Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Exclusive: Pizzanista Long Beach Now Open!

Cator Sparks
By

Pizza. It is one of our favorite food groups (it IS a food group people). It is with near maniacal excitement that we announce that  Pizzanista, located in downtown Los Angeles and owned by some dear friends, Price Latimer and Salman Agah, now has a second location in Long Beach.

We covered them way back in 2012 and man, have they grown. They now have a clothing line sold in Japan and gained a cult following for their radical pies.

Recommended Videos

We caught up with Price to get an exclusive interview about the new spot.

Pizzanista-3
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s been shaking since last time we covered you guys?

So much! Since we don’t do traditional marketing; our growth has all really been word of mouth and organic.

Our downtown location has done really well. The neighborhood has been growing since we originally opened our doors. A SoHo House is opening across from us and BuzzFeed is opening down the street too. The neighborhood is really expanding and changing.

Tell us about the clothing.

We are selling t-shirts and accessories to 150 stores in Japan. It came about from a customer of ours who takes a bunch of big brands to Japan. Because of Salman’s skate background we already had a big following over there. We have been producing for four seasons now and ideally we would like to open a store there.

We also collaborated with some great artists to do limited edition pizza boxes. We have a book signing with Shepard Fairey coming up and a fundraiser for the Paris victims. We are good friends with the band, Eagles of Death Metal, and we want to give back in any way we can.

We have collaborated with some great artists and personalities to create limited edition pizza boxes and t-shirts, such as Mark Gonzalez, Neckface, Estevan Oriol, Glen E. Friedman, The Hundreds, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Christian Hosoi, Brothers Marshall and Brian Lotti.  We also have some exciting, upcoming events in the pipeline for the Long Beach location with Mike Vallely and Nike. 

Pizzanista-5
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Why Long Beach?

It is very untouched, chill, charming and up and coming.  We looked at so many locations, then we got a tip from a customer who that told us about a 1911 craftsman bungalow for sale that had been a family-owned Italian restaurant for about 50 years. We went to look at it and it was perfect. There is a yard and great space for outdoor seating. We had to strip it down to its bones, then do major renovations and it came out beautifully.

Pizzanista-1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How’s the hood?

The neighborhood is great. There is a skate park down the street and a rock n’ roll bar a few doors down. Everyone in the neighborhood has been warm and welcoming; even the Mayor’s office called to welcome us!

Are you offering anything different at this location?

The menu will be the same as our flagship location in downtown LA.  We will be serving our classic Macaroni and Cheese pizza on Sundays and brunch beverages soon, including house made Bloody Marys and Mimosas.

Pizzanista-4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s next?

We launched brunch in Long Beach and will be launching in Downtown LA soon.

We have seven brunch pizzas we have designed including:

  • Rise & Shine Pizza with Bacon & Egg
  • Italian Sausage, Scrambled Egg & Caramelized Onion Pizza
  • Potato, Egg, Spinach & Fontina Pizza
  • Smoked Salmon Pizza
  • Vegan Breakfast Scramble Pizza
  • Berries, Ricotta & Orange Honey Pizza
  • Nutella & Banana Pizza with powdered sugar & cinnamon

Pizzanista Long Beach is located at 1837 E. 7th Street

All photos courtesy of Renee McMahon.

Editors' Recommendations

Cator Sparks
Cator Sparks
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Cator Sparks was the Editor-in-Chief of The Manual from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Previously, Cator was covering…
Cocktail classics: the Negroni and its millions of variations
Negroni

Of all the classic cocktails that are well-known in bars across the world, one stands out for being both complex fascinating to drink, but also incredibly easy to make: the negroni. This beloved cocktail from Italy consists of equal parts of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, and it doesn't even need to be shaken. Traditionally made in a mixing glass, where it is stirred with ice to add water, in practice you can even add the ingredients to a tumbler glass with a large ice cube and stir it in the glass. That isn't really the technically correct way to make the drink, but it works well enough and means that you can make this cocktail with practically no equipment whatsoever.
The negroni is popular for its intense, bitter flavors and its bright red color, both of which come from the Campari. But the addition of gin gives the drink that heavy, boozy note with plenty of spicy juniper, and the sweet vermouth adds a touch of sweetness and more herbal notes. The result is a drink which packs an incredible flavor punch, and which tends to be either loved or hated (mostly depending on how you feel about Campari).
Thanks to its simplicity, the negroni lends itself to endless variations. While in truth I think it's hard to beat the classic version of this cocktail, if you're a long-time negroni drinker and you're looking to try something new – or maybe even if you're not a fan of the classic negroni but are interested in finding a version which does work for you – then we've got suggestions on some of the many variations you can try.

Experimenting with gins

Read more
Gose-style beers are perfect for spring, and these are our favorites
This salty, tart, sour beer is perfect for spring.
Gose beer

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the Gose style might be the best beer choice for spring and summer drinking. This wheat beer is top-fermented and gets a second fermentation with lactobacillus bacteria. This gives it a tart, sour flavor profile similar to your favorite sour ale. The addition of coriander and sea salt adds some spice and salinity to this very unique, refreshing beer.

On top of that, this tart, salty thirst-quencher is usually between 4-5% ABV. This results in a crushable, salty, crisp beer you won’t be able to put down even between horseshoe throws or cornhole turns.
A strange, salty history

Read more
This is how to make a proper Moscow Mule
It's the classic cocktail in a copper mug, and we're going to show you how to make a Moscow Mule
Moscow Mule with a bowl of limes

You know you've made it as a cocktail when one of the most popular ready-to-drink options is made in your name. That's the case with the Moscow Mule cocktail, the classic mix of vodka and ginger beer, preferably in a copper mug.

Here are some pro tips to keep in mind. First, select a quality vodka. The flavor may be mostly buried in the rest of the drink, but you're still after smoothness. In terms of ginger, go with a proper ginger beer instead of ginger ale. The latter is far too sweet. If you're really feeling intrepid, do as Death & Co. does below and make your own ginger syrup to couple with club soda. You'll be amazed at how much more pronounced the ginger qualities are when going this route.

Read more