[Update] Meet You at Lenchita’s
Alumna Sara Delgadillo grew up in Pacoima, a blue-collar neighborhood in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. Sara joined us in Season One to discuss how growing up in Pacoima influenced her life, studies, and career in heritage conservation. She also shared some of the enclave’s rich history, including some of the longtime small businesses that serve as centers of community and cultural continuity. One of them, Lenchita’s Restaurant, recently won a $5,000 Legacy Business Grant from the Los Angeles Conservancy! Hear about this well-deserved honor in a brief update with Sara and Chef Art Luna, a culinary instructor and grandson of Lenchita’s founder Angelita Alvarez Rentería. Then enjoy the original episode—and get in line for your holiday tamales.
Pacoima highlighted on a map illustration of Greater Los Angeles circa 1930. Adapted by S. Delgadillo from “Illustration – San Fernando Valley, early 1930s.” http://www.godickson.com/sfvmap1.htm. 
Lenchita’s Restaurant. Photo from HistoricPlacesLA. 
Styles Ville Barbershop and Beauty Salon at 13161 Van Nuys Boulevard. Photo by S. Delgadillo. 
Romero’s TV & Video Service at 13687 Van Nuys Boulevard. Photo by S. Delgadillo. 
Tresierras Supermarket. Photo by S. Delgadillo.
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Featuring
Sara Delgadillo (MHC ’15) is a City Planning Associate for the City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources. She serves as data coordinator for HistoricPlacesLA, the City’s historic resource inventory system on the Arches™ platform. She works on CEQA compliance and project review for historic/cultural resources, case processing and design review for Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (historic districts), and Certified Local Government grant projects. Sara serves as Secretary of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, a national organization dedicated to promoting Latinx leadership and engagement in historic preservation.
Chef Art Luna teaches culinary arts at Los Angeles Mission College. The grandson of Lenchita’s founder Angelita Alvarez Rentería, he has spent much of his life working at Lenchita’s and is one of several generations now running the restaurant. Art also serves as a Culinary Instructor/Manager at Lenchita’s Commercial Kitchen (@lenchitasck), which he opened during the pandemic to support local entrepreneurs. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University and a Master of Business Administration from Woodbury University.
Learn More
Thesis: Identifying and Conserving Pacoima: A Heritage Conservation Study of a Minority Enclave in the San Fernando Valley by Sara Delgadillo
Latinos in Heritage Conservation
Lenchita’s in Pacoima: “Feeding the Future” (video), Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles Conservancy Legacy Business Grant Program
L.A. Conservancy Legacy Business Grant Recipient: Lenchita’s
Instagram: Lenchita’s Restaurant, Lenchita’s Commercial Kitchen
“La Bamba,” by Pacoima native Ritchie Valens
Getty Conservation Institute – Arches Project
KCET – The Great Wall of Los Angeles
César E. Chávez National Monument
Chicano Park National Historic Landmark
USC Heritage Conservation Programs
Your Hosts
Co-host Trudi Sandmeier is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Programs in Heritage Conservation, and Professor of Practice at the USC School of Architecture. Her work centers on the conservation of the recent past and the impact of underrepresented communities on the historic built environment. Read more in her USC faculty bio.
Co-host Cindy Olnick serves as both Associate Director of Heritage Conservation at USC and a communications consultant for heritage conservation, historic preservation, and the built environment. Read more in her USC faculty bio.
Podcast producer Willa Seidenberg taught audio journalism and podcasting at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, while pursuing a USC Master of Heritage Conservation degree. She retired from teaching and earned her degree in 2023.
A 20-year broadcast journalist and an inaugural fellow with USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Willa founded Annenberg Radio News, the university’s radio news operation; and Intersections South LA, a reporting lab and community website for South Los Angeles.
With photographer William Short, Willa created two oral history/photo projects: A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War and Memories of the American War: Stories From Viet Nam.
