L.A.'s Fairfax Avenue has long been a meeting place for diverse cultures.

It became an artery for the Jewish community in the 1950s, and the original Farmers Market has been a central gathering ground for Angelenos of every stripe since 1934.

The most recent arrivals to claim a slice of Fairfax as home are Ethiopians, who in the 1990s began forming a critical mass of restaurants, markets and service shops between Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Drive.

 

In 2002, the city officially recognized this enclave as Little Ethiopia, and today the buzz of commerce -- and coffee -- transports visitors to Addis Ababa.