The Ingredients serves up Southern comfort food in Compton

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- At The Ingredients in Compton, the goal is simple: make every customer feel like family.

Tucked inside the Rosecrans Shopping Center, the locally owned restaurant has quickly become a neighborhood favorite since opening just a year ago.

"I don't live too far from here," customer Eldred Smith said. "It's not a lot of eateries that you can just come in and just kind of feel at home."

Guests can dig into hearty breakfast burritos, grilled shrimp and grits, turkey chop sandwiches, chicken and waffles, or fried catfish served with Cajun cabbage and red beans and rice.

One customer favorite is the shrimp and grits, while the $14 "222 Special" includes two pancakes, two chicken wings, and two eggs cooked your way.

"Everybody knows each other in here," server Lauren Kennedy said. "Everyone's giving hugs. It is a really happy, safe, fun environment."

Customers say The Ingredients is more than just a place to eat.

"It's a family atmosphere," Smith said. "A lot of families don't get a chance to eat together. This is one of the spots you can do that."

The Ingredients is a Black-owned, locally owned business that is already looking toward the future.

"We are looking to expand," Kennedy said. "I love that the community loves us just as much as we love them."

The Ingredients is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2251 W. Rosecrans Ave. in Compton. The owner says a second location is expected to open in Hawthorne next month.

Thank you, Cheryl Pope, for the submission.

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