Rose Aguilar

31 May 2017

Professor Batty

English 101

The Domino Effect in North Hollywood, California

Without second guessing, every community has a spot. The term

spot is a slang word referring to a place where most, if not everyone, must go at least

once a week, whether it being a restaurant, library, park or any other public space.

Imagine your community sitting in a burger restaurant. You get your meals there every

lunch hour and are able to recognize a couple people now and then. The employees greet

you with a smile because theyve seen you very often. However, when you look around,

you dont truly capture the reason behind the burger visit. Nor do you think about the

feelings that the people share when theyre at the restaurant. Unknowingly, theres a

secondary purpose behind the restaurant you go to every day and cant get enough of.

Fortunately, as an example, my North Hollywood community shares a secondary

purpose at our spot, Jimmys Burgers. Its located in the city of North Hollywood on

Lankershim and Runnymede. This burger restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner,

everything under fifteen dollars. But besides the food, our community has and continues

to stand as a whole alongside to this burger place. Although some may say Jimmys

Burgers restaurants main purpose is to sell burgers, I argue that Jimmys second and

meaningful purpose is to create family stability in the owners family and the

community as a whole.
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As part of the community, I am proud to know that Jimmys Burgers is a

family owned restaurant. Jimmy actually still lives today. Once in awhile, you see him

sitting in his restaurant, simply looking around at his daily customers. His son was the

head owner years ago-- around the time that I was five years old. Now Jimmys

grandson is in charge of the restaurant. Jimmys burger was meant to be a casual and

family oriented dinner. Its not expensive or fancy. Its perfect for a family gathering,

which Jimmy most definitely thought of as he created the business. Each family

business is basically a story about people entrepreneurs and their families whose

personal values and visions leave an indelible imprint on the businesses that they have

created and that subsequent generations continue to manage (IMD). The family of

Jimmys could never deny the fact that this restaurant brought them family stability

when customers themselves have witnessed father and son working and bonding

together. Ive personally witnessed Jimmy sit at a table in his restaurant and happily gaze

upon the never ending customers his business has brung. Family stability for the Jimmy

family screams out as you walk in. With that being said, this restaurant is important to

the Latino community that North Hollywood holds because of the ethnic and cultural

trait most Latinos carry. U.S.-born Latina mothers report spending as much time with

their young children as their white and black counterparts, and more time than their

foreign-born Latina counterparts. U.S.-born Hispanic mothers also report that their

childs father spends as much time with their child as white and black mothers report

and more time than their foreign-born Hispanic counterparts report. (Karberg). Studies

have shown that even though divorced mothers and fathers are emotionally stressed,

they seek out the quality time to spend with their children. Rather than fixing their
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personal issues, Latino parents seek out the way to keep their families moving forward

and for the better of their children. Jimmys restaurant not only brought family stability

to their own family, but became important to the Latino community because of the sense

of family stability shown through the restaurant. In conclusion, the North Hollywood

community feels at home when eating or simply enjoying the restaurant.

In addition to the family oriented business and family stability that

Jimmys Burgers demonstrates, it has come to result a community as a whole and as a

family. I am a member of the Jimmys Burgers community. I've lived in North

Hollywood all my life. I am also one to witness that the neighborhood isnt the safest. I

know about various tragic events that have occurred on Runnymede street (which is

where Jimmys is located) and they all have included gang violence. In 1994, the

neighborhood was rough. Many gangs would commit drive bys or simply fight outside

on the streets. It was a dangerous time. Yet, the neighborhood has been able to live

beyond that and lucky have changed for the better. The violence is not completely gone.

Unfortunately a cycle is very common when poverty is around. As a matter of fact, a

crime was committed recently. Los Angeles police received a call regarding an assault

with a deadly weapon near Jimmy's Burgers, (KAbc). A nearby neighbor heard and

witnessed the assault and fortunately called the police right away. Other people

wouldve witnessed a scenario like that and not said a word. However, the Jimmys

community continues to take a stand for justice. That night, everyone got out of their

homes, to ask the victim if he was okay or in need of any help. As soon as the police

came to the crime scene, there was a sense of relief. For about three weeks after the

incident, people called and spoke to Jimmys employees to inform them of what had
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happened. Even though there is still recent crime issues that occur, the community of

North Hollywood stays as a whole to the point where its considered to be a big family.

As a matter of fact, in my personal observations, I have witnessed family qualities in the

employees and customers themselves. One afternoon, I saw this homeless man walking

back and forth at the front of Jimmys Burgers as he asked for spare change so that he

would be able to buy something to eat. Granted, that day I was able to witness Jimmy

himself having a cup of coffee. I saw Jimmy open the door and offer to buy the homeless

man a meal. They both walked into the restaurant and Jimmy asked the homeless man

what he wanted to eat. Moments like those surely flutter your soul. Events such as these

are sometimes painful but very important to a Latino community. Its important because

we all have witnessed or have heard of how difficult the North Hollywood area was,

nevertheless, we have also witnessed how it got better and a lot more safer. Its

important to the Latino community because it gives us a sense of hope and

determination. Jimmys restaurant created a family in which everyone is extremely

grateful.

As mentioned before, many may claim that Jimmys Burger restaurant is simply

just a restaurant. However, researchers have come to conclude that family meals arent

so meaningless as people think. In conclusion, Jimmys restaurant has a whole other

purpose than just eating. Links between family meals and child mental health,

substance use, and delinquency, using a variety of methods designed to better

understand whether family meals themselves are associated with improved outcomes

for children (Cook). As demonstrated, family meals play an important contributor to

family traditions and moments. This piece of evidence explains how Jimmys Burgers
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and its customers such as the homeless man, Jimmys family and the Latino

community have laid a family oriented platform which joins and unites us.

In conclusion, family events dont just happen inside ones house. This North

Hollywood community has demonstrated how they stand as one to keep Jimmys

Burgers restaurant open and alive. The neighborhood violence has not stopped the

restaurant nor the people to continue their experiences at this restaurant. There has been

occasions where Jimmys Burger was offered money to be taken down, but the

community neglected. As indicated, Jimmys Burgers isnt just a restaurant. The second

and meaningful purpose shines bright and shows their family stability quality. As rough

as this neighborhood may be, they still stand united as a family. The Latino community

grasps family stability close to their heart which concludes to why Jimmys Burger

restaurant is more than honorary to us.

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Works Cited

KAbc. "Man Shot near Burger Joint in North Hollywood." ABC7 Los Angeles.

N.p., 06 Mar. 2015. Web.

Karberg, Cabrera, Fagan, Scott, Guzman. Family Stability and Instability among

Low-Income Hispanic Mothers With Young Children (n.d) National Research Center on

Hispanic Children & Families. Web.

Cook, Eliza, and Rachel Dunifon. "Do Family Meals Really Make a Difference?"

(n.d.): n. pag. Parenting in Context. Cornell Cooperative Extension. Web.

IMD. Family Businesses: Successes and Failures (n.d) International Institute for

Management Development. Web.