Locol reopens in Watts in a new chapter for its founders and community

This month, community-minded restaurant Locol returned as a nonprofit with a new soul-food-focused menu and a reinvigorated mission.

Locol launched in Watts in its current 103rd Street locale in 2016, then expanded. The brainchild of celebrity chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson — and former L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year — offered more healthful, delicious fast food as well as vocational skills and employment opportunities to underserved communities until all locations shuttered in 2018.

But this year, Patterson and his business partner at Alta Adams, chef Keith Corbin — a former Locol kitchen manager — gave it new life through Alta Community, their nonprofit that operates and oversees Locol .

Now, they’re serving plates heaped with fried chicken, taco-like “foldies,” thick burgers and even oxtails dripping with gravy that all add splashes of color in the black-and-white dining room. Many of the dishes are inspired by those found at Alta but are served in Watts at lower price points; most items cost $10 to $25, but some, like the foldies, are as inexpensive as $3.

Choi, although no longer involved in the business, still proves an inspiration. Patterson said this feels like a continuation, or a relay race where they’ve been passed the baton.

“It’s the same thing, just the dishes are different: same concept, same idea, just working with different products,” Corbin said.

“The food is not the highest purpose of the business; the economic empowerment is,” Patterson added. “Instead of having a door that opens and closes, what do we have to do to prop it open?”

At the center of Locol’s strategy is employment. The new iteration staffs roughly 10 employees from Watts, seven of them trainees from Yo! Watts — a youth center that coordinates job opportunities and training programs.

After their employees’ tenures, Corbin and Patterson hope to place them in permanent restaurant roles elsewhere to further their culinary skills. Eventually, they’d like to partner with area schools for educational curricula and presentations on nutrition.

But first, they’re serving lunch and dinner.

“One of the things we ended up talking about was Hawkins [House of Burgers],” Patterson said. “They've been there since the ’70s, and I'm like, ‘What would it take to make a local an institution for people to rely on?’ Just instinctively, we said soul food.”

The sentiment was echoed by nearly everyone whenever the chefs asked what residents wanted served in the space.

Lower cost of rent, a counter-service model and light ingredient modifications — such as using water in the yams as opposed to the almond milk used in West Adams — allow for lower prices.

But for all the crossover items, many of Watts’ dishes are unique, including beef sausage or ribs so tender they instantly fold into a U-shape when pulled from the grill. The chefs aren’t concerned with their businesses cannibalizing each other; they are, in their eyes, completely separate experiences. And while some Alta regulars have visited the newly reopened Locol, Patterson said, “it’s been 95% community.”

“That’s the way we wanted it,” Corbin added. “We wanted to give it to the community first, and then let that vibrate out.”

The process took much longer than anticipated; new permits and a search for previous approvals dragged on for months. While they weathered the process they serviced equipment and held their breath. Approvals came through days before a community barbecue intended to serve as Locol’s reintroduction to the community — and a test run that saw Corbin and Patterson cranking out 200 orders over three or four hours. It proved so popular that on the restaurant’s official Aug. 8 reopening, a large number of those diners were waiting in line again.

Funding proved elusive, and Corbin and Patterson primarily bankrolled the endeavor themselves. A contribution from Councilmember Heather Hutt, outside of Locol’s district, enabled the reopening after almost all other follow-through from local politicians and organizations disappeared, the chefs said.

Through the years, Corbin and Patterson say they’ve seen promises made and broken by politicians, leaving some Watts residents without basic resources or employment prospects. It’s bolstered their mission of providing help on the ground, straight from their kitchen.

“I grew up here, so I know how we get treated down here,” Corbin said. “I was raised with the mentality that’s like: If we don't do it, then who will? We can't wait for no one else. ... No one's coming in and throwing a life jacket.”

Locol is open at 1950 E. 103rd St., Los Angeles, from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .