8144

Fuego Hibachi 3750 Main St (951) 742-5039

Ichi Sushi & K-Food 9555 Magnolia Ave (951) 353-1929

Kotsu Ramen & Gyoza

3522 Madison St Ste 101 (951) 299-8889

The Lowkey Poke Joint 11860 Magnolia Ave (951) 299-7699

Momo Sushi 9844 Magnolia Ave (951) 999-9123

Ohana Sushi 195 Alessandro Blvd Ste 8A (951) 789-0443

Oishii Sushi 6133 Magnolia Ave (951) 784-2550

Ooka Sushi & Hibachi Steak House 3525 Riverside Plaza Dr #200 (951) 779-0099

Poke Bistro 3375 Iowa Ave Ste K (951) 394-8580

Ramen Okawari 3740 Iowa Ave #104 (951) 680-9411

Rohey’s Wok & Grill 4294 Riverwalk Pkwy (951) 359-5272

Saku Ramen 3643 Main St (951) 742-5849

Shabu Garden 11120 Magnolia Ave (951) 373-4727

Silverlake Ramen 3775 Tyler St (951) 934-9160

Soho Ramen Riverside 3605 Market St (951) 595-4528

Sushi Asahi 2955 Van Buren Blvd Suite #D2 (951) 637-1313

Sushi Ok 5228 Arlington Ave (951) 689-8054

Sushi Okoku 10380 Magnolia Ave (951) 343-2225

Sushi R91 1630 Spruce St (951) 682-1323

Sushi Station 19029 Van Buren Blvd #115 (951) 789-0068

Sushi Times 1400 University Ave Ste A101 (951) 777-1037

Sushingon 6060 Magnolia Ave (951) 224-9590

Taiyos Sushi & Poki

11120 Magnolia Ave (951) 343-1112

Teriyaki Plus 7120 Indiana Ave (951) 788-8337

Tomo 7 Sushi 5519 Van Buren Blvd (951) 343-5991

Top Grill

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 94 (951) 530-8668

Zen Street 3600 Central Ave #1 (951) 683-3648

KOREAN

bb.q Chicken

3770 9th St (951) 534-0254

Chimak House

11120 Magnolia Ave, Unit A (951) 343-1120

Manna Grill 1201 University Ave #110B (951) 530-8033

Kimchichanga 1995 University Ave (951) 684-9800

Koreana Grill

10051 Magnolia Ave Ste A1 (951) 688-9000

Saet Byul Asian Market 9555 Magnolia Ave (951) 637-5652

Wang Cho Korean BBQ

3639 Riverside Plaza Dr (951) 788-8889

MEDITERRANEAN

Elias Pita

1490 University Ave Ste 103 (951) 686-6800

Fufu’s Mideast Grill 3605 Market Street (951) 595-4527

Georgie's Mediterranean 5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 57 (951) 823-0440

Greek Street Grill

3312 La Sierra Ave Ste 103 (951) 352-0801

The Halal Guys 1201 University Ave, Ste 102 (951) 742-7656

Kabob House 10901 Magnolia Ave (951) 353-9711

Lucky Greek 3887 Merrill Ave (951) 686-2621

Mandi Express 3940 University Ave (951) 777-1043

Panini Kabob Grill

1298 Galleria at Tyler (951) 352-6318

Sam’s Pita & Kabab 9799 Magnolia Ave (951) 376-1269

MEXICAN

Ahumadas Mexican Grill 7614 Evans St (951) 368-4583

Anchos Southwest Grill & Bar 10773 Hole Ave (951) 352-0240

Antojitos Mexicanos La Ribera 4773 Tyler St Ste 2d (951) 353-1852

Armando’s Mexican Food 4294 Riverwalk Pkwy Ste 200 (951) 343-5896

Ay Mi Pa 3775 Tyler St #1B (951) 729-6174

Azteca Market 5125 Jurupa Ave A2 (951) 530-8791

Blue Burro 1201 University Ave Ste 109B (951) 742-5353

Birrieria Little Tijuana 12702 Magnolia Ave Unit 25 (951) 268-6895

Birrieria Xolos 9696 Magnolia Ave (951) 376-1226

Cactus Cantina 151 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 789-0211

Casa Mota 8151 Arlington Ave (951) 352-7383

Castaneda’s Mexican Food 6751 Indiana Ave (951) 786-0996

Castañeda’s Mexican Food 1450 P University Ave (951) 786-0996

Chilitos Mexican Grill

3847 S Pierce St Ste F (951) 509-1002

Cielito Lindo 10277 Arlington Ave (951) 352-3214

El Chapala Seafood Restaurant 8201 Arlington Ave (951) 359-7560

El Fogon Mexican Grill

765 Blaine St (951) 782-8959

El Habanero

6160 Arlington Ave (951) 343-5868

El Ojo De Agua

2115 University Ave (951) 779-6293

El Patron

3204 Mission Inn Ave (951) 777-1131

El Torito

3639 Riverside Plaza Dr Ste 526 (951) 684-6816

El Trigo

4155 Park Ave (951) 787-6937

Estrella Taqueria Lounge

3635 University Ave (951) 999-4323

Fire Up Bar & Grill

3750 University Ave (951) 289-9071

Fish Taco Xtreme 16960 Van Buren Blvd Ste D (951) 800-9061

Fuego 360

Rotisserie Chicken

3866 La Sierra Ave (951) 456-3705

Green Taco 3812 Pierce St (951) 353-2272

Habanero Mexican Grill

2472 University Ave (951) 224-9145

Ixtapa

4093 University Ave (951) 777-1132

Joe Aguilar’s Templo Del Sol 1365 University Ave (951) 682-6562

Juan Pollo 6055 Magnolia Ave (951) 683-3513

Mariposas 1690 Spruce St (951) 742-5761

Kimchichanga 1995 University Ave (951) 684-9800

La Bufadora Baja Grill

497 E Alessandro Blvd Ste B (951) 776-2881

La Bufadora Baja Grill

5650-52 Van Buren Blvd (951) 687-7237

La Cruda Mariscos

6733 Indiana Ave (951) 777-0862

Las Campanas

3649 Mission Inn Ave (888) 326-4448

Las Nuevas Islas

4920 Jackson St (951) 772-0020

Los Cabos Tacos 11840 Magnolia Ave (951) 352-2653

Los Fredo’s Mexican Food 9111 Magnolia Ave (951) 525-3411

Los Novillos Market 2650 Main St (951) 530-8893

M Taco 4111 Main St (951) 784-7135

Maria’s Mexican Kitchen 17028 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-2034

Mariscos El Camaron Loco 3340 Mary St (951) 682-3882

Mezcal Cantina Y Cocina 3737 Main St Ste 100 (951) 888-2240

Miches De La Baja 1242 University Ave Ste 5 (951) 742-5633

Mi Lindo Apatzingan 9948 Magnolia Ave (951) 688-0908

Morena's Mexican Cuisine 3457 Arlington Ave Ste 106 (951) 266-6333

Mr. Taco 2435 Main St (951) 682-4020

Mr. Taco 18590 Van Buren Blvd (951) 776-9900

Olivia’s Mexican Restaurant 9447 Magnolia Ave (951) 689-2131

Palenque 3737 Main St (951) 888-2240

Pepitos Mexican Restaurant 5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 42 (951) 783-9444

Ramiro’s Cocina 9418 Magnolia Ave (951) 354-6146

Ranchito Tacos Al Carbon 2995 Van Buren Blvd Ste A1 (951) 359-8646

Rancho La Perla 3700 Van Buren Blvd Ste 109 (951) 688-8682

Rico’s Tacos El Primo 1788 University Ave Ste 102 (951) 782-9610

Rodrigo’s Mexican Grill

3848 La Sierra Ave (951) 687-2280

El GoGo's Taco Shop 19530 Van Buren Blvd Ste G6 (951) 656-0304

Señor Baja 6033 Magnolia Ave (951) 369-5720

Sushingon 6060 Magnolia Ave (951) 224-9590

Taco Station 4088 Mission Inn Ave (951) 782-8226

The Taco Stand 1393 University Ave (951) 266-6295

Tacos La Piedad 3522 Madison St Ste 104 (951) 578-0892

Tacos Y Más 10203 Hole Ave (951) 687-1344

Taqueria Azteca 5959 Arlington Ave Ste E (951) 509-3670

Taqueria 2 Potrillos 10088 Magnolia Ave (951) 588-8772

Taqueria Tomateros 9164 Magnolia Ave (909) 257-1545

The Tamale Factory 3663 Main St (951) 342-3023

Tijuana’s Tacos 8151 Arlington Ave (951) 343-7777

Tina’s Mexican Food 2421 University Ave (951) 686-1524

Tio’s Mexican Food 19009 Van Buren Blvd Ste 124 (951) 780-7776

Tio’s Tacos 3948 Mission Inn Ave (951) 788-0230

Tony’s Mexican Food 3870 Chicago Ave (951) 788-4410

Tony’s Mexican Grill 9670 Magnolia Ave (951) 729-6141

Tuxies Juices 6030 Magnolia Ave Ste 3 (951) 781-1048

Yeye's Kitchen 18181 Van Buren Blvd, Ste 103 (951) 398-7075

Bar & Restaurant Guide

Yoli’s Mexican Grill

3225 Market St (951) 801-7104

Zacatecas Cafe 3767 Iowa Ave (951) 683-3939

PAKISTANI

Al-Karam Pakistani Cuisine

3457 Arlington Ave Ste 101 (951) 742-5610

Mirchi Restaurant 1385 W Blaine St (951) 400-2825

SEAFOOD

California Fish Grill

10920 Magnolia Ave Suite 101 (951) 405-6880

Market Broiler

3525 Merrill Ave (951) 276-9007

Pier 76 Fish Grill

3555 Riverside Plaza Dr Ste 108 (951) 341-9297

Rockstar Shrimp

767 W Blaine St (951) 530-8620

Shrimp Shack Cajun Fusion

3605 Market St, Ste 9 (951) 742-5558

Seafood & Crawfish 10173 Magnolia Ave (951) 359-5999

Star Crab 10051 Magnolia Ave (951) 977-9440

STEAKHOUSES

Duane’s Prime Steak & Seafood 3649 Mission Inn Ave (888) 326-4448

Flat Top Bar & Grill 17960 Van Buren Blvd (951) 780-0114

THAI

Angel Thai Cuisine 6736 Brockton Ave (951) 788-1995

Best Thai Cuisine 1735 Spruce St F (951) 682-4251

Gra Pow

497 E Alessandro Blvd #D (951) 780-1132

Monark Asian Bistro 5225 Canyon Crest Dr #64 (951) 683-1073

Chaam Eatery 2955 Van Buren Blvd #F1 (951) 359-1331

Riverside Thai Kitchen 7755 California Ave (951) 729-6675

Royal Orchid Restaurant 9791 Magnolia Ave (951) 354-6100

TK Thai Cuisine 11860 Magnolia Ave Ste T (951) 509-3701

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN

Blue Bowl Superfoods 1393 University Ave Ste 108

Goodwin’s Organic 91 W Big Springs Rd (951) 682-2667

La Sierra Natural Foods 11550 Pierce St (951) 785-2563

Oasis Vegetarian Café 11550 Pierce St (951) 688-5423

Veg & Go 1201 University Ave Ste #115 (951) 213-6233

VIETNAMESE/PHO

5 Stars Pho Restaurant 4950 La Sierra Ave (951) 772-0700

Pho 81 2995 Van Buren Blvd Ste A13 (951) 977-8869

Phở 99 4557 La Sierra Ave (951) 688-2671

Pho Anh 5646 Van Buren Blvd (951) 977-9889

Pho Anh Hot Pot & Crayfish 10271 Magnolia Ave (951) 729-6668

Pho Anh Hot Pot & Crayfish 231 E Alessandro Blvd (951) 215-0585

Pho DJ 5180 Arlington Ave (951) 354-2799

Pho Ha 10185 Magnolia Ave (951) 354-8918

Pho Ha #7 1820 University Ave #101 (951) 680-0790

Pho Star Bowl 10051 Magnolia Ave (951) 299-8130

Phở Vinam Restaurant 1201 University Ave #107 (951) 784-4290

WINE BARS/WINERIES

The Brickwood 3653 Main St (951) 352-2739

Canyon Crest Winery 5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 7A (951) 369-9463

Mario’s Place 3646 Mission Inn Ave (951) 684-7755

DISCOVER A NEW CHAPTER AT

Postcards from Yesterday

Mission Inn, early 1920s

2026

JULIAN JOLLIFFE