Coast to Coast:
How an east coast staple inspired one of LA's top restaurants
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Restaurant type: Fast casual
Cuisine: Italian Sandwich Shop
Years open: 4
The start: Fresh out of college, hometown friends Noah Holton-Raphael, Max Bahramipour, and Jack Biebel moved to Los Angeles and instantly missed the Italian deli sandwiches they were used to back home in Montclair, New Jersey. They tried a few places that East Coast natives in LA swore by, but nothing felt like home. So, they got cooking. They made a few sandwiches, tested a few recipes, and eventually opened their cloud kitchen in June 2020. “We were really just an Instagram account and trying to get our name and our product out there digitally,” said Biebel.
This concept carried them into 2021, when they were able to open their first brick-and-mortar shop in Melrose Hill. “We were very fortunate to have some success early on. A lot of positive press, a lot of positive feedback, people coming up to us essentially telling us we brought their childhood from the Tri-State out to Los Angeles,” said Holton-Raphael.
The challenge: The trio quickly learned that operating a brick-and-mortar shop was much more difficult than operating a cloud kitchen, and none of them had a restaurant background. To remedy this, Holton-Raphael went and worked at a restaurant in the area for about a year to gain a deeper understanding of how to run a food business. “I was inspired and learned an incredible amount from them and the way they did things,” he said. Because of this, he now oversees business development for Ggiata and runs daily operations, managing a staff of 40–50 employees across locations.
With one challenge solved, they now had to make a decision regarding how to handle managing business finances and the physical aspects of owning a brick and mortar. Because of how well Holton-Raphael was able to translate his experiences into the area of business development, the team decided to rely on each other’s strengths and lived experiences and divied up the duties. Bahramipour focuses on the design, ensuring each new location feels unique to the neighborhood, and Biebel tackles financial performance.
Dividing up the duties helped them get their business off the ground by making the team more efficient and making it easier for them to think long-term.
The present: Today, Ggiata has three locations and is planning to open two more over the next few years. “Opening new stores is our best customer acquisition tool, and Square has been what’s made that possible,” said Biebel. They also sell restaurant merchandise that frequently sells out, adding another notable stream of revenue.
They’ve also been regulars at events throughout the area — upwards of 30 — becoming a staple in the city.
The insight: Their biggest piece of advice is to never be afraid to learn and try new things. “It's been a really fun journey to watch our new locations open and see how they perform and try to take learnings for why one store does one thing well versus the other and try to apply those back and forth,” said Biebel.
Square products used: Square Register, Square for Restaurants, and Square Online
Editor's Note: Ggiata was compensated by Square for this interview.
