From the green exterior of Chifa to the neon lights of Capri Club, the HBO show “I Love LA” features familiar establishments from the Eagle Rock neighborhood.
“I Love LA” tells the story of Maia Simsbury, played by show creator Rachel Sennott, as she navigates her role as an influencer manager on a social media platform. In the show, Maia and her friends visit a handful of LA establishments, including some of Eagle Rock’s local restaurants.
Chifa, located on Eagle Rock Boulevard, is featured in Episode 3 of “I Love LA” under the name “Ginny” in the show. Opened in November 2020 by Humberto Leon, Chifa serves a unique blend of Peruvian and Chinese food and is on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list.
“The show is really good at touching on the LA zeitgeist […] It’s definitely almost like an insider in LA taking you around to all the fun spots,” Leon said.
Another Eagle Rock spot, Capri Club, premiered in Episode 2. Danny Webber, the general manager, said this is the first show ever filmed at Capri Club.
“I was glad they thought of us,” Webber said. “One guy […] came by with a card and said, ‘I’m a scout. This place looks nice. Do you mind if I take some pictures?’ And we were like, ‘sure, take some pictures.’”
Colombo’s Italian Steakhouse, a local Italian restaurant featured on “I Love LA,” underwent a similar scouting experience, according to manager Bre Alvarez. When the shoot day came, the process was a lot more intense, Alvarez said.
“All of a sudden, there are a hundred people and they’ve taken over your entire restaurant,” Alvarez said.
According to Alvarez, the film crew was on site from early morning until late into the evening.
“They take down the entire restaurant and make it their own,” Alvarez said. “It’s really amazing and it’s an all-day process.”
After “I Love LA” premiered on HBO Nov. 2, people flooded to Capri Club and commented on seeing their favorite restaurants on the show, Webber said.
“It’s funny hearing: ‘Hey, I saw you on TV,'” Webber said.
At Colombo’s Italian Steakhouse, a group of people came in willing to wait an extra hour to sit in a booth where a scene from the show was filmed, Alvarez said. According to Alvarez, the high-tension scene filmed at Colombo’s, in which Maia meets with her mentor, played into the mysterious nature of the restaurant, which is even named-dropped in the show.
“It’s so on-brand with having a love interest and wanting to bring [them] here,” Alvarez said. “Your bae is gonna ask you to come [to Colombo’s] and maybe ruin your life […] It’s nice that [the restaurant] translates onto film.”
In an interview with LA magazine, Sennott said “I Love LA” is a love letter from transplants to LA, including Eagle Rock, and specifically credits the Eastside as her home.
Chifa is situated in Eagle Rock, which Leon said is his hometown.
“We immigrated to Eagle Rock, so […] it’s exciting to bring business back to this area that accepted us when we moved here in the [19]70s,” Leon said.
According to Webber, Capri Club serves families of all ages and many of their regulars live in the neighborhood.
“[Capri Club is] your neighborhood bar, your neighborhood spot, and not some fancy destination where you’re gonna get treated differently if you’re not our demographic,” Webber said.
Alvarez said she thinks Eagle Rock is one of the best places in Northeast LA.
“If anyone in LA is watching that show, they should definitely visit, not just our businesses,” Alvarez said. “Anything in Eagle Rock is so freaking cool.”
Contact Emma Williams at ewilliams4@oxy.edu
