{"id":358955,"date":"2026-06-13T05:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/358955\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T05:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:52:23","slug":"daisy-miles-party-bus-tour-celebrates-l-a-s-black-owned-food-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/358955\/","title":{"rendered":"Daisy Miles party bus tour celebrates L.A.’s Black-owned food scene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was approaching noon on a recent Saturday and a small crowd was forming outside of Southern Girl Desserts, a now-closed cookie shop at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw shopping plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you here for Daisy\u2019s tour?\u201d Each person asked as they approached the group. We introduced ourselves while we waited for host Daisy Miles to arrive.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, a black party bus rounded the corner. The door opened and Miles descended, immediately setting the tone with her outfit, a puffy, sparkly white dress with a matching ribbon tied in her braids, not unlike what a bride-to-be might wear for her bachelorette party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you\u2019re all hungry!\u201d she exclaimed, stepping aside so we could scan our tickets and pile into the bus. Inside, black curtains blocked out the windows and purple neon lights zigzagged across the walls and ceiling.<\/p>\n

The idea to start a food tour came in 2024, after Miles relocated back to L.A. following stints in Texas and Mexico. Every year for Black History Month, she had a tradition of spotlighting historical Black figures on her TikTok. That year, as a way to reacquaint herself with her hometown, she decided to highlight some of the stalwarts in L.A.\u2019s Black food scene. It was then she realized how much local restaurants were struggling and that industry challenges were even more pronounced among Black-owned businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, it was like, oh, my gosh, how can I help even more?\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when the thought clicked in my mind like, \u2018You should do a food tour.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Miles held her first food tour during Black History Month last year, renting a party bus that made stops at Bayou Grille, Jamz Creamery, Cousin\u2019s Kitchen, Keokia\u2019s Kitchen, Krab Queenz, Tev\u2019s Kitchen and Southern Girl Desserts, the latter of which has since shifted to pop-ups and catering. <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Shrimp <\/p>\n

1. In Inglewood, Red\u2019s Flavor Table passed out shrimp and potato breakfast bowls to guests. 2. A glass of welcome champagne and a turkey chop and waffle from Breakfast with Milli, a diner in Baldwin Hills. 3. Shrimp and grits from The District by GS, a bar and lounge on Crenshaw Boulevard. (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

At first, sales were slow. Miles paid for ad space on Instagram and Eventbrite, but it wasn\u2019t until a local influencer shared the tour with their audience that the event went viral and tickets sold out. Just about every tour she\u2019s hosted since then \u2014 at least one and up to four per month, including neighborhood walking tours \u2014 has sold out.<\/p>\n

Over time, the format has shifted. \u201cOn my first tour I didn\u2019t even know what I was doing,\u201d Miles admitted.<\/p>\n

A former teacher, she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in African American studies and a master\u2019s in humanities. She has a full-time position with L.A. County department of mental health and is raising a 4-year-old. \u201cI got more business savvy over time, and that\u2019s when I had to start making the dollars make sense. That\u2019s why I had to go up on my ticket [prices], right? That way I can see a profit as well, and not to mention \u2026 all the expenses like tipping the driver, paying for the bus and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ticket prices for Daisy\u2019s Black L.A. Food Tour are now around $150. The tour length has extended from three to four hours and each is now limited to five restaurant visits. She now has a social media manager and an assistant, and has expanded from one party bus up to four on her most recent tour. Miles offers corporate and private tours, with past clients that include award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.<\/p>\n

Miles counters the ticket price by giving away a handful of tickets monthly to those in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know everybody in my audience doesn\u2019t have $150 to pay for an experience, but everybody deserves it. Everybody\u2019s going through something,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

Our Saturday tour kicked off with a brief explanation of the day\u2019s events. The bus would stop at each spot for 20-30 minutes, long enough to pass out food and sometimes a drink.<\/p>\n

\"Host <\/p>\n

Host Daisy Miles kicks off her party bus tour by passing out mixed drinks in Capri-style pouches.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Miles told us that she\u2019d recently instituted a rule of no hard liquor, as a way of bringing focus back to the restaurants. Moments after this announcement, she passed out Capri Sun-style pouches filled with mixed drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have whiskey and lemonade, the blue one is tequila\u2026\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

None of us questioned this logic. Perhaps she meant no more shots, I thought.<\/p>\n

Still, it was hard not to be charmed by Miles, who next selected a DJ among the guests and helped them connect to the sound system. Soon, old-school West Coast rap was thumping through the speakers. \u201cAin\u2019t nothin\u2019 like a gangsta party, party\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

For the most part, we stayed on the bus during each stop, and the restaurant owner, chef or manager would climb on to tell us their story and explain what they were serving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always appreciate Daisy because she brings good vibes every time she comes,\u201d said Milli Jay, chef and owner of Breakfast With Milli, a cheery pink diner in a Baldwin Hills shopping center. In one hand she held a wrapped shrimp burrito, a substitute for a guest who didn\u2019t eat poultry. \u201cI\u2019m going to give her some discount cards so when y\u2019all come back and see me tomorrow you don\u2019t have to pay as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though restaurants are not compensated for participating in the tour, many are happy to become repeat stops and end up recommending friends for the tour. Beyond brick and mortar stops, Miles also invites caterers, pop-up chefs and home-based food businesses to join.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe restaurant gets new eyes on their food, on their restaurant,\u201d said Miles. \u201cEach tour I have at least three to five influencers, so not only are they getting my audience, but they\u2019re getting the influencers\u2019 audiences as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

1. In between bus stops, host Daisy Miles preps mimosas for guests. 2. The first stop on Daisy\u2019s Black L.A. Food Tour, Breakfast with Milli owner Milli Jay serves champagne garnished with strawberries along with turkey chops and waffles. 3. In Inglewood, Red\u2019s Flavor Table is a popular stop on Daisy\u2019s Black L.A. Food Tour, with a menu of Southern breakfast favorites. (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

As I got acquainted with the other guests on the tour, Miles\u2019 reach became evident. Two friends drove from Bakersfield after meeting her on a recent cruise. One influencer met her at a local market, where she introduced herself and offered a free tour in exchange for social media content. A Sacramento couple joined the tour on a whim after seeing one of Miles\u2019 viral Instagram posts. They road-tripped overnight to make the noon meeting time and planned to drive back the next day.<\/p>\n

Others were repeat customers. One woman wanted to try the party bus after doing one of Miles\u2019 neighborhood walking tours. Another attended the tours regularly as a way of trying new Black-owned food spots around the city.<\/p>\n

The portions were generous, more like a hearty snack than a bite \u2014 a cup of Biscoff pudding from Tap Out Queen Treats, a fried turkey chop and waffle from Breakfast With Milli, a thin slice of jerk chicken pizza from Esco\u2019s Pizza, a half-burger and onion rings from Phat Daddy\u2019s and a baked chicken wing and half of an egg roll stuffed with yams, mac and cheese and collard greens from A Family Affair that I ended up saving to eat later.<\/p>\n

As we rode around the city, occasionally catching glimpses of the clear blue sky and leaning palm trees out of the bus\u2019 curtained windows, I was reminded how rare it is for most Angelenos to explore the true sprawl of L.A., and particularly its traditionally Black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Once, on a private tour in South-Central, Miles said some of the guests were initially worried for their safety. \u201cI definitely think the tour gives exposure to those that are scared,\u201d she said. \u201cThe person who raised that concern was an executive from Disney, and he wants to book me for more parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between stops, Miles entertained us with Black trivia questions, complete with prizes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho can name three movies filmed in South-Central?\u201d she asked. In lieu of hard liquor, the winner of each round got a blast from a Champagne squirt gun into their mouth.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"Travel <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"While <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Host <\/p>\n

1. Travel influencer Anna Rice records herself while on Daisy\u2019s Black L.A. Food Tour. 2. While driving through Manhattan Beach, host Daisy Miles asked the party bus driver to pull over so guests could snap photos by the shore. 3. Host Daisy Miles keeps guests entertained with trivia and karaoke in between stops at Black-owned restaurants. (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

Those who prefer a more low-key atmosphere or to skip the booze should try Miles\u2019 neighborhood walking tours, which have spanned sections of Inglewood, View Park-Windsor Hills and Compton. To make them as accessible as possible, the route is less than one mile on flat, paved sidewalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guests love it because you get to walk off the food,\u201d said Miles.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true. When the bus dropped us off at the parking structure at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw plaza around 4 p.m., I felt ready for a nap. Save for the playlist that had firmly moved from gangsta rap to smooth R&B, the last 20 minutes of our ride was mostly silent, with several of us dozing off.<\/p>\n

More than a year since launching her food tours, Miles has no plans of slowing down. She\u2019s since created tours catering to Caribbean cuisine, Black-women owned spots and even taken visitors to Bloom Ranch<\/a>, the largest Black-owned farm<\/a> in L.A. County. For Juneteenth, she\u2019s planning a food tour of Long Beach that will conclude with a cookout. In August, she\u2019ll host a tour in Martha\u2019s Vineyard just ahead of the island\u2019s nine-day African American film festival.<\/p>\n

Miles hopes to incorporate more education on future tours and is interested in partnering with real estate agents who can arrange stops at open houses and offer resources for curious first-time home buyers. As the federal government cracks down<\/a> on public schools\u2019 ability to teach critical race theory, she hopes her tours will offer a counterbalance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fighting against a system that\u2019s trying to erase our businesses,\u201d she said. \u201cBlack restaurants have to fight harder for the business loans, they have to fight harder for the grants. So for me to be able to highlight them and expose them is a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Host <\/p>\n

Host Daisy Miles has big plans for her Black food tours, including an August excursion in Martha\u2019s Vineyard, Mass.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was approaching noon on a recent Saturday and a small crowd was forming outside of Southern Girl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146099,30623,8566,146096,4080,9788,2303,48,52,51,47,50,49,137485,146098,146097,1457,18915,211,18652,8843],"class_list":["post-358955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-black-owned-food-scene","tag-bus","tag-chef","tag-food-tour","tag-guest","tag-kitchen","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-miles","tag-milli-jay","tag-party-bus","tag-restaurant","tag-stop","tag-ticket","tag-tour","tag-way"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}