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South LA’s Trap Kitchen Adds Portland Food Truck to Growing Empire

And they’re apparently doing big business already

Trap Kitchen
The Trap Kitchen team
Trap Kitchen [official photo]
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

South LA food legend Trap Kitchen expanded up to Portland with a food truck earlier this year, and now comes word that the team might be doing so well that they’ll need to add a second rig.

The news on Trap Kitchen comes from Eater Portland, which has been covering the comings and goings of owners Malachi Jenkins and Roberto Smith since the beginning of 2018. Up in the Pacific Northwest the pair has been doing staples like mac and cheese while also adding some Instagram flair with scooped-out pineapple bowls filled with steak and shrimp, plus fried chicken sandwiches and more.

Apparently Portlanders have taken to the food, as lines are getting long and the Trap Kitchen team is already keen to expand. The second truck is meant to be more based around events, but could also pull double-duty helping to slow down lines at the first trailer.

Back in Los Angeles, Jenkins and Smith say they’re actively looking for a sit-down restaurant space, but have not landed on a lease just yet. In the meantime, the team continues to pop up around the city and sell food over Instagram — often alongside many of the other crews from South LA’s burgeoning online food movement, like All Flavor No Grease, TacoMel, and Mr. Fries Man.