Jaden Smith’s “I Love You” Restaurant
The population of people in need within Los Angeles is no secret. Although the city is known for Hollywood and all the glitz and glamor, there is a side that many people would rather turn a blind eye to. This does not apply to actor, singer, and entrepreneur Jaden Smith though.
Hollywood
Smith is nowhere close to being a stranger to Hollywood, from growing up in a famous family to starring in The Karate Kid (2010) and opening for Justin Bieber during his Justice Tour whose album he was featured on. His accolades have not kept him from seeing things the way they really are and decided to do something about it.
In 2019 Smith launched “I Love You” Restaurant. This restaurant was a food truck and non-profit organization that offered free vegan meals and donated clothes to the unhoused population of Skid Row, California. Smith chooses to serve vegan meals to the community due to his belief that everyone deserves to eat healthy meals no matter what their financial situation looks like.
Philosophy
He partnered with world-class chef Tabitha Leeper, who also co-founded the company with him, to create the best menu possible. After years of feeding the community, in 2025 the truck evolved into a permanent restaurant location.
The way the restaurant works is if you are not in need but would like to order food, you must pay extra so someone else’s meal who is in need can get paid for. The philosophy of the business is to pay what you can, eat what you need. This is meant to maximize the number of people being taken care of.
LA
Los Angeles currently has a homeless population of about 72.3 K people and Skid Row has around 4 K. The I love You company still hopes to expand their restaurants across
the country, expanding their reach of hope to as many people as possible. This display of social entrepreneurship is a great example of how celebrities can use their platform for good.
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