Dulan's On Crenshaw

Soul food restaurant, Banquet hall in Los Angeles, CA

Address

4859 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90043

Phone

(323) 296-3034

Website

dulansoulfood.com

About Dulan's On Crenshaw

Dulan's on Crenshaw is a Southern soul food restaurant at 4859 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, carrying on a family food-service legacy that stretches back more than 50 years. The restaurant traces its roots to the 1970s, when Greg Dulan began working alongside his parents at their Orange Julius franchise, later helping the family build Hamburger City and, in 1984, Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch Restaurant in Marina Del Rey, where Greg honed his craft in Southern and soul food cooking. In 1993 he took over a shuttered restaurant space on Crenshaw Boulevard and, working with his wife Brenda, turned it into Dulan's on Crenshaw, which has since become a Los Angeles institution and a gathering place for the Crenshaw District community. The menu features classic soul food: fried chicken, smothered pork chops, oxtails, greens, cornbread, and other Southern staples served in a family-style dining room with both indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant also runs a catering operation and partners with Hotville Chicken on a joint food truck, DulanVILLE. In January 2024, Greg completed a self-financed two-million-dollar renovation that added dual kitchens and modernized the space while preserving its soul food roots. Over the decades, Dulan's has hosted prominent figures including Mayor Tom Bradley, Rosa Parks, Magic Johnson, Biggie Smalls, and Richard Pryor, cementing its role as more than just a restaurant but a cultural landmark for Black Los Angeles. The business is open Tuesday through Sunday and offers dine-in, online ordering, group reservations, and catering.

Dulan's on Crenshaw was built on a foundation of family and community. Greg Dulan grew up in the restaurant business, working with his parents at their Orange Julius franchise before the family expanded into Hamburger City and then Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch Restaurant in 1984, where Greg developed his passion for Southern and soul food cooking. In 1993, he took over a closed restaurant on Crenshaw Boulevard and, alongside his wife Brenda, opened Dulan's on Crenshaw. What started as a single family-run restaurant grew into a Los Angeles institution, drawing civil rights icon Rosa Parks, Mayor Tom Bradley, Magic Johnson, and other prominent figures who made it a gathering place for the Black community. Greg credits his time at Howard University with shaping his commitment to giving back, and he has made a practice of hiring formerly incarcerated individuals, saying, "This is what Howard University taught me to do." The restaurant has also stepped up in moments of crisis, providing 30,000 meals to Altadena residents after devastating wildfires, and it has run a Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast for 20 consecutive years. In January 2024, Greg self-financed a two-million-dollar renovation of the Crenshaw location, adding dual kitchens to modernize operations while keeping the soul food traditions that made the restaurant a landmark. More than 50 years after the Dulan family's first venture, Dulan's on Crenshaw remains a family-run cornerstone of the Crenshaw District.

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