Travelers looking for a little local flavor at LAX may soon be able to dine on foods freshly prepared with locally grown ingredients -- and all for a good cause.
Homegirl Café, an established downtown staple, is among several bidders hoping to land a concessions contract at LA International in a round of contract letting. If successful, the second Homegirl Café would provide jobs for former gang members and at-risk youth.
Founded by the Rev. Greg Boyle, the original Homegirl Café opened in April 2005 as another outlet for putting former gang members to work, alongside Homeboy Industries, a non-profit project started to provide young men with jobs to keep them out of trouble.
"We are excited at the prospect of providing more opportunities for our homegirls and sharing our message with a larger audience," Boyle, known to many as Father Greg, told the Daily Breeze.
Homegirl Café has teamed with Areas USA in the contract bid, which will be considered by a selection committee next month, reported the newspaper. If their bid is successful, the café and Areas USA will develop a menu incorporating ingredients picked from garden plots at FarmLab and the Dolores Mission Catholic Church in downtown Los Angeles.
Other favorite LA area tastes represented at LAX include Pink’s Hot Dogs, which opened at the Tom Bradley International Terminal in November and offers an “LAX International Dog.”
