Hawkins House of Burgers has been an institution in the Watts neighborhood of Southeast Los Angeles for decades. The owner, Cynthia Hawkins, has a quick smile and the easy manner of an old friend, even if you've only known her for a few minutes. She's the youngest of the fourteen Hawkins kids and speaks with pride about her father, who came to Los Angeles from Arkansas in 1939 as a part of The Second Great Migration that brought Southern African Americans to Western urban centers. He first opened Hawkins as little more than a food stand, but the years and a growing reputation as one of the best burgers in town helped it expand into a larger, if still basic, restaurant.
