Downtown Indio’s next act is coming into focus. The Indio City Council approved a five-year lease for the building it owns at 82707 Miles Avenue with FFA Touring, LLC, doing business as The Desert Rat – a combined Brooklyn-style soda fountain and bagel shop by day and an intimate live-music venue by night. The new tenant will take over the former Little Street Music Hall space at Miles and Oasis, part of a broader slate of city-backed moves to animate the district throughout the day and week.
Under the lease, the city will provide a $180,000 tenant-improvement allowance for the 5,357-square-foot suite. Base rent of $2,678.50 per month begins April 1, 2027 following an 18-month construction/setup period; the agreement runs five years with extension options. The city’s staff report states that the venue must operate as a music venue, a bagel shop, and a soda fountain, aligning with the Downtown Specific Plan’s emphasis on pedestrian-oriented retail and dining.
City staff frame The Desert Rat as an all-day anchor, offering fresh kettle-boiled bagels and artisanal sodas daily, along with live music from local to nationally recognized acts in the evenings, as well as film nights, open mics, and family-friendly events. The plan also relocates “World Famous” Repairland, a well-known instrument repair shop, into the space, further deepening downtown’s music ecosystem.
Mercado Indio vendor market gets a green light
In a companion action, the city approved a license agreement with Brenda Beltran to operate Mercado Indio, a weekly outdoor vendor market at the city-owned lot at Bliss Avenue and Towne Street (the Food Truck Friday site). The agreement provides $1,000 per month for management, with a budget not to exceed $12,000. The curated market will feature handcrafted goods, food and beverages, local produce, vintage items, and art and music.
Additions are part of a $200-million-plus downtown buildout
City documents describe the Desert Rat lease as consistent with the Downtown Specific Plan and the city’s economic development goals, which encourage new private investment, add sales-tax-generating uses, and expand the creative/cultural core. Staff cite more than $200 million in recent public and private investments, with new and forthcoming businesses such as Rosemary HiFi, Gabino’s Creperie, Italitica, Indio Taphouse, Victoria’s Café, and Rocks and Records, and the College of the Desert expansion further anchoring activity.
What it means for the former Little Street Music Hall space
The Desert Rat replaces Little Street Music Hall and Encore Coffee, which closed this summer after lease-extension talks with the city broke down. The city has emphasized ensuring its buildings are activated throughout the day, a criterion embedded in the new lease and concept.
Together, The Desert Rat and Mercado Indio add daytime and evening foot traffic, build on downtown’s music identity, and advance the city’s strategy to create a lively, walkable destination for residents and visitors alike.
