It starts with an Instagram DM.
That’s where you’ll find Straight Up Fast Food and its menu of organic smoothies and cold-pressed juices every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Once you’ve selected your drink (the Jefferson, filled with blackberries, açaí, apples and more, will never let you down), just shoot the page a message with your choice and your location.
Instantly, it’ll reach owner and founder Senter McGinest IV, who’s likely in the back of 5-Star Kitchen along Vernon Avenue blending a batch of produce for the next customer in line. As soon as your potion is ready, he’ll hop on his motorcycle, wheeling it to your door faster than you can say the word “Big Mac.”
McGinest has always been a hustler, ever since the days he was selling candy as an elementary schooler. Years later, he’s traded in the high fructose corn syrup for organic fruits and vegetables, creating his own brand while simultaneously expanding access to healthy food in South L.A.
He’s taken his motorcycle as far as Sherman Oaks, South Gate and Pasadena to drop off his blended drinks (never once charging a delivery fee, no matter the distance). Still, most of his customers are in South L.A., where access to healthy food has historically been abysmal.
“In the neighborhood, fast food is forced upon us,” he said. “It’s imprinted into us psychologically. So I was like, let’s change the meaning of that.”
