Photo Credit: Gregory Beylarian

Homeboy industries is re-writing stories in LA. Founder Greg Boyle is an LA native and has been working with youth in the LA gang culture for 20+ years. He started Homeboy industries in 1992 and his mission was to create an environment that provided training, work experience and the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side.

We recently stopped into Homegirl Cafe, one of Homeboy Industries’ 6 enterprises to see what was happening there. Among our finds were some killer homemade goods like chips and salsa, jams, granola and a pretty impressive selection of fresh baked goods from the Homeboy bakery. 

Homegirl Cafe runs a full kitchen that has got some edgy Latina fare on the menu. We tried out the tacos and loved them. Homegirl Cafe uses farm to table ingredients and even grows some of what we tried right in their own garden.

When they join the Home Girl program, trainees cycle through three stations; cafe, catering, and garden & maintenance. In the garden, Homegirl grows their own teas and puts together some famous fresh juice concoctions. 

The Homegirl Cafe also runs a full catering service in LA, run almost entirely by trainees and supervised by head chef Pati Zarate. The catering service provides a full menu of options for events of up to 2,000 and features fresh baked goods and specialty drinks from the bakery and cafe.  

The best part of all of this is that Homeboy industries, Homegirl Cafe and each of their 6 enterprises backs up their business with a full renewal program that provides legal services, tattoo removal, education services and counseling to those in the program.

Photo Credit: Arts Restore LA

These guys aren’t just changing the lives of their trainees, they are giving each of us a chance to be a part of a story in the city of LA. Our dollars might just be the loudest voice we have and we are sold on the idea of lending our voice to Greg Boyle and the army of changing lives that are finding a way out through this business.

Details:
Address: 130 Bruno St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: https://www.homeboyindustries.org/what-we-do/homegirl-cafe/welcome/