Build-Your-Own-Bowl Concept Brings African Diaspora Flavors to Carson

Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen offers customizable bowls with Nigerian, Trinidadian, and Cajun-inspired ingredients.

Apr. 20, 2026 at 10:00am

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A high-contrast, silkscreen-style grid of a single bowl of jollof rice, conceptually representing the bold, flavorful dishes served at the new build-your-own-bowl restaurant in Carson.A vibrant, pop art-inspired celebration of the diverse flavors and ingredients that make up the African diaspora cuisine featured at Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen.Los Angeles Today

Entrepreneur Jinell Singletary and chef Edward Hamilton have opened Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen, a build-your-own-bowl restaurant in Carson, California that reimagines the customizable bowl concept with flavors from the African diaspora. The restaurant features proteins like suya-spiced beef, brown stew jackfruit, and Cajun barbecue chicken, served over a base of jollof rice and accompanied by a wide array of toppings inspired by West African, Caribbean, and Southern U.S. cuisines.

Why it matters

Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen aims to celebrate the rich culinary traditions of the African diaspora, which Singletary and Hamilton feel are often overlooked in the mainstream build-your-own-bowl restaurant trend. By offering a diverse menu of culturally-relevant ingredients, the restaurant provides an opportunity for customers to explore and appreciate the flavors of the Black culinary experience.

The details

The restaurant operates on a Chipotle-style build-your-own-bowl model, allowing customers to choose from a variety of proteins, grains, and toppings. Standout menu items include the suya-spiced beef, which transforms the Nigerian beef skewers into bite-sized chunks, as well as the jerk chicken, blackened salmon, and island garlic shrimp. The jollof rice, described as landing somewhere between Senegalese and Ghanaian styles, is a customer favorite, cooked in a slurry of roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and onions. The toppings bar features 20 choices, including braised collard greens, bourbon sweet potatoes, and shito pepper jam.

  • Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen opened in October 2026.
  • The restaurant is already looking to expand the Carson location, which primarily operates as a take-out business.

The players

Jinell Singletary

The owner of Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen, a former tech industry veteran who was inspired to create a build-your-own-bowl restaurant celebrating African diaspora cuisine after working for her aunt's catering company.

Edward Hamilton

The head chef at Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen, who has previous experience cooking at Alta Adams in West Adams and Nick and Stef's steakhouse, and incorporates flavors from Trinidad, West Africa, and the American South into the restaurant's menu.

Urban Comfort Foods Foundation

Singletary's umbrella organization that includes the restaurant as well as a commercial kitchen that prepares 600 meals per day, 7 days a week, for distribution to 17 shelters around Los Angeles.

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What they’re saying

“I needed something that was going to have nutritional value in a way that was relevant to me culturally.”

— Jinell Singletary, Owner, Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen

“There is such a rich culture in the Americas of Black food that I don't think gets its due.”

— Edward Hamilton, Head Chef, Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen

What’s next

Singletary plans to keep the meal preparation program for local shelters going while also expanding the Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen restaurant concept to other areas of Los Angeles, with Inglewood as a target location.

The takeaway

Urban Comfort Foods Kitchen is bringing much-needed representation and appreciation for the diverse culinary traditions of the African diaspora to the build-your-own-bowl restaurant trend, providing a unique and flavorful alternative to the more mainstream options.