A line spilled out of Harun Coffee at its grand reopening in Leimert Park last week, with customers passing the time by taking selfies in front of the A-frame mirror sign out front. Inside, they settled into furniture that doubled as functional art, including a bi-level table and spool stools created by designer Shin Okuda for the neighborhood coffee shop.
“As somebody who likes checking out different coffee shops, I thought this one was really unique,” said Sneh Chawla, a Palms resident visiting Harun for the first time. “I love that it has such a community vibe.”
Founded by former music executive Chace Johnson in 2019, Harun Coffee was forced to close in 2023 — marking a disturbing trend of minority-owned businesses shuttering in the historically Black neighborhood, including long-standing Eso Won Books and Swift Cafe. Since then, an effort to retain Leimert Park’s identity has taken hold, led in part by Community Labs, a private investment firm founded by Prophet Walker and Cheron Hall with a mission to nurture and protect the legacy of underrepresented communities.
“We are one part of a really powerful movement to pour into this community to create commercial revitalization and beautiful spaces where we can identify ourselves,” Hall said.
The symbolic heartbeat of Leimert Park, Degnan Boulevard looks different than when Harun closed its doors three years ago. Long-standing Hot and Cool Cafe has transformed into ORA, a spacious co-working oasis with coffee, slushies and all-day brunch. A few doors down is the Plant Chica, a community-focused nursery that was forced to relocate when new development forced it out of its West Adams home. Next door to Harun, you’ll now find Lore, a Black-owned bookstore that builds on the legacy of Eso Won Books.
“Every community goes through peaks and valleys, and I think now we’re on the verge of another peak after some really hard times,” Johnson said.
The new Harun Coffee focuses on African coffee traditions, with an expanded food menu led by Alta Adams chef-owner Keith Corbin and an attached speakeasy that asserts the South L.A. community as an after-dark destination.
“Leimert [Park] is affectionately referred to as Africatown or Little Africa,” Johnson said. “I thought it was important to reflect what’s always been a part of the neighborhood.”
The compact interior features bright lemon-lime walls and a window nook with seating that overlooks Degnan Boulevard. Push open a shelf that’s lined with Harun merchandise to reveal the newly launched listening lounge awash in a rich eggplant shade, from the walls to the plush carpet and stage where local acts like musician Terrace Martin perform.
All of Harun’s coffee drinks feature beans from Ethiopia, and a fresh selection of mocktails is designed to complement evening programming, such as a seasonal tonic with makrut lime leaf, oleo saccharum and seamoss.
“It’s about paying homage to the place that really started the phenomenon of coffee,” Johnson said. He was also inspired by the coffee culture in places like Morocco and Egypt, where the beverage is consumed into the evening hours. “It’s about gathering and slowing down for a moment.”
The breakfast menu is anchored by flaky buttermilk biscuits that Corbin also offers at his West Adams restaurant, but at Harun can be topped with house-smoked salmon for a savory start to the day, or whipped cardamom butter and seasonal citrus jam for a dessert-driven take. At night, the menu switches to bar bites, including tamarind-glazed nuts and a nostalgic brown-butter coffee cake inspired by the one that’s been served to students and staff of Los Angeles Unified School District since 1954.
Both Hall and Johnson recognize the significance of coffee shops as essential sites for community organizing and are hopeful that tradition will continue at Harun.
“Coffee has been a spark for folks for radical thought and new ideas throughout history, whether it’s musicians gathering to play music at a cafe, or politicians and local change makers and organizers coming to discuss new ideas,” Hall said. “That’s meant to be kind of the anchor … and then, great coffee, great food.”
Harun Coffee is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. haruncoffee.com, instagram.com/harun.coffee
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