There’s a donut shop at the corner of Vernon and South Central avenues that feels like home for the locals in the area.
Customers walk inside Grandy’s Goody and greet others already seated at the benches and tables, and the women behind the counter ask them how they’ve been.
“If you go there every day, you’ll see the same people every day. In fact, my mom is a local — she’s a regular there,” said Ulysses Alfaro, who grew up in South Central. “People like to go there to converse, talk about what’s going on and have a cup of coffee — do scratchers, the people love doing scratchers.”
David Tae, the owner of Grandy’s, told The LA Local he opened the store in 1994 after working for his uncle’s donut shop, Sammy’s Goode, about a mile away on Vernon Avenue and Avalon Boulevard. Tae left Sammy’s to build Grandy’s after the 1992 LA uprisings.
“I didn’t go to college, so I just worked in the shop,” Tae said. “It’s a family business.”
Part of the family business was learning about the surrounding community. Tae said he is Cambodian and he learned Spanish to communicate with his customers, most of whom predominantly speak the language. A shared culture and activity bring the community together at Grandy’s.
An early riser, Tae opens the shop at 3 a.m. to make Grandy’s staple croissant dishes, including a cinnamon croissant and croissant sandwich combos. He goes home to sleep during the afternoon.
“We have two bakers. And my boss, he’s in charge of making all the croissants, he makes them. He doesn’t buy them, he makes everything,” said Martha Nazario, who has worked at Grandy’s for 17 years.
Nazario is also an early riser, starting her shift at 3 a.m. and leaving at 12 p.m.
“I work here, I live here, and I shop around here. So I know everyone around here,” she said.
She is one of three sisters — including Ines and Veronica Nazario — who work at Grandy’s and are all from South Central.
“We’ve seen kids when they’re born, and now they’re like 17 or 18. We’ve seen them when they’re 5, and now they’re 23. Now they go to college,” Martha Nazario said. “(It) makes us feel old.”
