We had the good fortune of connecting with Aimee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aimee, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In January 2020, before the pandemic really got going, I launched an Instagram page @seeaimeeyelp to highlight food, drinks, and experiences I had while living in the Southern California region. When everything shut down, I realized how important it was to amplify local vendors in my own community and neighborhood, many of whom suffered from the closures.

The more I shared, the more I realized the community and connection that came from sharing these foods, drinks, and experiences. And that’s when “seeaimeeyelp” became more to me. I wanted everyone to see what I saw – not only the Southern California tourist destination with beaches, Hollywood, and Disneyland – although those are great too – but the locals who live, work, and play here everyday.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I am not eating, drinking or yelping, I am an educator. That means working with students and families to help guide them to successes that impact both themselves and their communities. That professional work translates to my own business in terms of building connections across the community. The challenge of telling the story of a business – its origins, goals, and product – is one that is ongoing, but I learned that it can greatly impact small and local businesses. By providing encouragement and support by showing up, documenting, and sharing those experiences, those small local places that may not have traditional means to market their own businesses have an opportunity to shine as well. And I think that’s what I want people to know about my brand – I believe everyone – and every business – deserves a chance to shine in their own way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend visits, there are a few place we must go. These are some of my favorite places to take visitors to Los Angeles.

She loves KPop music, so Koreatown Plazap in DTLA would be our first (and lengthy) stop, especially at Music Plaza, where we would browse the latest releases.

Second, she loves the beach, but which beach will depend upon the vibes she is feeling that day. If she wanted a chill local vibe, we’d visit Hermosa Beach, stopping at the Lighthouse Cafe for their Jazz Brunch, and posing for a quick picture since some scenes from the film “La La Land” were filmed there. For a more sprawling beach experience, we’d head up Pacific Coast Highway to visit Zuma Beach in Malibu.

Third, she loves shopping, but we would head to places in LA that have shopping and dining, and are unique or historic locales in and of themselves. In Highland Park, a neighborhood with great hipster vibes, we might head to Highland Park Bowl to do some bowling, or stop for a cocktail at Gold Line bar. If she was more in the mood for sampling a variety of foods, we would head to San Gabriel Valley’s 626 Night Market and check out local vendors for poke nachos or teppanyaki. Finally, we would explore The Original Farmers Market in LA, where classic Hollywood abounds. We would stop for breakfast at Du-Par’s Restaurant, then head through the market to wind up at The Grove to shop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
While I am grateful to my husband @techmarine and family for always supporting me, amping me up, and letting me take endless photos of their food, I really have to shoutout my brother, @inhabitlosangeles for encouraging the liftoff of this entrepreneurial enterprise. Both he and my husband are entrepreneurs, and I have learned a lot from them both in terms of building the systems needed to operate a brand. In terms of building a network and community, I am a member of the Yelp Elite Squad in Los Angeles (Long Beach region). There, we come together to support local businesses – the people I have met who participate in and run Yelp all over LA are definitely worthy of a shoutout!

Instagram: @seeaimeeyelp

Yelp: https://seeaimee.yelp.com

Other: https://seeaimeewrite.substack.com

Image Credits
Additional photo #1, #7: Mikendo Feature photo, Additional photo #8: Vica

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSoCal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.