Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Dittmann.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Chicago spending time in the blueridge mountains of NC where my grandparents lived. Moved to LA in for college(Cal Arts), studied Theater and got my BFA in acting. Graduated in 2001 and worked as an actor and comedian for many years while also working in the food and beverage industry. Worked everywhere from corporate restaurants(BJ’s and wokano in Burbank), dive bars, to craft beer houses(Hermosillo in HP) who my two great friends(Dustin Lancaster and Mike Blackman)from college own. After working dog at the Herm for many years with the help of those fellas, it was time to open my own place. About the same time my mother passed away so once the lease was signed my two partners and great friends and I decided to name it Crawfords in honor of her. And considering most of the things that fill the space are from my grandfather’s house in the mountains we thought it was fitting. He also loved fried chicken so we decided to only sell that along with four sides and house-made pies. Our kitchen is the size of a phone booth so we had to keep it simple. We do one thing and we do it well! That was over 8 years ago and we are still going strong! From having to cook out of a food truck outside during some extensive kitchen repairs to myself being the only cook for over a year during Covid, we just keep pushing along and will continue to do so!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The first week we had a total plumbing collapse that cost $13k we didn’t have. Our kitchen needed some heavy modifications so was closed for five months but with the kindness of my neighbor Dante who lent us his food truck our kitchen was only closed one day out of those five months. I had worked as the cook not being paid for over a year to make it through Covid, but we did!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Being a comedian for as long as I was I learned a lot about people and gained a comfort dealing with any situation.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Community. When I grew up in Chicago I knew everyone in my neighborhood from the local bodega owner to my mailman’s mom because I bagged groceries at a small market down the street. When you are that involved with the community if you ever needed anything all you had to do was ask. I try to instill a sense of community with my bar and the neighborhood that surrounds it.
Pricing:
- Basket of chicken/Spicy or regular with one side $13
- Basket of sweet potato fries $6
- House-made pie $6
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Crawfordsbarla
- Facebook: Crawfords
