This old steakhouse transforms into SoCal's hottest salsa dancing hub by night

"In the working-class city of Commerce, where cars speed past on highways and the Citadel Outlets tower over neighborhoods, there is a steakhouse named Stevens. By day, it's a classic and charming old restaurant where working people go for quiet, hearty meals."

"But every Sunday night, the outside world disappears. As waiters whisk about in starched button ups, couples lead each other by the hand toward the dance floor in the restaurant's ballroom, where Stevens' tradition of Salsa Sundays has been bringing the community together for 73 years."

"An eight-piece band plays brass, electric guitar, bongos and timbales, filling the room with music as dancers twirl in a dizzying array. One attendee, 29-year-old Amy Hernandez, greets a few familiar faces before she steps onto the dance floor, spinning in confident steps with a wide smile on her face. Hernandez is part of a revival that's been getting younger people excited about salsa music - and flocking to Stevens. She grew up watching her father dance salsa, but started diving back into the genre on her own to find comfort during the L.A. wildfires earlier this year. She credits Bad Bunny's "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" for re-sparking her interest. "It was very healing for me," she says of the album, which blends old-school Puerto Rican boricua samples with Latin dance and reggaeton influences for an emotional imagining of Puerto Rican identity."

Stevens is a classic steakhouse in Commerce that functions as a quiet, hearty daytime restaurant and transforms into a ballroom on Sunday nights. The weekly Salsa Sundays feature an eight-piece band with brass, electric guitar, bongos and timbales, and have united the community for 73 years. Dancers of multiple generations gather to twirl and socialize, and a younger revival has emerged as college-age attendees and millennials return to salsa. Contemporary Latin fusion and reggaeton artists have prompted renewed interest in traditional salsa sounds and attendance at the dance nights.

Read at Los Angeles Times