Upon completion, California Marketplace is expected to be a three-story 213,000-sf commercial complex on 5th & Western in the lot formerly occupied by the historical and iconic Gaju Market.
The design calls for fifty-four (54) retail stores ranging in size from 239 to 36,848 square feet. It will have a five-level parking structure. Among confirmed tenants are Tous Les Jours, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Rodeo Cosmetics. The food court will have at least eight stalls.
California Marketplace plans to be open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
The original Gaju Market was opened in 1987 by the late Richard Rhee.
Serves Peet’s Coffee. Has fruit smoothies. Sandwiches. Sesame rolls. Sugared donut twists. Red-bean buns. Bread loaves. Castella. Soboro. “The Milk” Bread.
The old Gaju Market on the northeast corner of 5th & Western is back!
Newest location of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Koreatown LA.
Inside the California Marketplace on the northeast corner of Fifth Street and Western Avenue.
“Kimbap Udong” food stall inside the newly resurrected California Market on the northeast corner of Fifth Street and Western Avenue. Sells kimbap (rice rolls), udong (noodles in broth), and other simple Korean fare. 김밥 우동 가주 마켓 Open as of January 2016. The complex itself soft-opened on December 28, 2015. Staff very rude towards non-Koreans, especially women. Will prioritize Korean salarymen in terms of handling orders.
What would’ve been the third location of Caffe Bene in the Koreatown LA area was announced in 2015 as one of the tenants of the reopening California Marketplace. As of April 2016, there is no Caffe Bene at Gaju Marketplace. Instead, there is a franchise of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as a franchise of the South Korean bakeshop chain Tous Les Jours. There are two other locations of Caffe Bene in the area — the original on Western Avenue, just south of Sixth Street… and another one on Wilshire Boulevard, near Normandie Avenue.
It had been announced in 2015 that Rodeo Cosmetics would open a location at California Marketplace. Gaju opened in December, but still no Rodeo Cosmetics. The original store is in the 800 block of Western Avenue, at Rodeo Galleria.