Tam's Burgers is an American restaurant chain based in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Founded in 1971, it has been seen as a symbol of

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

. The restaurant is not to be confused with another chain based in Southern California that has the same name. That chain split from the original Tam's in 1992 and serves the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...

, with six locations.

History

Tam's Burgers was founded in 1971 by Kostas Vovos. His grandson, Spiro, owns the restaurant as of 2022.

Locations

The chain has over twelve locations in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

In popular culture

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

mentioned the chain in his 2017 song " ELEMENT.", rapping "I be hangin' out at Tam's, I be on Stockton / I don't do it for the 'Gram, I do it for Compton". The set for the

Super Bowl LVI halftime show The Super Bowl LVI halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, was the Halftime show, halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LVI, which took place on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The s ...

in 2022 included a sign from Tam's Burgers #21 and references to many other Compton landmarks as a tribute to the African-American culture of the Los Angeles area. Lamar is also seen eating at the chain in the music video for his 2024 song "

Not Like Us "Not Like Us" is a diss track by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar amidst Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud, his highly publicized feud with the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. Released on May 4, 2024, through Interscope Records, it broke ...

" alongside the song's producer,

Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

References

{{reflist 1971 establishments in California Restaurants established in 1922 Restaurants in Los Angeles County, California