Little Tokyo Goes Nuclear: Three Decades at the Atomic Cafe

Little Tokyo Goes Nuclear: Three Decades at the Atomic Cafe, follows the fictional love story of Troy and Kei amidst the racial tensions of the 1960s to the emerging reparations movement for Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII and the café's punk rock heyday in the 1980s.

Join us for the reading of Chapter One: The Sixties which sets the stage for Troy and Kei's budding relationship, following them through generational conflicts with their parents and the cost to their own generation from the unending Vietnam War. As young adults, Troy and Kei struggle to find common ground as each shapes their own meaning of loyalty, sacrifice, and family.

Tucked away in Little Tokyo, The Atomic Café served as a sanctuary for the Japanese American and Los Angeles community from 1946 until 1989. Through the years, the café was the communal space for hard decisions, farewells, homecomings, and community.