By FRIDA RICHARDS SEP 02, 2021, 09:15AM
The smell of freshly baked pastries, the visual of pancakes being flipped by people with friendly faces, the sound of laughter and conversations between customers and employees: Beckett Chomyn has walked into Homegirl Cafe for the first time ever in 2009.
“I remember it being very crowded, busy, a lot of happy people chattering away,” Chomyn says. “I remember that the employee who waited on us was very friendly.”
A 21-year old native Angeleno, Chomyn was born and raised in Echo Park, a neighborhood that is less than a few miles away from Downtown LA. Between the ages of 9 and 11, Chomyn’s father Chris, would take Chomyn to Homegirl cafe for father-child quality time, community connection, and to learn about those who have had different experiences from.
Homegirl Cafe is home to formerly gang-affiliated and incarcerated people of Los Angeles, mainly women. Homegirl Cafe is a social enterprise of Homeboy Industries’ located in Chinatown, an organization that focuses on the rehabilitation and reentry of formerly gang-affiliated and incarcerated people of Los Angeles. Through these focuses, they are able to work towards their overarching goal of connecting to and unifying their surrounding Los Angeles communities. Through Homegirl Cafe, program members are provided culinary training while continuing to develop their social skills while reentering the world and workforce.
Homegirl Cafe originally began as a haven for former gang-affiliated, domestically abused, and/ or incarcerated women of Los Angeles. They provided and continue to provide program members with the opportunity to work and build social skills. In more recent years, Homegirl Cafe has expanded to include men in the training program as well.
“Along with the food, [my Dad] would talk up the social aspect of the cafe,” says Chomyn. Chomyn’s Father wanted to support an organization that was positively affecting their community, contributing to social progressivity and community unification.
Going to Homegirl Cafe cemented these values within them and was a part of a normalization of diversity while they were growing up, Chomyn says. A chance to not only connect with their community, but their Father as well, they felt a sense of belongingness and unity with those at Homegirl Cafe.
Chomyn and their Father shared the same favorite meal from Homegirl Cafe: quinoa pancakes with lemonade. According to Chomyn, the menu was unique in that even “regular” foods had unique substitute ingredients, such as quinoa in the pancakes that made them “exceptional”. The quinoa pancakes are no longer on the menu according to their website, but the lemonade and a variety of other unique dishes are.
Chomyn also fondly remembers their pastries, such as their coffee cake and scones. Additionally, their Father particularly enjoyed eating their classic tuna sandwich. Unlike the regular cafe menu and ingredient list, Homegirl Cafe’s ingredients come from urban farms and their dishes derive from program members’ cultural roots. For example, the Manoy’s sandwich is made in a Central American style.
Their unique approach to the culinary arts was inspiring to Chomyn, who appreciates the incorporation of personal and cultural roots in all art forms. Chomyn now attends USC as a Narrative Studies major and Ceramics minor, working as a studio assistant at a pottery studio. “I am inspired by Homeboy’s dedication to their clients and respect towards their individual values as well as culture,” Chomyn says. “All artforms, whether it is food or ceramics, should be a space for individual expression.”
Since Chomyn has last visited Homegirl Cafe about 10 years ago, Homeboy Industries have engaged in many new projects. This includes: expanding their clients’ access to education, mental health support, physical health support, tattoo removal, and other kinds of job training. As Homeboy has grown and gained more funding, they will now focus on aiding former gang-affiliated and incarcerated people in having access to transitional housing, and eventually permanent housing.
“I have checked in on them and caught myself up every once in a while, because I really support their mission,” Chomyn says. “They have accomplished a lot, and I look forward to going back to Homegirl Cafe or attending any of their future events because I have such positive memories from going there. I’ll see if my Dad wants to go with me.”
Beckett Chomyn’s contact information:
