Saturdays are usually busy days for Alma’s Place, a soul food restaurant in Compton across from the city’s courthouse.
But roughly an hour into opening on June 22, Corina Pleasant, who runs the business with her mother Alma, noticed no customers were filing in. Their parking lot, which is shared with other small businesses in a strip mall, was overrun by cars and chaos as hundreds of people poured to the courthouse to catch a glimpse of rap star Kendrick Lamar, who was there to film the music video for “Not Like Us.”
Alma’s Place and other nearby businesses say they lost thousands of dollars that day. The business owners blame city officials for not providing any notice about the video shoot, which ultimately forced them to shut down operations. Now they’re asking Lamar, production company pgLang or the city to compensate them for their losses.
Daryl Hurlic places a morning order at Alma’s Place on July 11 in Compton.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
“It was really disheartening to have the electricity on and gas,” Pleasant said. “I’m just running everything and making no money. I literally was there for nothing, because the little money that I did make, I had to pay my staff with that.”
If she had been informed ahead of time, Pleasant said, she could have preemptively closed for the day or set up a pop-up tent with a special menu.
She estimates she lost between $1,800 to $2,200 that day. Other business owners in the area told similar stories in testimony to the City Council and interviews with The Times.
A spokesperson for the city of Compton said in a statement that the city would identify “opportunities for more efficient film permit communication to our community” in the future.
“Businesses in Compton, especially small businesses, are the backbone of our city,” the statement said. “We want to continue to keep an open line of communication and do everything we can to support economic growth.”
Representatives for Lamar and pgLang did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Rumors of Lamar’s video shoot had been circulating online since at least June 17, building up anticipation for the rapper’s appearance in his hometown after his highly publicized feud with Drake.
Compton officials issued a film permit certificate June 21 for several locations in the center of the city: the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at the courthouse, Compton Courtyard and parking structure, Tam’s Burgers on Rosecrans Avenue, Compton College, Central Avenue, Willowbrook Avenue and Compton Boulevard.
The next day, more than 700 people arrived at the courthouse to be featured in the video. Nearby parking lots were packed to the brim, with some people even parking their vehicles on grass.
Lamar began filming at Tam’s Burgers and other areas earlier in the afternoon before heading over to the courthouse around 3 p.m., where the large crowd was waiting for him.
Pleasant closed her restaurant hours earlier. Spectators had overflowed the shopping center’s parking lot, turning into a one-way street, obstructing access to fire lanes and Dumpsters and trapping vehicles that were already parked, she said. Customers, many of whom often drive from Riverside and Orange County to dine at Alma’s Place on weekends, turned around and left.
“One day does matter,” Pleasant said. “It does matter when you’re there, and you’re wasting your time. It does matter when your Edison bill is $1,000. It does matter when two weeks’ payroll for three people is nearly $3,000. It does matter when gas is $800. You’re there, all these things are running, and you have nothing to show for it.”
Adelfo Antonio Garcia, a co-owner of Sunny Express Gourmet Fast Food, said he lost about $2,000 that day as well. And customers still believe he’s closed on Saturdays.
Garcia called the situation frustrating because his restaurant was already struggling to get by. The city’s lack of communication was unacceptable, he said.
“The people who suffer are the small businesses,” he said in Spanish.
Alma Pleasant attended a City Council meeting the following Tuesday to share her disappointment with city officials, who she said needed to “get it together.”
“I’m here because three things affected me on Saturday,” she said during public comment. “And when those three things affect me, I’m coming in full force. One, my kids. Two, my money. Three, my food.”
It is not mandatory for production companies to pay impacted businesses, according to Kathryn Arnold, a producer and entertainment consultant unaffiliated with Lamar. However, filmmakers do sometimes compensate businesses as a sign of goodwill.
“Everybody does better when there’s clear communication,” Arnold said. “Nobody likes to be blindsided by something like this.”