We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Hinton Jefferson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a woman leaving corporate America, where I devoted over two decades of my career and was successful, I knew I could start a business that would be successful also. My thought process was to walk out on faith and build a brand highlighting black owned businesses in LA. When the Black Lives Matter began along with the pandemic, keeping black owned restaurants, chefs, and other local black owned businesses as a focal point was extremely important. Restaurants were closing or limiting their staff. Chefs were out of jobs and as a whole many people lost their jobs. So, I decided to build a website called blackownedfoodla.com and use social media to feature black owned business owners and their restaurants. I want my social media page and website to be a source for people to use to find these businesses and support.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Black Owned Food LA is a woman, minority owned business geared to help shine the spotlight on businesses to support in the food and beverage industry by using social media. What sets me apart is that I form relationships that are ongoing and bridge restaurant owners to other owners so they can help each other out where needed. Consultation plays a large role, I aim to give as much information for their business as I can. I just don’t take a pic of food and pose, it goes beyond that. Because I come from a strong sales background over 20 years from a previous industry, I easily can point out how to help grow your business. It’s harder walking away from corporate America and being your own boss because you have to wear many hats, but I continue to learn each day on how to make it work. I have learn to always do what’s right even when wrong is in your face. I would like the world to know that my brand is increasingly expanding to other brands to help them grow. My initial goal was to take this to tv to promote, but the sky is the limit and so many opportunities are coming my way. Now the female version of Anthony Bourdain will always live in me. I hope that my website grows where you are one click away from finding businesses that you would like to support. If anyone needs help with social media presence and where to start as an entrepreneur, please contact me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend came to visit, we would just explore DTLA one local restaurant or bar at a time. It’s important that I support all of these businesses that had to shut down or limit capacity all around. With museums, parks, and good eats, a week isn’t long enough to explore DTLA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out the first restaurants who believed in me when I first started my page and invited me in to their restaurants to feature their foods. Oh My Burger, The Original Taco Pete, Poppy and Rose, Harold & Belle’s, Antidote Eats, Boketto Brew, and the Serving Spoon. Then to piggy back all the restaurants and food trucks that have rolled out the red carpet and shared their stories with me. I am thankful to Lena Waithe, Jake Smollett, and Tyra Banks, they have played instrumental parts in supporting my IG page. Whether it’s Lena using her platform to ask her followers to support my page, or Jake through his food videos showing me how to host a show cooking and skills to cook better, or Tyra and her team encouraging me to keep going and not give up. All of the above push me along with the people who follow my IG page. I can’t forget about my family and friends. But last but not least the most important shoutout is the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, without HIM I would have no platform period. I am truly grateful for all the opportunities that come my way through HIM.

Website: www.blackownedfoodla.com

Instagram: Blackownedfoodla

Twitter: Blackowndfoodla

Facebook: black owned food la

Youtube: Black owned food la

Other: Other IG handle is laownedfoodla where I open it up to highlight ALL businesses.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.