The century-old storefront at 2015 Main Street has quietly turned into one of Santa Monica's more unexpected food destinations. Santa Monica Market, the neighborhood grocery formerly known as Santa Monica Farms Jr., launched a full deli counter in July, serving a menu that blends Guatemalan street food traditions with New York deli staples inside a building that has spent a century reinventing itself.
The market is owned by Amarilia Pivaral and her family, who also run a convenience store in West Hollywood that they purchased in 2021, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. The Pivarals acquired the more than 30-year-old Main Street convenience store and renamed it from Santa Monica Farms Jr. to Santa Monica Market in 2024. Pivaral estimated that about 90% of the store has changed since her family took it over, and her children, ages 3, 10 and 17, help operate both the Santa Monica and West Hollywood locations.
To build out the new deli program, Pivaral collaborated with chef Mark Mittleman, who created what the Daily Press describes as a multicultural deli menu drawing on more than two decades of his culinary experience. Mittleman has deep roots in Santa Monica dining, having served as managing partner and executive chef at Montana Avenue's Art's Table in 2015 before co-opening the taco concept Punta Cabras on Broadway in 2018, according to reporting from a California restaurant industry event listing. He now runs Entangled Particles Hospitality, a consulting practice focused on launching and rebranding food service operations across California and New York, per Entangled Particles Hospitality.
A Menu Built on Two Culinary Traditions
The deli's signature item is the SMM Shuco, a Guatemalan hot dog made with jalapeño cheddar sausage. The shuco itself — whose name translates colloquially to “dirty” in Guatemalan slang — originated as a budget street food in Guatemala City, traditionally built with toasted bread, guacamole, boiled cabbage, mustard, mayonnaise and grilled sausages or meats, according to Curious Cuisiniere. Alongside it sits an unmistakably East Coast lineup: bagels and pastries, an I-Tal roast beef, a short rib sandwich and an SMM tuna salad sando, plus breakfast sandwiches, bowls and burritos, salads and smoothies, and a chicken caesar wrap.
Beyond the deli counter, the market continues to stock fresh produce, alternative milks, protein bars, local brands and seaweed snacks — alongside more familiar convenience-store staples like Cheetos and chips. The store emphasizes organic, simpler and clean ingredients across its offerings, and the article notes that Santa Monica neighbors have welcomed the new owners, with many regular customers already frequenting the shop.
Initial reporting on the relaunch listed hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, though Santa Monica Market's official site now shows the market and deli counter open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
A Building With a Century of Reinvention
The space at 2015 Main Street has changed hands and purposes many times since it first opened. It was constructed in 1923 as an automotive sales showroom for Paige-Jewett Sales before later housing light manufacturing operations and antique shops, according to The Street Seen. Produce retailer Santa Monica Farms moved into the building in 1982, giving the block a grocery anchor that lasted four decades before the Pivaral family's overhaul.
That kind of neighborhood demand for fresh, specialty food isn't new to Ocean Park. The Sunday Main Street Farmers Market at 2640 Main Street has operated since 1995, drawing roughly 40 certified California farms and setting a 30-year precedent for organic produce and local food sourcing in the area, according to the City of Santa Monica.
Part of a Bigger Main Street Shake-Up
The deli's debut lands amid a turbulent year for Main Street businesses. The corridor has seen the closures of JuneShine's taproom, Holey Grail Donuts and Samosa House in 2026, alongside the revival of legacy spots like Circle Bar and Massilia, as Hoodline has reported. City officials have simultaneously moved to prop up the strip: in July, Santa Monica designated Main Street between Pico Boulevard and the southern city border as an official Entertainment Zone under state law, letting participating businesses serve alcohol for outdoor consumption during designated street events, according to the City of Santa Monica.
Mayor Caroline Torosis chose Main Street outside the Ocean Park Branch Library as the backdrop for her 2026 State of the City address, touting public safety efforts and a 42% reduction in city plan-check turnaround times meant to help small businesses like Santa Monica Market navigate renovations and reopenings. Mittleman, for his part, is no stranger to the challenges of running a Santa Monica food business: he and business partner Daniel Snukal won a multi-million dollar lawsuit in June 2023 against their former landlord after severe ceiling leaks and rodent problems forced the 2019 shutdown of their Broadway restaurant Tacos Punta Cabras, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
