Celebrate Earth Day with a visit to the UCR Botanic Gardens, a 40-acre oasis of natural beauty, winding trails, and plant collections from around the world.
The popular Riverside diner Little Green Onions is now under new ownership, with Jonathan Padilla and Karina Ferreira taking over the beloved neighborhood establishment last week. The couple also owns Toasted, a successful cafe on Arlington Avenue.
Little Green Onions occupies a distinctive corner location in the Brockton Arcade, housed in a classic googie-style diner building that captures the mid-century architectural charm that once defines the neighborhood. The spacious interior, with its vintage aesthetic and ample seating, offers significant potential for the new owners.
Toasted is one of Riverside's few true-to-form brunch spots offering baked goods, breakfast, sandwiches and coffee at a level beyond what might be expected from a strip mall location. The owners' proven track record with Toasted suggests exciting possibilities for Little Green Onions' future.
The Brockton Arcade, part of Riverside's evolving Midtown (Magnolia Center) neighborhood, has deep roots in the community, making establishments like Little Green Onions vital gathering places. The arcade is experiencing something of a renaissance, with the Riverside Cookie Shoppe next door also having recently undergone a similar ownership transition. Like Little Green Onions, the cookie shop has maintained its beloved status in the neighborhood while introducing fresh ideas under new leadership.
The new owners are trying to balance respect for what has long existed at Little Green Onions with a belief that they offer something new and exciting for the spot. They hope to be part of a new generation of Midtown businesses run by young entrepreneurs who are revitalizing this historic commercial district. With a strong belief in the quality of their product and a clear vision for their future in the Brockton Arcade, they're approaching the transition thoughtfully.
"It's a little bit of both. Some people are excited. Some people are ready for change and others are very they're used to it... it's part of their daily routine," Padilla explained about customer reactions.
"We're getting a lot of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it,'" Padilla noted, but they remain committed to a gradual approach. "This was a big jump that we took so we're trying to kind of just properly manage everything... The process is gonna be gradual," he said.
While maintaining both locations, the owners hope to eventually create a distinctive brunch destination that honors Little Green Onions' legacy while bringing fresh energy to the area. "Our goal is definitely to bring that new generation into that shopping center... We wanna mainly focus on a nice brunch place that Riverside could really count on," Padilla said.
