Anaheim’s Little Arabia Pushing for a Higher Profile

Two miles from Disneyland, a stretch of strip malls in Anaheim has transformed into an enclave catering to California’s Arab American community.

It lacks the immense sprawl of nearby Little Saigon or the decades-long history of Chinatown in Los Angeles, but the place now known as Little Arabia is a destination for Arab Americans from around the state and, lately, a go-to place for foodies in search of Middle Eastern dishes.

Yet Little Arabia is largely unknown to the millions of tourists who flood into Anaheim every year — and it remains below the radar even to longtime residents in the city’s west side.

A group of ambitious activists and business owners is trying to change that by getting city and tourism officials to recognize the commercial district as a destination.

“The most important thing to us is saying, ‘We are part of Anaheim,'” said Rida Hamida, director and co-founder of the Arab American Civic Council. “You have Disney, the Honda Center, the Angels, and you also have Little Arabia.”

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Proponents’ most ambitious goal — an official designation for Little Arabia and an accompanying freeway sign — is a long-term one. But it’s getting push-back from some nearby residents and even some within Little Arabia.

Some residents say such a designation would shortchange other ethnic pockets in the county’s largest city. They have also complained about the increase in hookah lounges that have opened in Little Arabia.

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Generally seen as the dense commercial strip along Brookhurst Street between Crescent and Katella avenues, Little Arabia holds a wide variety of storefronts. There are restaurants, grocery stores, hookah bars and clothing shops, each catering to the region’s large Arab American population, all intermixed with a slew of chain groceries, fast-food places, Mexican diners and muffler shops.

“We’re not ready to do a grand opening yet for Little Arabia because it’s not ready,” said Ahmad Alam, owner of Arab World Newspaper and a local property owner who envisions malls, movie theaters, “something to hang on to.”

Alam said Little Arabia lacks cohesion and has fallen short of the place he imagined: an ethnic community that would “make everything available for the new generation, to know about their history and heritage.” The area, he said, is not yet suitable for an official designation.

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