Hope’s Liquor, on the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Alvarado Street in Filipinotown, is a place to buy booze and junk food, but at its core it’s also an unofficial community center for a neighborhood that lacks resources.⁠ ⁠ It’s a place where rival gang members can put their differences aside and be friends. A place where newer residents of the neighborhood (like me) get to know people who have lived here their whole lives. A place where people of all economic levels can shop; from the unhoused resident who comes in for a drink or to buy a scratch-off, to the customer who spends hundreds of dollars at the store in one visit. And if you ever want to know what’s going on in the neighborhood, it’s a good place to start.⁠ ⁠ Over the course of several nights and a couple of afternoons, @shoton35mm hung out with store owner Rubal Singh and shot portraits of his inner circle. Link in bio to witness something special.⁠ ⁠ ✍️/📸: @shoton35mm