Right now, if you head to the Piñata District, you might come face to face with oversized jack-o-lanterns, menacing scarecrows and grinning witches. The small strip of Olympic, roughly between the Fashion District and the produce markets, is decked out for Halloween with piñatas that range from creepy-cute to gruesome. There are characters you’ll recognize from bedtime stories, horror films and, maybe, some of your nightmares. There is also a bounty of Halloween decorations and candy. Lots of candy. And gum too. So much that I could feel myself turn into a hybrid of Augustus Gloop and Violet Beauregarde as I rummaged through rows of chocolates and lollipops and other sweet treats. This tends to happen anytime I’m in the Piñata District. It’s hands down my favorite place in L.A. to stock up on candy and, if you’re getting ready for Halloween, and are near downtown, I suggest hitting up the Piñata District.
Back in August, LAist reported that the Piñata District had been “pummeled” by the ICE raids that have dogged Los Angeles since the start of the summer, with one store reporting a 90% drop in sales and another noting that even price cuts weren’t bringing in customers. One of the reasons cited in the story is that people just aren’t having parties right now. But, with Halloween right around the corner, there’s a really good opportunity to support the Piñata District. You’ll be shopping in a way that’s budget-friendly for you while also helping out local businesses that have been impacted by the Trump administration’s cruel and absurd whims, rather than feeding more money into mega-corporations.
For those who have never been to the Piñata District before, it’s a micro-neighborhood of individual stores that sell piñatas, candy, small toys and party supplies. You’ll find a lot of the big Mexican brands here, like De la Rosa, Lucas and Carlos V, here, as well as some of the U.S. staples, sold in warehouse-store quantities. You’ll also find chamoy, gummies and sprinkles, the kind of odds and ends you might need for making specialty drinks or desserts, plus, of course, the hulking bags of small candies to fill a piñata. The inventory tends to spill out onto the sidewalk, where it collides with food vendors selling everything from churros to sit-down lunches.
While I have been here on the weekends, where it’s a total scene with bands and DJs and crowds of people moving as one big mass down Olympic, my most recent trip was on a late Friday afternoon. It was relatively quiet at this time; my husband and are were amongst a small handful of shoppers roaming the street shortly before the stores began to shut down for the night. We started at the shop closest to Olympic and Central and made our way through this real world Candy Land. After our first few seconds in the Piñata District, I forgot why we were there. Probably gumballs, the big, brightly colored ones that are getting harder and harder to find out in the wild, but Carlos was talking about Pico. Then he picked up a package of tamarind pulp. Eventually, he did find Pico, a powdery chili-orange candy, and gumballs too.
It’s really easy to get distracted in the Piñata District. I think I was looking for marshmallow lollipops, not the Paleta Payasos, which are plentiful at the stores, but the ones made to look like video game and cartoon characters. Before I found some, though, I was hypnotized by the old fashioned lollipops with dizzying swirls of color. Then, I stumbled upon a row of bags filled with full-sized candy bars. I got a 12-pack of white chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter cups for less than $10, which felt like a deal I couldn’t pass up.
I checked out the piñatas, each one equal parts cute and scary. I looked at the Dia de los Muertos displays, filled with skulls and flowers and assorted miniatures.
Somewhere in the middle of the last store on our route, I found Hello Kitty pumpkin marshmallow pops, but, at that point, we had already bought enough candy to last until Halloween— hopefully— so I passed on that. I also passed on a bag of black cherry gumballs, even though that might be the gothest candy I’ve ever encountered.
As many times as I’ve been in the Piñata District, I’ve never really kept track of the names of the individual stores where I’ve made purchases. Partially, that’s because the neighborhood has more of a collective identity, even if the stock differs slightly from store to store. Plus, it doesn’t take much effort to ask someone if they sell gumballs and everyone I’ve encountered in the Piñata District has been friendly and helpful. The best way to visit is to get yourself to Olympic and Central and roam through the stores until you find what you need or want. Give yourself time to do this. Maybe get a bite to eat while you’re there. Oh, and bring cash. While you can find businesses that accept credit card or digital payments, swipe fees have been a burden on many small businesses since the pandemic.
If you’re also looking for a Halloween costume, plan to hit up the neighboring Fashion District, which has also faced hard times since the ICE raids. Santee Alley and the surrounding shops have come through for me on many a last-minute costume run. If you’re taking Metro, which I do, there are multiple buses that hit both the Fashion District and the Piñata District and the Transit app is very reliable for both mapping out trips and keeping tabs on bus times. If you’re driving, you *might* find street parking, but assume that you’re going to need to park in a lot.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram or Bluesky for more updates.
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