The series, a spoof of prime time soap operas, was set in Van Nuys, California which is series star/creator/executive producer Julie Brown’s hometown. The titular “Strip Mall” was the fictional Plaza del Toro. Brown starred as Tammi Tyler, an ex-child actress who at 12 had stabbed her adult co-star to death after eating a cupcake laced with PCP. Now, as an adult,Tammi worked as a waitress at the Funky Fox, a bar located in the Plaza del Toro. One of her fellow employees was Patti the barmaid. In the series premiere Tammi married the owner of Starbrite Cleaners, Harvey Krudup, who she thought was worth millions, but realized that Starbrite’s lone location was at the Plaza. For the rest of the show’s run Tammi would try to end her marriage.