LATIMES.COM/FOOD THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019F5
mall storefront in Compton decorated
with two oversize fish tanks and a col-
orful photo collage dedicated to family
patriarchs Darryl and Pia Holmes
(“You’ve Never Had Chicken Like This,”
a sign outside reads).
According to Darryl Holmes’ god-
daughter Jennifer Sanderson, sometime
around 1980 there were two neighboring
families, the Holmeses and the Hookses,
who sold sausage out of their Crenshaw
homes. Darryl Holmes was originally
from Texas. He served in the Army be-
fore moving to L.A. and while stationed
in Germany met his wife, Pia. Holmes’
sausage fell somewhere between
bratwurst and what’s often labeled
“country sausage,” heavy with sage and
red pepper but also dashed with hints of
ginger, nutmeg and cardamom, a dual
reflection perhaps of Darryl’s Texas
roots and Pia’s Bavarian heritage.
At some point the front-porch opera-
tion become so popular that city officials
noticed and shut it down. The families
split. The Holmeses relocated to Comp-
ton and launched their own business be-
fore eventually retiring to Phoenix. Dar-
ryl Holmes died three years ago; his
daughter Shanita Holmes still owns the
company, Sanderson runs the shop
most days. Business remains brisk.
LAFD and maintenance workers from
LAX order sausages in bulk a few times a
year for company breakfasts and bar-
becues; Robert Earl’s BBQ in Long
Beach and the Rib Nest in Gardena are
customers.
As for the Hookses? Thirty years ago
a man who had worked for Mr. Hooks
strolled into Mama’s Chicken and of-
fered to prepare sausages for the market
to sell. “We were mostly known for fried
chicken back then, but I hired him and
he ended up making our sausage for the
next 24 years,” recalls Mama’s owner
Karen Whitman.
Whitman says the store dabbled with
turkey, beef and pork links initially, but
chicken emerged as a clear winner. “At
that time beef had a bad rap, so folks
gravitated toward chicken,” she says.
“That’s really how it became popular, be-
cause you were eating something that
tasted great and was better for you. We
just happened to be there at the right
time.”
Why has the bird remained on top?
Several owners spoke to a loyalty toward
chicken sausage’s particular texture and
flavor. “Throw them on the grill and,
boom, they plump up like crazy,” says
Chris McCord, owner-operator of Ur-
seila’s Meats near Westmont and the sau-
sage supplier for Roscoe’s Chicken & Waf-
fles. “We’ve had people come from Louisi-
ana to buy our sausage because they
couldn’t get chicken ones back there.”
Walter Hart Sr. and Jr., the father-son
duo behind Best Buy Meat in Hyde Park,
found that customers returned for cuts
they couldn’t find in the supermarket,
whether it was their bestselling chicken
sausage or thick turkey chops that stayed
tender in the frying pan.
“It’s actually easier to make sausages
with chicken because the thighs have the
ideal amount of fat you need,” says Walter
Hart Jr. “They tend to stay juicier and
they take well to seasonings.”
But while chicken hot links have re-
mained as marketable as ever — Farmer
John’s released its own brand several
years back — the community that cham-
pioned them has gradually dwindled. Ac-
cording to census data, African Ameri-
cans now make up less than 9% of the
city’s population, down from 17% in the
1980s. For some South L.A. businesses,
that decline, as well as an overall lack of
civic investment, has led to tough reali-
ties.
Money Saver Meats, entrepreneur Oz-
abe Banks’ storefront in Hyde Park
(“Home of the Best Chicken Sausage”),
closed in 2017 after nearly 30 years in busi-
ness. That same year, Beverly Shields
sold Harris Grocery Market in Watts, a
neighborhood establishment opened by
her late father in 1968. Shields, now in her
60s, still returns to the store each week to
grind the sausages her Texan father
made famous, though these days they
share fridge space with Zacatecas-stylechorizo prepared by new owner Manuela
Zambrano.
In 1988, 74-year-old George Turner
made plans to retire to Palmdale and sell
Turner’s Market & Poultry to two young
and ambitious black professionals: real
estate broker Baron Jones and his lawyer,
Basil Clark. The transfer of ownership
was enough to warrant a visit from Mayor
Tom Bradley as well as an enthusiastic
feature in the Los Angeles Times. Any op-
timism was short-lived: Clark was dis-
barred for mishandling funds and later
sent to prison. Turner lived to age 105; his
eponymous market was sold in the late
’90s to its current owner, Chung Kim, who
still prepares the hot links in-house.
Hope for a new generation of tube
stuffers, however, might lie with Michael
“Shad” Lawless, the 33-year-old chef be-
hind Shad’s New Cali, a catering outfit
that launched on Instagram in 2013 and
expanded into a food truck back in
March. Lawless grew up a couple blocks
from Miracle Market in Compton; like
George White, his family were Louisiana
transplants. “My grandfather loves a
good hot link,” he says. “That and a slice
of white bread and he’s happy.”
When three of Lawless’ friends and fel-
low Instagram chefs — Calvin Johnson of
Bleu Kitchen, Jermelle Henderson of
Taco Mell and Keith Garrett of All Flavor
No Grease — opened Ladera Heights’
Court Cafe in July, Lawless created a
from-scratch chicken sausage meant for
the cafe’s signature breakfast sandwich.
The recipe was a hit, but plans to put it on
the menu were shelved while Lawless
focused on his food truck. Eventually
the restaurant decided to source its sau-
sage from — where else? — Mama’s
Chicken.
Lawless hopes to launch his own sau-
sage company, provided he can find the
right manufacturer. But that’s all on the
horizon; right now he’ll readily acknowl-
edge who rules the roost. “Mama’s is the
one you get compared to — everyone
loves it,” he says. “If I can produce some-
thing on par with that, it’s a good place to
start.”Photographs byMariah TaugerLos Angeles TimesThe crew at Holmes
Homemade Chicken
Sausage, right, and the
shop’s Samuel Kirby, top
left. Mama’s Chicken link
on a bun, top right, and
Phillips’ Soul Special.Mama’s Chicken
2510 W. Slauson Ave.,
mamaschicken.nameMiracle Market
800 W. Alondra Blvd.,
Compton, (310) 537-8813Turner’s Louisiana
Meat & Poultry
11123 S. Central Ave., Watts,
turnersmarket.comPete’s Louisiana Foods
3701 W. Jefferson Blvd.,
West Adams,
petesfoodproductsinc.comHolmes Homemade
Chicken Sausage
12020 S. Central Ave.,
Compton, (323) 249-8155Urseila’s Meat
1214 W. Manchester Ave.,
South L.A., (323) 565-1940Best Buy Meat
7108 Crenshaw Blvd.,
Hyde Park, (323) 752-7600Where to get
your chicken
sausage
On the cover:Walter Hart Jr.,
left, and Walter Hart Sr. found
that customers returned to
their Best Buy Meat in Hyde
Park for cuts they couldn’t find
at supermarkets — such as
chicken sausage.