The Helms Bakery District is the strangest and most rewarding few blocks in Culver City: a vast Art Deco industrial complex, built to bake bread that was never sold in a single shop, now filled with furniture showrooms, a coffee roastery, a pasta counter people queue for and one of the best-known burgers in Los Angeles. It has its own parking, which in this part of the city is close to a miracle. This guide covers the history, what is actually open today, one important thing that has closed, and how to spend an afternoon here. For what is happening this weekend, the neighbours on our Culver City feed are the fastest source.

The history: bread that never touched a shop

Helms Bakeries operated here from the 1930s into the 1960s on a model that sounds impossible now. The bread was never sold in grocery stores at all. Instead a fleet of coaches drove fixed routes across Los Angeles, and a driver would pull up outside your house, open the wooden drawers in the back and sell you a loaf at the kerb. The sound of the Helms whistle on a residential street is still a specific, vivid childhood memory for a whole generation of Angelenos, and it is the reason the name carries weight far beyond Culver City.

The complex they baked in survived, which is the lucky part. It is a long, low Art Deco and Zig-Zag Moderne building — the kind of industrial architecture that usually gets demolished rather than restored — and it has been given a second life as a design and dining destination. The signage and much of the original character were kept, so walking the length of it still reads as a working bakery rather than a shopping centre pretending to be one.

Important: the bakery itself has closed

This needs saying plainly, because a great many guides and listings still get it wrong. The Helms Bakery name was revived as a working bakery in recent years — and that revival closed after roughly a year, with its final day of service on 14 December. If you are coming here specifically to buy a Helms loaf, you cannot. The district around it is thriving and every business below is open; it is only the bakery bearing the original name that has gone. For where to actually buy bread and pastry in Culver City now, see our bakeries guide.

Father’s Office: the burger

Father’s Office has occupied the Helms Bakery Building since April 2008 and is the district’s anchor restaurant. It is chef Sang Yoon’s Culver City room — considerably more spacious than the original Santa Monica bar, with substantial outdoor dining — and it pairs a long craft-beer list with bar food built around the burger that made the name.

Worth knowing before you go: the burger has a famously strict house style, and the kitchen is known for not modifying it. That is not rudeness, it is the entire point of the dish, and going in expecting to rebuild it is the single most common way people have a disappointing meal here. Order it as it comes. The beer list is deep enough to be the reason for the visit on its own.

Pasta Sisters

Pasta Sisters at 3280 Helms Avenue is the most beloved food business in the district and possibly in the city. Counter service, fresh pasta made on site, and a tomato sauce cooked for around nine hours — which is exactly why it tastes different from every other version of the same dish. The focaccia is complimentary. It was confirmed trading as of August 2026, opening around 10:30am daily and running to 9:30pm most nights, 10pm Thursday to Saturday.

Because it is counter service rather than table service, it is genuinely easy with children and easy alone, and it is one of the best-value serious meals in Culver City. It also queues at peak times. More in our Italian restaurants guide.

Folks Pizzeria: the 2026 arrival

Folks Pizzeria opened on 1 May at 3273 Helms Avenue, directly across from Pasta Sisters, and is the most significant new opening the district has had in years. Chef-owner Joey Booterbaugh and partner Chloe Tran started Folks in 2019 in Orange County and built their following on fermentation-forward 14-inch pizzas and a tight natural-wine list. The patio has heaters and blankets, which makes it usable on a cool evening, and the menu extends past pizza to free-range chicken wings with ‘nduja and pork-cheek sugo meatballs. Full detail in the pizza guide.

The practical consequence of Folks opening opposite Pasta Sisters is that this single block is now the densest concentration of good Italian-leaning food anywhere in Culver City.

Bar Nine: coffee worth the trip

Bar Nine is on Helms and is the coffee destination of the district — a wide, garage-like industrial space with high ceilings, plenty of seating and the smell of roasting throughout. The menu is deliberately narrow: espresso, espresso with milk, pour-over, cold brew. Beans are sourced and roasted in house. If you want the sit-and-work coffee shop rather than a grab-and-go cup, this is the one, and the room suits it. Our coffee shops guide covers the rest of the city.

The design district

The other half of Helms is furniture and design, and it is a genuine destination rather than a couple of token showrooms. Room & Board, Scandinavian Designs and H.D. Buttercup are the anchors, alongside a rotating set of smaller home and design tenants. Even with no intention of buying anything, walking the showrooms is a pleasant way to spend an hour, and it is the main reason the district stays busy on a weekday afternoon when the restaurants are quiet.

The annual Culver City Art Walk is the district’s big set-piece event, and the wider Culver City Arts District — which runs along Washington Boulevard and has been named among the best arts districts in the country — is a short distance away, with galleries including Hauser & Wirth.

How to spend an afternoon at Helms

Park once in the district’s own parking — this is the whole advantage of Helms over the rest of Culver City — and start with coffee at Bar Nine. Walk the length of the complex and take in the architecture and the original signage, then work through the design showrooms. Eat at Pasta Sisters if you want it fast and cheap, or Folks Pizzeria if you want to sit on the patio with a glass of wine. Finish with a beer at Father’s Office. If you still have an afternoon left, the free Wende Museum and downtown Culver City are both minutes away — the downtown guide covers that side.

Parking, transit and timing

Helms has its own parking and it is the single biggest practical reason to choose this district over Washington Boulevard or the downtown plaza on a busy evening. Arriving without a car is straightforward too: the Metro E Line stops at Culver City Station — about 26 minutes from 7th Street/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles, trains roughly every 15 minutes — and Helms is a short walk or a very brief ride from the station.

On timing: weekday afternoons are the calm version, with the showrooms open and no wait for a table. Friday and Saturday evenings are when the restaurants fill and the queue at the pasta counter becomes real. If you want both the design side and a relaxed dinner, arrive mid-afternoon and eat early.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Helms Bakery District?

A restored Art Deco industrial complex in Culver City that once housed Helms Bakeries, now a design and dining destination with furniture showrooms, restaurants, a coffee roastery and its own parking.

Is the Helms Bakery still open?

No. The bakery bearing the Helms name was revived and then closed after about a year, with its final day of service on 14 December. Every other business in the district remains open.

What was Helms Bakeries known for?

It never sold its bread in grocery stores. From the 1930s to the 1960s it delivered door to door across Los Angeles by coach, and the Helms whistle is still a well-remembered sound for many Angelenos.

What restaurants are at Helms?

Father’s Office, in the Helms Bakery Building since April 2008; Pasta Sisters at 3280 Helms Avenue; and Folks Pizzeria, which opened on 1 May at 3273 Helms Avenue. Bar Nine handles coffee.

Is there parking at the Helms Bakery District?

Yes — the district has its own parking, which makes it one of the easiest places to drive to in Culver City.

What shops are at Helms?

It is primarily a home and design district, anchored by Room & Board, Scandinavian Designs and H.D. Buttercup, plus smaller design tenants.

Tenants and hours at Helms change, and event weekends transform the place. The neighbours on our Culver City community feed are the live version of this page, and joining is free.