Topline:
From Egyptian cuisine to Yemeni dishes, from eating on sofas to take out at food trucks, we went on a multi-national gastronomic adventure through Little Arabia.
What's the deal? As LAist reporter Yusra Farzan says, "the world needs to know about my little food paradise. It’s too good not to share." See this is as your Mid-East food 101.
What's on the menu? Succulent shawarma, labneh with honey, lamb soaked in yogurt and spices... need we go on?
[Editor's note: This story was first published in August 2024.]
LAist reporter Yusra Farzan invited food editor Gab Chabran to go on a tour of one of her favorite SoCal neighborhoods. Here's where they went, and what they ate.
Yusra: When I moved to Southern California seven years ago, I lived on the Westside. Anytime I craved shawarma or manakeesh, I would be disappointed when I looked up “Arab” restaurants on Yelp. They were ethnically ambiguous, with kebabs, hummus and wraps masquerading as a region so rich in culture, history and most important to my belly, food.
Then I learned about Little Arabia.
On a stretch of Brookhurst Street, my heart sang. Here, I could tell which restaurant was Egyptian because they had terms like hawawshi and mahshi korom.
Shawarma wasn’t just a wrap stuffed with vegetables, pickles and charred meat; instead, the meat was full of flavor and the star of the show, taking me back to nights in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where I would devour shawarmas from a little Lebanese bakery at the Yasmin intersection.
(I never knew the name of the place, you almost never do and it has since closed but they made the best shawarmas. Period.)
And so I proposed a tasting tour to Gab because the world needs to know about my little food paradise. It’s too good not to share. I suggested going on a Friday, because after the afternoon Jummah prayers, a lot of the community makes their way to the Anaheim/Garden Grove area. This means specialty dishes make an appearance on the menus.
Gab: I’d only been to Little Arabia a few times recently since moving to nearby Long Beach, and each time, I was taken by the depth of culture. So when Yusra suggested that we try different dishes from some of the nations represented in the neighborhood, I knew I was in for a real treat.
Yusra: My first taste of Nadoosh Shawarma was a single bite in the wee hours of the morning at the Islamic Society of Orange County after Qiyam prayers during Ramadan. The food truck had closed up and left but a friend was kind enough to share a single bite. The chicken was not charred, the spices not burnt. Instead the flavor came through as did the hint of smokiness from the spit. And thus began my quest (shout out to my friend Yasmine whose help I enlisted) to find this shawarma. Yasmine took me to one restaurant, dropped a few names but that was not it. Then one late night while scrolling on Instagram I came across Nadoosh. This was it. My second time trying it, I was not disappointed.
The shawarma is slender and simple at this Palestinian-owned food truck, not overstuffed and busy. Meat is paired with tahini sauce while chicken is paired with toum, a velvety garlic sauce — this distinction is key. Red onions and flecks of parsley are a must with meat while chicken shawarma without pickles is a travesty — Nadoosh ticks all these boxes and more. It's relatively new and I am reluctantly sharing my best-kept secret, so sahtein!
Gab: Street food in SoCal is so varied. Yes, plenty of places take up your social media feed, but it was so refreshing to see a place that honored its traditional Middle Eastern roots smack dab in Little Arabia. The soft flatbread was rolled tightly with the expertly cooked chicken, with the perfect caramelization on its edges. The beef was mixed with acidic brine from the pickles and red onions, all topped with a deliciously creamy tahini sauce.
Address: 817 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim
Hours: Monday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Tuesday, 9 a.m. to midnight; Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Friday through Saturday; 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. to midnight
Yusra: You know how you have those restaurants on your weekly roster and those whiny children who exclaim, “Not again!” when you suggest one of those said restaurants? I was that child for a long time, because in our home, we would eat mandi so often. And now, as an adult I regret and miss those times my family and I would gather around to enjoy mandi, a Yemeni dish where meat and rice are slow cooked in delicate spices. It’s a great meal for a family because it's a communal meal.
In the UAE where I grew up, it's so common to see families or large groups at mandi restaurants on a Friday at lunch time after prayers.
You sit cross-legged on “Majlis sofas,” low lying sofas with this large plate in front of you, where in the middle of yellow, spiced rice accentuated with plump golden raisins and crispy shards of deep-fried onion slices sit tender lamb or chicken that falls off the bone depending on your preference. The dish's richness is cut by the spicy tomato and chili sauce it's paired with, shatta as they call it. For those with a low spice tolerance, the cold yogurt and mint sauce beckons, but not to me. I want extra helpings of shatta.
Gab: I can honestly say that I’ve never been to a place like House of Mandi. Immediately entering the restaurant, I saw groups of families sitting on the sofas enjoying a meal together. The sofas were extremely comfortable. My daughter was along for the ride that day and loves taking her shoes off any chance she gets them, so it was perfect.
We immediately both felt extremely comfortable because of the delicious food and the hospitality. The large plates of chicken, rice and lamb contain multitudes of great flavors that tasted familiar and new simultaneously. While it was a lot of food, it still gave the impression of a light meal that complimented our surroundings.
Location: 518 S Brookhurst St #1, Anaheim
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m to 1 a.m., Friday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Yusra: Forn Al Hara specializes in manoushe (or manakeesh, plural), which is to the Arab world what burritos are to Californians. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even at 1 a.m.; there are no rules with manakeesh except that the bread dough has to be rolled thin but still have enough body to hold the different toppings. For breakfast, I prefer the herbaceous za’atar which has a zing from the sumac. Pro-tip: ask for labneh or jibneh (a cheese that is sort of a cross between halloumi and mozzarella) on the side. I dip the za’atar manoushe in labneh and olive oil sometimes or add the cheese and pickled turnips as toppings for the days I want a salty hit.
Gab: This was my second time at Forn Al Hara, but each time I visit, I’m struck by the ambiance they manage to achieve within their space. The informal atmosphere makes it feel like a neighborhood pizza shop. Which is, in part, because it offers pizzas. The manoushe is soft and warm when it arrives, making it feel extra special. The spices, such as the extremely fresh-tasting za'atar drizzled with quality olive oil and a sprinkling of lemon that is served on the side, provide for a distinct experience. But it also offers a variety of delicious flatbreads, like labneh with honey, as well as Safeeya, another favorite of mine, made with lamb meat soaked in yogurt and spices, that delivers an extra delicious tangy flavor that I found to be extremely memorable.
Location: 512 S Brookhurst St Ste #5, Anaheim
Hours: open daily, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Yusra: Meat and chicken tend to dominate conversations around Arabian food but given the region’s close proximity to water bodies, seafood dominates some regional cuisines including Gazan, Emirati and Iraqi. So Al Tannour had to be a part of our food tour, specifically for Masgouf Zbeidi.
The grilled fish made its way to the table, the crisp, spicy and golden outside belying the soft flesh on the inside that yielded to our forks without any resistance.
Pita is ubiquitous to the Arab world but the region is also home to papery thin regag, sponge-like taboon and the mini boat-shaped samoon. At Al Tannour, we were treated to a bread that is typically made in a “tannour” or clay oven. This bread was a staple in our home growing up in the UAE. The bakeries are small — the size of a window — with a man typically squatting in front of the oven shaping the dough. He will then use a long metal stick to cook the dough on the oven walls. In our home, we ate this bread with everything: Sri Lankan chicken curry, labneh and za’atar, peanut butter and jelly and masgouf. Forget spoons, tear a piece of the bread and use it to coax the soft flesh of the fish off the bone and then use it as a scoop.
Gab: I had a wonderful experience here. It felt as if we were in someone’s living room. The dish masgouf zbeidi, one of the only seafood dishes, very much reminded me of another dish from Mexican cuisine called pescado zarandeado. Similarly, it’s a grilled butterflied fish that’s rubbed and then grilled. The Iraqi recipe is made with carp instead of red snapper, and consumed with tannour bread instead of tortillas. I could have eaten the whole thing but unfortunately, I was starting to get very full at this point.
Location: 2947 W Ball Rd, Anaheim
Hours: Monday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Closed Tuesday
Yusra: Life of the party, the center of attention, the light that everyone gravitates towards — that’s what Egyptian food is like. When the rest of the region calls a dish one name, the Egyptians do it differently. Egypt is born to stand out and so does its cuisine. Gelatinous molokhia (jute leaves stew) is served with a grilled piece of chicken, bamia (an okra and tomato stew with the most tender lamb) and my personal favorite, the kebda eskandarani, peppery morsels of liver served with pillowy puffs of pita. As for the sausage, I will let Gab weigh in.
Gab: What I learned during this trip was that anytime there’s a daily special that’s being offered with your visit, you should order that. A case in point was the sausage that the owner encouraged us to try. It’s called mombar and is made with sheep casing stuffed with beef sausage meat, rice, tomatoes, onion, garlic, coriander, oil, and spices. The flavor was exceptional, and again, I could barely stop eating it. Yet we still had one more place to try.
Location: 930 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday, 12 p.m. to 1 a.m.
My memories of Palestinian food are in friends' homes: the dance to flip the maqluba, the heaping servings of mansaf, sneaking dawali (grape leaves) before dinner is served.
So, walking into Al Baraka I was a little apprehensive. Would it give me the comfort and camaraderie of having dinner at a friend’s home? Any feelings of apprehension were soon dispelled when Aref Mohammad, the owner, took Gab’s and my order, and later, when he brought over juicy slices of watermelon and qahwah to wash down our meal, and introduced us to other business owners in the area as though we were longtime friends.
Our stomach muscles worked overtime that day, so we couldn't try every restaurant we wanted. Here are some others on my must-have list:
Msakhan, which is tannour bread drenched in olive oil and chicken stock layered with caramelized yet tart purple onions (plus the tartness from the sumac), as well as half a chicken that was literally falling apart and almond slivers, sat next to the maqlouba. Mohammad’s version of maqlouba — a highly personalized dish, families can have a different take — came with deep fried eggplant, cauliflower and chicken delicately seasoned with allspice and cumin.
My favorite dish, however, was one I had never eaten, that Mohammad recommended we get: charshat (stuffed lamb tripe and trotters). The charshat had been cooked down so beautifully that our knives cut right through it as though it were a soft-boiled egg.
Gab: This was another place where the hospitality from the owners, Aref and his wife, chef Layla, made us instantly feel welcome. Aref was worried we were ordering too much food, which I found highly endearing, but Yusra and I told him we were journalists and wanted to get a little taste of everything. I, too, was taken by the charshat dish, which was another daily special that day. It was one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had this year, and I can’t wait to visit again with friends.
Another thing I was struck by is that Aref had opened up his front outdoor space to two pop-ups, another shawarma vendor (Kimo Catering) and another one selling knafeh (Knafeh Kingdom), the spun phyllo dough-like pastry between a helping of stretchy white cheese. Both vendors had family members in Palestine who had fled to Egypt, and they were raising money to send back to them. Seeing how these folks participated in these small acts was heartwarming, hoping for a better future for their brethren.
Location: 413 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim
Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Topline:
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where owner Pablomanuel Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
About the drinks: Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
The backstory: The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Read on... for more on the Caffeinated Cart.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Just inches away from where workers warm up handmade tortillas at Guisados in Pasadena, Pablomanuel Maldonado puts the finishing touches on different drinks before calling out to his customers.
“Provecho,” Maldonado, owner of coffee pop-up the Caffeinated Cart, says to each customer before quickly redirecting his attention to the next, treating each one like he’s known them for years.
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
Though he’s only been operating at this location for the past three weeks, small touches — like Virgen de Guadalupe candles, a new coffee blend from local roaster Picaresca and a shiny new drink menu on the wall — make his corner of the restaurant feel welcoming.
“For the first time, I don’t feel tired. I feel mentally at peace, and it’s like, ‘Damn, this is what I love doing,’ you know?” Maldonado told The LA Local. “I get excited to come here. I get excited to get out of bed.”
Maldonado recently transitioned from working full-time at Bristol Farms during the week and doing coffee pop-ups on weekends to serving coffee full-time at Guisados.
The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Only a couple of years after he started, Maldonado was selling out at the pop-ups. Today, he has over 23,000 followers on Instagram.
Maldonado’s partnership with Guisados began in 2025 via an Instagram story when owner Armando De La Torre Jr. put out a call for coffee pop-ups at his Guisados location in Long Beach.
After connecting with De La Torre, Maldonado began popping up outside the Long Beach location for six months. But Maldonado said permitting issues with the city’s Health Department forced him to stop.
Nearly a year after their initial collaboration, De La Torre invited Maldonado to Pasadena to show off the space he had in mind for him, but the Caffeinated Cart owner had mixed emotions.
Maldonado was concerned about going to Pasadena and leaving behind the community and regular customers he had in Long Beach, but he was excited by the idea of finally having a physical space, even if it wasn’t completely his own.
“We’re in a world where… everybody gatekeeps and then everybody stops each other from growing, and coffee’s been so welcoming, man,” Maldonado said. “The community I’ve built around me has just been so welcoming, and a lot of people just truly do trust us.”
Leo Abularach, co-owner of Picaresca in Boyle Heights, has been a longtime supporter of the Caffeinated Cart. He told The LA Local that he loaned Maldonado over $3,000 worth of equipment to help him get started. Abularach even let him use his business delivery service, so Maldonado would no longer have to run to the store for things like extra milk.
“He has always been there for Picaresca. He is part of our family,” Abularach said of Maldonado. “He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I think his personality is one of the reasons why people love the Caffeinated Cart.”
Customers Adriana Acevedo and Eilene Gonzalez saw the Caffeinated Cart on TikTok. When they realized it was around the corner from their workplace, they decided to give it a try.
“It’s amazing. It tastes really good. Like, no notes. Amazing,” Acevedo said after finally trying the coffee in real life on a recent Wednesday morning.
“Yeah, for first timers, now I think we’re going to be returners,” Gonzalez added with a laugh.
The two praised the welcoming service offered by Maldonado, and after Acevedo mentioned she loves caffeine, Maldonado even gave her an additional shot.
“I’m all about making it affordable. I don’t charge extra for alternative milks. You want extra shots? Bro, get extra shots. I’m not going to charge you extra,” Maldonado said.
“We’re all for the people,” he said. “We want to make sure people can still come back and not have to feel like ‘Was the $7 coffee worth it?’”
Though it was only a Wednesday, customers kept trickling in, keeping him busy throughout his shift, and even Maldonado’s old boss from Bristol Farms, Dina Urquilla, came to support.
Maldonado said he’s still saving to open up his own shop in the future, but for now, he says he looks forward to making coffee every day in his corner of Pasadena.
What to expect: Some morning clouds followed by a sunny afternoon. Temperatures to reach the mid-80s for some areas and up into the triple digits in some parts of Coachella Valley.
Read on ... for where it's going to be the warmest today.
Warm temperatures are on tap again today as we head into a toasty weekend with temps set to reach the triple digits in desert communities.
L.A. County beaches will see daytime highs from 67 to 72 degrees. It'll be between 69 and 76 degrees along the Orange County coast. More inland areas like downtown L.A., Hollywood and Anaheim will see temperatures from 75 to 81 degrees.
Meanwhile, the valleys will see varying temperatures. Areas closer to the coast will see highs from 78 to 83 degrees, and further inland, temps will stay in the upper 80s, up to 89 degrees.
Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, temperatures will rise to 101 to 106 degrees.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the valleys will reach the 90s for Mother's Day, up to 100 degrees in the Antelope Valley too. Come Sunday, an Extreme Heat Warning kicks in for the Coachella Valley, where temperatures will stay in the low 100s, with up to 109 degrees possible. Make sure to stay hydrated!
Topline:
The first phase of the Los Angeles Metro D Line extension opens today, with the public able to start riding to the three new stations at 12:30 p.m.
The new stops: The three new Wilshire Boulevard stops are located at La Brea and Fairfax avenues and La Cienega Boulevard. The first phase of the extension will stretch D Line service from downtown L.A. to Beverly Hills. Before today, the D Line ran until Koreatown, largely parallel to the B Line.
Free fares: The entire Metro system — including bus, rail, bike share and Metro Micro — will be free starting Friday morning through early morning Monday. If you’re using Metro Bike Share, make sure to input the code 050826.
Celebrations at the new stations: KCRW DJs and food vendors will be at each of the new stations and the Western Avenue station in Koreatown. Throughout May and June, there will be activations at the new stations, including salsa dancing and basket weaving classes.
More to come: Two additional extensions of the D Line, currently forecast to open in 2027, will add four additional stations through Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood Village.
Topline:
Jessica Wang has been waiting nearly two years for the City of Los Angeles to approve permits for Gu Grocery, a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub in Chinatown.
Why it matters: In a neighborhood where half of residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older, Chinatown has lost multiple grocery stores in recent years — including its last two full-service markets in 2019 and Yue Wa Market in fall 2024. Gu Grocery would be the first to offer EBT-eligible prepared foods, filling a critical gap for seniors and low-income families who rely on walking to shop.
Why now: Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign in mid-April after spending more than $200,000 on a buildout, permits and rent on a space she can't operate. The community response was swift — 134 donors raised nearly $12,000 in two weeks — but money can't solve her core problem: she's still waiting for at least seven final city inspections with no opening date in sight.
What's next: Wang hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday — with a phased approach: prepared foods only through a takeout window, then slowly stocking shelves as revenue allows.
Jessica Wang has experienced delay after delay for nearly two years as she tried to open Gu Grocery in Chinatown. Her father, a contractor, had told her it would take nine months.
Instead, she says, there have been issues with city permits, inspectors, inaccurate information, illness and wayward appliance installers which have pushed things back.
The community didn't take nearly as long. In two weeks, 134 donors contributed nearly $12,000 to keep Wang afloat. But money can't solve her problem — she still needs the city's approval to open the doors.
Wang signed the lease at the end of 2023, envisioning a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub where seniors could use EBT to buy fresh tofu, where kids from nearby elementary schools could stop by after class, and where her mother, Peggy, could teach neighbors how to make their grandmother's pickles.
Now, more than two years into a five-year lease, and nearly out of money after paying for permits, buildout, and rent on a space she can't operate, Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign a few weeks ago. The response showed the community believes in Gu Grocery and wants to see it succeed. But she's still waiting for at least seven final inspections by the city before she can open.
The name "Gu" carries layered meaning: the character 菇 means "mushroom" in Chinese, a traditional symbol of prosperity, while the sound "gu" also means "auntie" in Mandarin — honoring intergenerational caretakers. Wang's mission for the space is to provide a place to purchase Chinese-Taiwanese pantry staples and prepared foods, and to host community workshops.
The communal aspect is central to Wang's vision of social entrepreneurship, not solely focused on profit. In addition to workshops, Gu Grocery plans to accept EBT and offer senior discounts for those on fixed incomes.
"I wanted a space where I could share knowledge and share culture and also just learn from the community," Wang said.
Ultimately, she hopes to convert the store into a worker-owned co-op.
Wang grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and worked as a pastry chef at San Francisco's State Bird Provisions before a pre-diabetic diagnosis at age 29 prompted her return to L.A. She began volunteering with API Forward Movement, a local nonprofit focused on health equity and food access in AAPI communities, and saw firsthand the need during COVID food distributions at L.A. State Historic Park.
Chinatown had lost its last two full-service grocery stores in 2019. Last fall, the neighborhood lost another: Yue Wa Market, a small produce shop that had served residents for 18 years before rising rent and pandemic losses forced it to shut its doors. The closures hit especially hard in a neighborhood where, according to American Community Survey data, half of the residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older — many of whom rely on walking to shop.
Much of bringing Gu Grocery to reality has been made possible by support from Wang's friends and family. Her father, Willie Wang, serves as her general contractor. When plans were submitted to the city in March 2024, he told her the buildout would take nine months if everything went smoothly.
Instead, she’s experienced delays from all directions, from slow bureaucracy, to issues with contractors. A hood installation contractor rescheduled multiple times, she said, then doubled his price the day before a rescheduled appointment. Drywall contractors said their workers had been detained by ICE and never returned.
The process hasn't just taken time — it's been expensive. One inspector approved a makeup air unit for the kitchen hood system, she said, only to have a senior inspector overturn the decision and order a complete replacement at nearly $6,000. Her father paid out of pocket — even as he was recovering from March surgery to remove a cancerous lung growth.
"Who would have thought that something an inspector asked us to do would be completely overturned by another inspector?" Wang said. "That's just so wild."
LAist has reached out to the city's Department of Building Services for comment but has not heard back.
Wang estimates she's spent more than $200,000 so far — more than $100,000 on buildout and permits alone, plus a full year of rent on a space she can't operate, equipment, insurance and taxes.
She draws no income from Gu Grocery. To cover personal expenses, she teaches fermentation workshops through her other business, Picklepickle, though that work has been inconsistent lately. Her health insurance doubled this year. The GoFundMe money, she said, is a "rainy day fund" in case she needs it to pay future bills.
The financial strain has touched her entire family. Her mother, who received a small inheritance when Wang's grandparents died, got scammed late last year trying to grow that money to help with the store. Targeted through online ads, she was convinced by an "investment tutor" based in Taiwan to hand over cash to a stranger in a parking lot.
"I didn't realize this would become part of what it's like to have aging parents in the age of technology," Wang said. "But it's scary how they get targeted."
Once Gu Grocery opens, it won't operate as a full-service market — there won't be a meat counter. Instead, it will function like a corner store with a focus on healthy prepared foods: butter mochi, sesame noodles and daily congee.
"Something that Chinatown has never had was prepared food that is EBT eligible," Wang said.
In 2020, Wang surveyed seniors through API Forward Movement's Tai Chi fitness program to understand their shopping habits following the closure of local grocery stores. Many told her they now ride the bus to Super King on San Fernando Road in Glendale, nearly 5 miles away, for produce deals, or rely on family members to drive them to 99 Ranch in Alhambra. Some grow their own food in gardening plots, Wang said, "but they can't produce everything they need."
When she launched her Go FundMe in mid-April, she was overwhelmed by the response. "I have a hard time asking for help," said Wang. "So actually receiving help, it's very moving."
The donors range from former pop-up customers and friends to a range of assorted well-wishers — a musician who had her food once at an event, fellow food business owners, farmer's market regulars and even her insurance agent.
"The generosity is beyond my expectations," Wang said. "Some of these people only had my food once. People are showing their support truly in a personal way and really believing in the vision."
The GoFundMe money helps Wang stay "afloat for now," but she's had to rethink her opening strategy. She won't be able to afford full inventory when she opens. Instead, she plans a phased opening: prepared foods only, served through a takeout window, then using revenue to slowly stock shelves with the retail items she originally envisioned.
The community raised more than $14,000 in three weeks. After nearly two years of delays, Wang is still waiting for permits. She hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday. But she's learned to expect the unexpected.
Many donors sent her direct messages saying simply: "We got this, Jess, we got you."
