The shock of Wood & Salt shuttering back in April was only compounded when, within weeks, Bixby Provisions had come to replace the space. The double-fold shock was, in one part, due to the fact that Wood & Salt was such a respected culinary space, particularly following the addition of Chef Albert Lopez to its roster. And, on the other hand, that the rebrand came so abruptly.
For years, the promise of restaurants like Wood & Salt sat in a sweet spot that many neighborhoods covet: elevated enough for a date night but approachable enough to become part of a regular routine. A place where patrons might celebrate an anniversary one month and casually stop in for dinner the next.
But increasingly, operators say that the very middle ground that defined the space is becoming harder to sustain. For owner Björn Risse, the decision was less about cutting labor or stripping down the operation and more about confronting what he saw changing before his eyes: customers themselves.Â
Bixby Provisions is more affordable, less fussy—mimicking a trend where comforting’n’cheaper are two things deeply sought by a less affluent patronage.
“We saw a trend in customer behavior and what people are ordering,” Björn said. “In order for us to stay around and be long-term successful, the Wood & Salt model was just not sustainable… We were becoming a ‘special occasion’-only space when we needed to be a neighborhood staple.”
The challenge facing restaurants like Wood & Salt extends far beyond Long Beach. Restaurant operators nationwide have spent years navigating persistent inflation, rising food costs and increasingly cautious spending habits among diners. Grocery prices and restaurant operating expenses have climbed significantly in recent years, forcing many businesses to make difficult calculations. Increase prices. Shrink portions. Reduce labor. Or rethink the concept entirely.
For Björn, the issue wasn’t simply cost increases. It was what those increases did to dining behavior. Wood & Salt had become something many restaurant owners appreciate in theory but fear in practice: a place people loved, yes, but ultimately viewed as a special, let’s-go-there-for-a-birthday space.
That distinction, according to Björn, matters.
Bixby Provisions was born out of concern about a shrinking middle-range restaurant class.
Special-occasion restaurants can survive as destination experiences in larger dining markets or tourist-heavy areas. But neighborhood restaurants often live and die by repeat visits—the Tuesday dinner after work, the last-minute stop after soccer practice, the place families default to because it feels easy and familiar.
Björn wanted Wood & Salt to become that kind of place.
“We want to be there a long time because we love the neighborhood,” he said. “So we needed to close the chapter and then kind of figure out what would be 100% long-term successful.”
The result became Bixby Provisions: a neighborhood tavern concept designed around accessibility and frequency rather than occasion. Instead of asking guests to plan ahead for a Friday night reservation, the idea was to create a restaurant that could fit naturally into people’s routines.
“We decided that something approachable, like a neighborhood tavern,” Risse said. “Maybe more to also clientele that picks up the kids on a Thursday from soccer practice. It’s been a long week, doesn’t feel like cooking, and just spontaneously decide, ‘Oh, let’s go to Bixby Provisions.'”
What to expect from Bixby Provisions—and please, do not say, ‘Something like Wood & Salt.’
For Bixby Provisions, that meant a menu focused on shareable plates, sandwiches, burgers, and weekly specials intended to give regulars a reason to come back repeatedly. Björn kept much of the kitchen staff intact while bringing in Chef Albert temporarily to help shape a menu built around repeatability and familiarity.Â
Still, changing a concept is easier than changing public perception.
Björn said one of the restaurant’s largest hurdles so far has simply been helping people understand that Wood & Salt is gone.
“People ask me still, ‘Oh, you’re bringing the pasta back?'” he said. “It’s like, no. This is new. This is a different concept. It’s a different restaurant.”
The irony, perhaps, is that Wood & Salt didn’t disappear because people disliked it. It disappeared because they liked it in a way that wasn’t sustainable enough. And for many restaurants sitting in that increasingly narrow middle lane between fast food and luxury experiences, that may be becoming one of the industry’s hardest realities to navigate.
Bixby Provisions is located at 4262 Atlantic Ave.
