Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan, proprietors of GVO, the company behind Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, recently announced that, after more than a year closed to indoor dining in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will reopen all three hilltop locations for indoor dining on July 5.
The Hilltop team, including Hagos, Relan, and partner Issa Rae (HBO s Insecure ) made the decision early in the pandemic to keep their 4427 W. Slauson Ave. and Inglewood location at 170 N. LaBrea Ave., open only for take-away and delivery for the duration. The newest location, at 4247 Eagle Rock Blvd., remained open for outdoor dining owing to the abundance of outdoor space, which allowed for observance of social distancing protocols. Daily hours of operation at all three locations is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“It’s hard to imagine a more challenging time for the restaurant and hospitality industry than we faced in 2020,” said Hagos. “We’re extremely proud of how resilient our team has been and are humbled by the support we’ve seen from our community and other organizations. That support was fundamental in helping us to keep our doors open. Our staff has been incredible on the front lines too. Overall, we are just very grateful to make it to this point and we can’t wait to welcome guests back into the spaces and share some of the things we’ve been working on during this time.”
Relan added, “We re also looking forward to sharing the full Hilltop experience with new guests. There are people who were introduced to us during the pandemic who have never experienced the magical feeling that lives in our spaces.”
In celebration of the return of indoor dining, all three locations will carry new menu items, including Tiger Shrimp Tacos on corn tortillas with spicy slaw, pineapple relish, avocado, cilantro and lime; and grilled cheese with cheddar, provolone, and pimento cheese on sourdough bread served alongside house-made tomato soup.
Additionally, Hilltop will help Angelenos beat the heat with three new iced drinks: Mango Refresher, Black Peach Iced Tea and the Hilltop Affogato float.
Hilltop’s Slauson location is a featured site for Kahlil Joseph’s BLKNWSÆ, a conceptual news program taking the form of a two-channel installation connected to a newscast that blurs the lines between art, reporting, entrepreneurship, and cultural critique.
BLKNWSÆ will be broadcast at sites across Los Angeles, with a focus on South Los Angeles and black-owned businesses. This iteration of BLKNWSÆ aims to bring the work to its largest audience yet, reaching people in their everyday environments. The installation is part of Made in LA 2020: a version, and is presented by LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division) in partnership with the Hammer Museum.
