It’s no secret that Issa Rae, the creator of the HBO phenomenon Insecure, has some serious love for South LA!
In a single episode you’re likely to spot over a dozen local landmarks, restaurants, and businesses. Neighborhoods like Leimert Park, Inglewood, View Park, Windsor Hills, and Crenshaw have made guest appearances on the hit HBO show heavily influencing the narrative and character development.
The show’s success has done more than secure a fourth season – it’s also made a positive and net impact on the places featured on the show! Businesses have seen a noticeable improvement in revenue after landing a spot on the show as the main hangout, favorite taco joint, and late-night bite spot.
They’re calling it “The Issa Effect.”
If we were you, we’d make way down South to try food that deserves to be in the limelight longer than 15-minutes.
Hot and Cool Cafe – Leimert Park
This Leimert Park cafe receive a feature on the show after the owner, Anthony Jolly, ran into Issa at his local home depot! Issa and her team acted quickly to add the cafe to the script after Jolly mentioned that it hadn’t been doing too well and that he could use some support.
Location: 4908, 4331 Degnan Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008. See it on Google maps.
Worldwide Tacos – Leimert Park
After an episode aired where Issa’s character mentioned how Worldwide Tacos had the best salmon tacos, owner Frederick Sennie said that he began to see a surge in customers almost immediately. Lines grew and orders that usually took 15 minutes to a couple of hours to complete developed into seven-hour wait-times! Though he saw a ton of new faces, he began to notice that people who had been eating his tacos for years were branching out of their comfort zones to try something new.
Location: 2419 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008. See it on Google maps.
Chef Marilyn’s – Crenshaw
Known as the “Queen of Down Home Southern Goodies,” the store owner noticed that her sales skyrocketed proceeding a quick cameo this season. This longtime favorite is known by most Angelenos as the place to go when you’re looking for comfort food that will hit the spot – the show’s characters seem to think so too!
Location: 2638 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016. See it on Google maps.