North Hollywood tiki bar Tonga Hut gears up for reopening, with help of its dedicated community Listen 3 min MORE Dedicated Tonga Hut customers set up the netted roofing inside the lanai. Photo by Danielle Chiriguayo/KCRW.
Tonga Hut co-owner Kevin Murphy took to Facebook in April, calling for a construction crew to build a pandemic-safe lanai. He expected a handful of volunteers to help. But like much of the last year, the unexpected happened. More than two dozen dedicated tiki heads signed up to help within the first few hours.
“I was surprised! Overnight, 27 people said they were coming to help,” Murphy tells KCRW. “I started going, ‘Whoa! I got to figure out 27 things to do.’ … How do I keep 27 people busy?’”
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Community Cookouts: How street vendors are fighting hunger in East Hollywood Listen 9 min MORE Every Tuesday, Heleo Leyva and his team prepare 200 meals for residents in East Hollywood. Photo by Danielle Chiriguayo/KCRW
Every Tuesday, an apron-clad Heleo Leyva mans a red hot charcoal grill, where he roasts pounds of marinated carne asada and chicken. Nearby, aluminum trays full of tortillas, rice, beans, pickled carrots and jalapenos lie in wait to be neatly plated into square styrofoam to-go containers.
It’s all for growing lines of locals, stretching down Santa Monica Boulevard, right around the corner from LA City College in East Hollywood.