Discover How Everyday Cooking Here Shape Santa Monica’s Cultural Identity

Roth’s Market was a popular place to shop in the Pico Neighborhood. Above, customers wait for the grand opening of the new market.

The Santa Monica History Museum (SMHM) has recently opened Food & Family: African American and Intercultural Traditions in Santa Monica. It is an exhibition that highlights how everyday cooking and shared meals helped shape Santa Monica’s cultural identity throughout the 20th century.

Food & Family traces the evolution of African American and intercultural food traditions in Southern California – particularly the influence of the Great Migration and global immigration on the region’s culinary landscape.   

Through photographs, cookbooks, oral histories, utensils, and rare archival materials from the Quinn Research Center (QRC) and the Museum’s own collection, the exhibition shows how food has served as a powerful connector 

across neighborhoods, generations, and cultures according to Lisa Dannenbaum, Museum staff.

Presented in the Museum’s Quinn Gallery, the exhibition celebrates the ingenuity of home cooks whose traditions continue to influence the city’s diverse food culture today.

“This exhibition reminds us that food unites people from all walks of life,” said Carolyne Edwards, co-founder of the Quinn Research Center. “Food not only provides nourishment, but can be a bridge to bring cultures and generations together to see ourselves as part of a larger community.”

QRC is an archive of Black family history and Santa Monica Bay culture. It was established by Carolyne and Bill Edwards as a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Alfred T. Quinn, a prominent Santa Monica Black educator and community leader.

The Santa Monica History Museum is located at 1350 7th St. Hours are Thursday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Phone: 310-395-2290.

About SMHM: Since 1975, the museum has been sharing the rich, diverse history of the Santa Monica Bay Area. The museum is committed to serving the community by providing access to dynamic exhibitions – highlighting the depth and complexity of regional history through their extensive collection of historical objects, and an exceptional image archive.