Issa Rae, the actress, writer and producer known for HBO’s Insecure, is lending her considerable star power to a new pizzeria that recently launched in Los Angeles.

Downtown Dough, a project led by the Good Vibes Only (GVO) hospitality team that owns several other concepts in L.A., opened on May 3. It’s located in a space that’s also occupied by GVO’s Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen and starts slinging pies in the evenings after the coffee shop closes at 3 p.m.

Rae created and stars in Insecure and has been nominated for multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards. She was named to Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and 2022. She’s also a partner in Hilltop Coffee and Sommerville, a soul food-inspired jazz club.

With seating for 179 customers and a private dining room for 22, Downtown Dough features Neapolitan-style pizza and grilled meats and vegetables. According to Eater L.A., the pizza boasts “a blistered, airy crust brushed with garlic oil and dusted with Parmesan. Local produce and ingredients lead the way with a traditional Margherita, plus a statement pie topped with a truffle cream fondue, cauliflower and truffled Parmesan. The pepperoni pizza gets kicked up with Fresno chiles and honey, while the Revolution pie is a simple combination of marinara, garlic confit, basil, olive oil and niçoise olives.”

Rae is “very involved” in all of Good Vibes’ restaurants, co-owner Ajay Relan told the Los Angeles Times recently.  “We could not think of a better partner and ambassador for our mission,” Relan said.

A funky vibe prevails at Downtown Dough, with music from James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Bootsy Collins and more current acts. “All of GVO’s venues have a very music-first vibe curation, but funk is a genre that we had always enjoyed the most,” Relan said in the L.A. Times interview. “It was just always the most fun, and [we’re] marrying our love for pizza with the free and forward era of the ’70s and the music that came along with it.”

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